Taliercio's Challenge: Philly Grilled Cheese Steak

Writing about tragedy isn't the most natural thing for me to do.  It's a pretty awkward process for my weird brain that can and will make a joke out of any situation. (There won't be many jokes until the bottom so please proceed now for those.) Growing up playing basketball, Kobe Bryant was by far my favorite athlete.  I started playing basketball during his rookie year (1996), played hours of Kobe Bryant's NBA Courtside on N64 (who gets their own video game after playing just one year?), and exclusively wore a purple #8 Lakers jersey for three straight summers.  Sure, it was cool when the New Jersey Nets made it to two straight NBA finals.  But you know what was cooler? Watching Kobe dismantle some of the league's best players.  He was the anointed successor to Jordan's throne.  There's nothing I can write about him or his career that you haven't already read this week following his, and eight others, tragic passing but what stuck with me are the things you don't usually hear about during an athlete's playing career.  Seeing so many people (literally everyone I know, whether they like basketball or not) share stories of his selflessness in charity, his legendary work ethic, and most of all his commitment to fatherhood.  It affected me in a way I didn't really expect.  I never met him but a part of me will always be influenced by Kobe.  Just a kid in the middle of the street, practicing fallaway jumpers. 

The Philly Grilled Cheese Steak: American, Mozarella, Roast Beef, Peppers and Onions

Out of the grilled cheese sandwiches I've had at Taliercio's, this is the one that has tasted most like a "traditional" grilled cheese that I'm used to.  No, I don't typically load my grilled cheese with roast beef or peppers and onions but maybe as a society, we should.  And while I usually would love nothing more than to antagonize Philly for being the inferior city of New Jersey (let's be honest New York and Philly belong to Jersey more than their own states, sorry, but it's true) I have to admit that this was nowhere near an authentic cheesesteak.  I love the roast beef here, I love the grilled cheese, but nothing can replicate the Philly roll, the guilty pleasure of cheese wiz, and beefsteak grilled on the spot. (I still need to check out Donkey's Place in Camden to see if NJ can actually take the cheesesteak crown.) If you're feeling cold and are craving a grilled cheese, this is the one to get.

Overall (Taliercio's): 8/10 

Overall (Cheesesteak): 6.5/10