While our elected officials are busy making cheesesteak-cheesecake bets on the World Series, the Greater Philadelphia Marketing and Tourism Commission is giving away free cheesesteaks to New Yorkers before either team has won anything at all.
The GPTMC is hosting a “With Love World Series” party tomorrow at New York’s Shorty’s (at one time known as the northernmost branch of Tony Luke’s) and will be giving away free “Shorty-sized” cheesesteaks starting at 4 p.m. until the game starts at 7:57 p.m. During the game, every time the Phillies hit a homer, someone will win a $100 gift certificate that can be used at any of Next Iron Chef contestant Jose Garces’s Philly restaurants.
The idea behind the spendy party is to lure unsuspecting New Yorkers to Philly for Game 3. We’re not sure if a cheesesteak is the sort of bait we’d use to entice New Yorkers to Philly - maybe a Schmitter from McNally’s, a roast pork sandwich from John’s or a perhaps a midnight pretzel from Center City Pretzel Company would have been a better choice? We’re also not sure how we feel about trying to buy the affection of a city that is essentially indifferent to our existence, unless it’s as a punch line to a joke; however, we do applaud the GPTMC for the courteous gesture of giving away Garces gift certificates instead of chucking batteries in the general direction of the East River.
