I usually know when a Philly cheesesteak sandwich is going to be good even before it gets to my table.

I want to hear the clink-clank of metal spatulas banging the grill as the cook chops the meat – preferably thinly sliced ribeye or some equally tender beef – into a delicious pile of bite-sized pieces with just the right amount of crispness from the grill.

Next, I want to hear the sizzle of veggies hitting a hot grill, and more clink-clank as the grill cook mixes and dices the trifecta of my cheesesteak perfection: meat, onions and peppers.

My other hallmarks of a great cheesesteak: just the right ratio of meat to peppers and onions (three parts meat, one part peppers and onions is my kind of sandwich). The grill cook should let the cheese – make mine provolone – melt on the meat pile on the grill, rather than placing it in the sandwich cold (yuck). Sturdy, chewy rolls provide the best base for my perfect cheesesteak.

Pictured here: Joe McCollum, owner of Philly Joe's with the imperial cheesesteak sandwich. Photo by Dean J. Koepfler/The News Tribune

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