Greater Long Island coverage is funded in part by Toresco & Simonelli, a boutique injury and family law firm in West Islip. They fight for their clients. Click here to get in touch.
By Nick Mongiovi
Cheesesteaks have become collateral damage in the Knicks-76ers playoff rivalry.
Long Island restaurants are taking shots at Philadelphia one cheesesteak at a time, and the internet is eating it up.
Dario’s | West Hempstead
“Our cheesesteak has blown up and everyone that comes and eats it says, ‘I don’t have to go to Philly anymore,’” said Dario’s Pizza in West Hempstead owner Louis Cretella. “We hate Joel Embiid because he took out Mitchell Robinson a few years ago in the playoffs and Embiid was talking crap before the series. I have a fire inside me now, so we changed the menu to say, ‘Philly SUCKS Cheesesteak.’”
Cretella, who has held Knicks season tickets for 12 years, leaned into the rivalry when changing the menu item.
“People are coming in and just loving it,” Cretella said. “All over Instagram, all over social media, people are coming in and Knicks fans are like, ‘Philly sucks.’ We put our menus in the front window, but we crossed out ‘Philly’ and wrote, ‘Philly sucks’ on it and ‘F*** Philly.’”
Photos of the menus spread across social media, eventually catching the attention of Philadelphia media outlets. The Philadelphia Inquirer fired back at New Yorkers with comments including: “Why are you bragging about selling Philly’s signature sandwiches if you hate us so much?” “Is your ego really that fragile?” and “There’s no such thing as a New York cheesesteak.”
Dario’s draped on top of a signed Karl-Anthony Towns New York Knicks jersey. Photo by Dario’s Pizza owner, Louis Cretella
“We don’t really care that much about Philly to hate them,” Cretella said. “We took what they supposedly have as their prized possession and made it better. That’s what New Yorkers do; they take things and make them better.”
Mama’s | Copiague
From left to right, Mama’s owner Adam Sala, waiter Greg Silverstein and owner Ahmy Sala. Photo by Nick Mongiovi
Mama’s in Copiague turned its cheesesteak into “The Convert,” which features sliced prime ribeye, Cooper Sharp American cheese, cherry peppers and sauteed onions, making an authentic cheesesteak, according to Mama’s owner and Villanova-native Adam Sala. After the series is over, Sala intends to keep the name of the item.
Other potential names included “Trust the cheesesteak, not the process” and “The Bandwagon.” Ahmy Sala, brother of Adam, liked “The Convert,” because they’ve been cheering for the Knicks for a while and players like Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and former guard Donte DiVincenzo’s Villanova ties.
“Philly’s had the spotlight and the cheesesteaks for a long time and you can’t rip that away from them,” Adam Sala said. “You can always make something better than a Philly cheesesteak, which is the New York cheesesteak.”
Birdie Bar | Northport
Birdie Bar in Northport is also getting in on the name-change trend, rebranding its sandwich as “The Big Apple Cheesesteak.”
The creation features sliced ribeye, provolone, Cheese Whiz, sautéed onions and peppers, apple coleslaw and cottage fries, all served on seeded semolina bread.
“They’re down 2-0 in the series; they’ve got to clap back somehow,” said Birdie Bar owner Louie Selvaggio. “Maybe their steaks are better than their basketball team.”
The Knicks head to Philadelphia with a 2-0 series lead after Wednesday night’s 108-102 win at Madison Square Garden. Now, the rivalry has spilled from the court into the kitchen.
Top photo: Dario’s cheesesteak. Courtesy photos
Your Long Island news, delivered.
Subscribe to the GLI Newsletter — its free
