A son of Italian immigrants, Vento, at Geno's Steaks in South Philadelphia requires the patron to say cheesesteak when ordering, not bistec con queso, or whatever.

Of course, it's not as if native Philadelphians speak the King's English either. A Philadelphian might order a cheesesteak by saying something like, "Yo, gimme a cheesesteak wit, will youse?" ("Wit," or "with," means with fried onions.) To which the counterman might reply: "Youse want fries widdat?"

I wonder if Vento would accept the southern vernacular chee-eese stee-eak (four syllables instead of two)?