A sandwich superstar will have to eat crow—and work in the kitchen at a Long Island pizzeria—after betting on the Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA playoffs.
Frank Olivieri owns Pat’s King of Steaks in Philadelphia. He’s also a 76ers devotee and a descendant of the brothers credited with inventing the Philly cheesesteak sandwich. Louis Cretella is co-owner of Dario’s Pizza in West Hempstead, New York, and a dedicated Knicks fan. As the rivalry game approached, Cretella took a swipe at the 76ers by giving his own Philly cheesesteak sandwich a new—and derisive—name: the Philly SUCKS.
According to the New York Post, Olivieri caught wind of the jibe and proposed a friendly wager. If the 76ers lost, he would travel to Long Island and cook all day at Dario’s Pizza while wearing Knicks gear. If the Knicks lost, of course, Cretella would don 76ers gear and work the kitchen at Pat’s King of Steaks.
The Knicks gave the 76ers a whupping, winning the game 144-114. Throughout the game, though, Olivieri held out hope. “We always have a feeling that the 6ers, or anyone else in Philly, are going to come back,” Olivieri told the Post. “We’re used to saying ‘maybe next year.’”
Olivieri is happy to pay up on the bet, although an exact date for his stint in Dario’s kitchen hasn’t yet been determined. He said he has “been meaning to try [Dario’s] cheesesteak anyway,” adding, “I figured it would be a good way to extend some brotherly love to our brothers up in New York and on Long Island.”
Brothers Pat and Harry Olivieri are believed to have invented the Philly cheesesteak around 1930 at their hot dog stand in South Philadelphia. However, at the time the sandwich was missing a key ingredient: cheese. It originally featured only chopped beef and grilled onions. Pat went on to open Pat’s King of Steaks, and a manager, known as “Cocky Joe” Lorenza, reportedly hit upon the idea of adding provolone to the sandwich around 10 years later.
