Is a cheesesteak a hoagie?

Is a cheesesteak a hoagie? This is a question you probably haven’t given much thought to until our interview with John Oates of Hall & Oates a few days ago.

In it, he adamantly proclaimed that a cheesesteak is in fact, a type of hoagie.

This was news to us and got us thinking: Who else out there considers a cheesesteak a hoagie?

First, we went to some of Philadelphia’s most respected cheesesteak experts.

Geno Vento, owner of Geno’s Steaks, has this to say on the matter:

“A cheesesteak and a hoagie are two different things. I’d consider a hoagie to be a cold sandwich, and a cheesesteak is usually always served hot.”

We also reached out to the people at Pat’s and they were in agreement, although their answer was still a wee bit confusing:

“The answer is no. A hoagie is a cold cut sandwich. A cheesesteak hoagie is a cheesesteak with mayo lettuce and onion!”

Pat’s did begin their answer by shooting down the cheesesteak as a type of hoagie idea.

To side with Oates however, a hoagie can also be hot these days, although in their original form, that wasn’t the case.

Ken Silver of Jim’s Steaks explains that the cheesesteak hoagie on their menu is more of a hybrid between a cheesesteak and a hoagie, kind of like a cronut.

“A cheesesteak hoagie is the addition of lettuce and tomato onto the cheesesteak. You put together the bread, lettuce, tomato, cheese and then the steak. And then the onions if you want it,” he says.

So according to Silver, the cheesesteak hoagie stands in a league of its own and a cheesesteak is definitely not a type of hoagie.

“Traditonally a hoagie is a cold sandwich,” he adds. 

So far it seems that a cheesesteak is not a hoagie, according to our Philadelphia cheesesteak experts. 

But what do you think?

Tweet your response @metrophilly and we just might feature it.