A Travesty

The Lord of Truth lets us know about the latest travesty that's occurred to my favorite sandwich...

The traditional Philly cheesesteak has gone precipitously upscale at one new restaurant, where the chopped steak and melted cheese standard includes goose liver and truffles -- and costs $100.

Barclay Prime owner Stephen Starr admits the haute cheesesteak is a marketing ploy for his steakhouse, which opened Tuesday. And he thinks it will sell.

"I believe you will have the rich guy in there who will say, 'Cheesesteaks for the table. And buy one for the guy over there,"' said Starr, an acclaimed restaurateur who has opened 13 eateries here since 1995.

Served with a small bottle of champagne, Barclay Prime's cheesesteak is made of sliced Kobe beef, melted Taleggio cheese, shaved truffles, sauteed foie gras, caramelized onions and heirloom shaved tomatoes on a homemade brioche roll brushed with truffle butter and squirted with homemade mustard.

Let me make something clear to Mr. Starr. The cheesesteak does not contain goose liver. It does not include friggin truffles, or foie gras. And just in case anyone from stinking Primanti Bros. is reading this, it does not include potatoes and cole slaw.

Look, I wouldn't pay $100 for a cheesteak from Pat's. But I might pay $100 to smack Mr. Starr with a bottle of Cheese Whiz between his eyes.