Philadelphia is the largest city in the “Commonwealth of Pennsylvania” and the fifth largest city in the United States. It was here that the Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and the Constitution in 1787. The city is still home to the “Liberty Bell,” the symbol of American independence. “Philly” has, however, made other contributions to American life. In the 20th century, for example, “the City of Brotherly Love” inspired movies like The Philadelphia Story, the Rocky saga and, last but not least, Philadelphia. In musical terms it gave us “the Philadelphia Sound,” a genre of funky soul, and in culinary terms it was responsible for “the cheesesteak,” a tasty
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tasty:
saporito
sandwich consisting of steak, melted
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melted:
fuso
cheese and onions.
little italy
As Frank Olivieri Jr. explains (see interview), the cheesesteak was invented in 1930 by his great uncle, Pat Olivieri, who had moved to the United States from Abruzzo. “Uncle Pat” and his younger brother Harry ran a hotdog stand on 9th Street in “South Philly,” home of the Italian Market and the city’s “Little Italy.”
RIVALS
Frank tells the story of the cheesesteak. He is the third generation of the Olivieri family to run “Pat’s King of Steaks” on the corner of 9th Street and East Passyunk Avenue. Their main rivals, Geno’s Steaks, are on the same block
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block:
isolato
, but Frank says that the rivalry is “friendly” and is “actually
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actually:
in realtà
quite good for business.”
Con audio:
the philadelphia story
Philadelphia is the home of the cheese steak, a sandwich consisting of just that – steak and runny
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runny:
filante
cheese. The best place to enjoy a “Philly cheesesteak” is probably Pat’s King of Steaks in South Philadelphia, which is run by an Italian American, Frank Olivieri Jr. As he explains, the cheesesteak was invented at a hot dog stand run by his grandfather, Harry Olivieri, and Harry’s older brother, “Uncle Pat”:
Frank Olivieri, Jr. (Standard American accent): Uncle Pat had a hotdog stand that
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SPEAK UP EXPLAINS
A hot dog stand that...:
"Un chiosco che vendeva gli hot dog dove..." In realtà questo è un errore. Frank avrebbe dovuto dire "a hot dog stand where..."
he and his brother Harry were selling hotdogs, and every day they ate hot dogs and they got tired of eating hot dogs, so one day he went to the butcher
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butcher:
macellaio
down the street
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SPEAK UP EXPLAINS
Down the street:
Più avanti. In inglese si tende a descrivere un posto vicino nella stessa via come down the street o up the street. La scelta di down o up è abbastanza casuale. Si può dire anche down the road e up the road.
and got some meat and he cooked it up on the grill with some onions and put it on an Italian roll
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roll:
panino
, a Philadelphia Italian roll, and a cab driver
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cab driver:
taxista
who ate hot dogs every day, saw it and said, “Looks really great
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SPEAK UP EXPLAINS
Looks really great:
Mi sembra ottimo. La frase corretta sarebbe it looks really great, ma questa versione è accettabile (almeno nell’inglese parlato).
, can you sell me one?” He said, “Well, I only have enough for myself.” So he broke the sandwich in half and gave it to him. The cab driver said, “This is great, stop selling hot dogs and start selling this!” And that was the invention of the steak sandwich in 1930.
delicious!
So what are the ingredients?
Frank Olivieri, Jr.: So the cheesesteak starts off with a locally baked
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locally baked:
cotto nel quartiere
piece of bread. It’s kind of soft on the inside, a little crusty and chewy
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crusty and chewy:
croccante e di consistenza morbida
on the outside. The meat actually comes from New Zealand, Australia and Uruguay. And I mostly buy imported meat because I find it’s better than some of the American meat. The onions come from wherever onions come from in the United States and the cheez whiz
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SPEAK UP EXPLAINS
Cheez whiz:
È una salsa al formaggio di colore arancione.
comes from Wisconsin, so it’s a lot of ingredients that actually go into a Philadelphia roll to make it such a beautiful sandwich.
Mr President
Frank says that Uncle Pat was a master of promotion, and numerous celebrities have come to Pat’s King of Steaks over the years. Film stars like Marilyn Monroe ate here in the past, while in more recent times it has been popular with presidents. The Obama family are regulars
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regulars:
clienti regolari
, but Frank’s favourite story is about another Democratic President:
Frank Olivieri, Jr.: President Clinton just was out of the White House, he was no longer President, so my children and wife and I – it was a Sunday afternoon – and I wanted a cheesesteak really badly
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I wanted... really badly:
morivo dalla voglia di un panino
, so I said, “Let’s go to Philly and get a cheesesteak” ‘cause I live in New Jersey – well, I lived in New Jersey – and my wife – my ex-wife – said to me, “Let’s go down to the beach and get pizza.” And I’m like, “Agh, the pizza’s terrible!” So I said, “OK,” so we’re driving on the road and my phone rings in the car and it comes up, “Bill Clinton” on my telephone. So I answer the phone and I’m like “Hello,” and he goes (imitates Bill Clinton) “Frankie, it’s me, Bill, we’re here at the store, where are ya?
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SPEAK UP EXPLAINS
Where are ya?:
Dove sei? Ya è una forma di you, usata in modo colloquiale.
” I’m like, “Mr Clinton, I’m on my way to get pizza. I’ll catch you next time you’re in town, OK?” He goes, “OK, I’ll talk to you” and he hangs up
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he hangs up:
riattacca
. So my ex-wife says to me, “Who’s on the phone?” She thought it was like a girlfriend or something. I said, “No, it’s Bill Clinton!” She goes, “No, it’s not!” So I said, “Call!” So she picks up the phone, she dials
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she dials:
fa il numero
and he answers the phone: “Hello, Bill Clinton.” She said, “Oh, I’m sorry, I dialled the wrong number!” And he says, “OK!” and he hangs up! Great story!