Saturday, we stopped by a new-to-us bar and grill in Cambridge for lunch. I’d heard that the owners were from Philadelphia and made a seriously good cheesesteak. Because my family hails from Trenton and knows a thing or two about cheesesteaks, I wanted to check it out.
When we walked inside the place, we ran into our neighbor, Linda. Tara asked what she recommended, and she said it was her first time there. I couldn’t help but marvel over that. Linda and Brian’s house was the first one built in our neighborhood and they have lived there for over 45 years. What are the odds that she would visit the very same restaurant on the same day and at the exact same time as us? All the sames felt a little mind-boggling.
“It’s just proof that we’re living in a simulation,” Tara said. I really can’t argue with that (and in fact, argued for it on my blog).
If we are living in a simulation, I have to say, they did a pretty good job with the cheesesteak.
Purists will (and did, when I posted this to my Instagram stories) argue that an authentic Philly cheesesteak does not contain anything green. And they are right. Thinly sliced beef, melted cheese, and maybe fried onions are acceptable. For what it’s worth, the Keystone Grill’s menu does include an Original Cheesesteak that is just beef and cheese. But I couldn’t pass up the Philly Works version, which adds grilled onions, peppers, and mushrooms.
Neither can anyone else, according to our bartender/server. It’s their most popular menu item.
And, the owner/Philadelphia native (it’s right there in the name of the place) gets props for using Amoroso’s Baking Company rolls – soft, chewy hoagie rolls that are considered an essential component of an authentic Philly cheesesteak. It was delicious, and probably the best I’ve had outside the Keystone State, with the exception of New Jersey. There’s a place called Grant’s in Portland that does a pretty good job too, but I think Wisconsin has the edge here.
Afterward, we strolled down Main Street in Cambridge, a quaint little community 15 minutes from home. Tara and I drive through it every day we commute to work, but oddly enough, had never actually gotten out of our cars and walked through it, other than to buy the best sweet corn in the area from a little farm stand cart in a parking lot there. “Downtown” is all of a few blocks, so it’s not like that requires much effort. It’s a damn cute town, huh? I just want to pinch its little cheeks.
Our main draw was Strictly Discs, a just-opened Cambridge outlet of our favorite Madison record store. The selection was about 10% of the size of their Madtown location – not surprising, given Cambridge’s population of 1,668 – but they had The Cure’s new album on vinyl, and that was the whole point. Tara also picked up a couple of items from a garden store and an antique shop, so it was a productive way to kill a few hours on an otherwise laid-back Saturday.
By the way, when we were looking for a house in Fort Atkinson – far and away our top choice – we were also open to three other towns: Cambridge, Jefferson, and Stoughton, in that order. So, we could’ve been Cambridgians. If we had been, I’m sure we’d be Keystone Grill regulars.
(Hell, we might still be. Fifteen minutes ain’t nothin’).
Not much else to say about the weekend. It’s supposed to rain a little today. Tara is making homemade schnitzel and späetzle. I’m excited about that. Comfort food has rarely felt so comforting.
I’m switching up my schedule this week, going into the office on Monday instead of Tuesday, because CheeseGov is having a Veterans Day thingy and the Secretary asked me to write a little proclamation for him to deliver during a flag-raising ceremony. “I trust (you) to write something heartfelt!” were his exact words. No pressure or anything, huh? But I live for this stuff and rose to the challenge, and will be there tomorrow to take photos for social media and our internal newsletter.
The assistant deputy secretary (as opposed to the assistant to the deputy secretary, Mr. Schrute), read it and said, “This has Mark’s voice all over it!” Which, as a writer, I consider a huge compliment. Kind of like how you can spot a Stephen King paragraph from a mile away. When people recognize your words as your words without even knowing they’re your words, you’ve established a style and identity all your own.
That’s pretty much the goal of writing, don’tcha think?
Mark My Words 
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