Overview
- Restaurants in New York City and on Long Island are striking the word Philly from cheesesteak listings, according to owner statements reported by the New York Post.
- Dario’s Pizza in West Hempstead retitled its item the “Philly SUCKS” cheesesteak and staff reportedly crossed out Philly on printed menus with an expletive.
- Wogies said it would sell a cheesesteak called The Appendix Burster, a pointed nod to Joel Embiid’s recent appendectomy and quick return.
- Other spots rolled out Knicks-themed names, including Slate and Clinton Hall with “Knicks Knockout” empanadas and sliders, Birdie’s “Big Apple cheesesteak,” G’s planned “New York Knicks steak,” Chiddy’s Long Island pride pitch, and Mama’s options like “Trust the Cheesesteak, Not the Process.”
- Owners link the tweaks to the Knicks–76ers rivalry after a lopsided Game 1, and coverage frames the moves as playful marketing rather than a coordinated boycott of Philadelphia’s signature sandwich, which originated with Pat and Harry Olivieri.