The Great Cheesesteak Incident of '07

So, to end the year with a bang, AJ and I decided to tackle a super top secret mission. I would like to say that no animals were injured in the course of the journey, however, the entire fiasco revolves around dead cows. First, a little background.....Contrary to popular belief the best cheesesteaks don't actually come from Philly, they actually come from an Italian restaurant about 35 miles north of Philly in Quakertown, PA. The goal of our mission was to smuggle 6 of the super tasty delectables from PA to Massachusetts. The transportation of these cheesy goodies across several state lines would be tricky, but we were determined to get it done for the sake of the tastiness and joy that a good cheesesteak can bring.

The driver......

This is the exit that leads to the restaurant that leads to the sandwiches that lead to the caper that lead to a party in my mouth....

The restaurant. Notice the inflatable Santa. I wasn't sure going into this who the patron saint of smuggling cheesesteaks was, apparently it is Saint Nick.....

The pickup. This was the beginning of the journey. We had to call ahead to ensure that the grinders were ready. The cooler's purpose is two-fold...1. To keep the treats warm and B. to keep the incredibly intoxicating smell from filling the car during the 3 hour journey. It is a little known fact that the smell of a good cheesesteak partnered with the knowledge that you can't actually eat for several hours have caused even the most strong willed of men to go completely mad. Smelling the sandwich that you know is the best thing you will eat for months to come, yet not being able to eat yet can lead a grown man to curl into the fetal position and sob uncontrollably.

Nobody said this trip was going to be easy or cheap. There was the initial cost of 6 cheesesteaks plus the cost of an identical decoy car that was instructed to branch off ahead of us to a remote part of Pennsylvania as we headed to Massachusetts. This extra step was certain to throw anyone off our trail that may have tried to impede the journey of the magnificent hoagies.

The trip is on....within 30 minutes we crossed our first state border from Pennsylvania into New Jersey.

Along the way somewhere in New York we came across 2 identical vehicles...I wonder what they were smuggling???? Could they have possibly been moving cheesesteaks too????

We then went through Jersey into New York and finally into our destination state of Massachusetts. It was cold and snowy. The dangers were incredible, as you can see here, we had to conquer a perilous snow covered mountain. Not to mention the smell was starting to escape the cooler causing my lovely accomplice and I to worry about our sanity. We knew we only had about 30 minutes to go before the joy of the taste was to hit our mouths.

Finally, we had safely reached our destination. Once we arrived we had to be sure to check and make sure we hadn't been followed. The contents of that cooler were pure meaty goodness and people have been viciously beaten just to obtain the bovine laden sandwiches. At this point we had been in possession of the grinders for 3 hours and we were starting to feel the madness being induced by the aromatic smell.

Finally, victory was ours. The sandwiches that had traveled 3 hours and through 4 states were ready to be devoured. After a quick heat up in the oven, the cheesesteaks managed to last another 3.2 minutes or so before they were completely eaten. Our sanity slowly started to come back to us. Our cravings were quenched for now, however, we will be returning to the scene of the crime in February, we only hope it goes this smoothly the next time......