The welcome page of Marlow’s Cheesesteaks proclaims ”THIS JAWN WAS MADE WITH BROTHERLY LOVE.” Now, brotherly love, that part of the proclamation makes sense: Philadelphia, home of the cheesesteak sandwich, is also the city of Brotherly Love.
But what the heck is a jawn?
Well, thanks to the internet, we can learn that “jawn” is a Philly term for “thing.” And not just a food-thing; it can be any thing, anything at all. Good to know. When Marlow’s took over Arepazo’s old digs in Gahanna, it began offering both a new menu of cheesesteak sandwiches, as well as language lessons for doing things authentically Philly-Style.
And on the subject of authenticity, there is no shortage of controversy over what constitutes a proper Philly Cheesesteak sandwich. Choosing the wrong cheese (Swiss) famously resulted in the historical public shaming of a former presidential political candidate (that was John Kerry). In general, an authentic cheesesteak sandwich starts with a crusty roll, it’s piled high with squiggles of impossibly-thinly sliced beef, and then there’s cheese, a particular cheese: cheez whiz….American and provolone are all evidently okay choices as well. Marlow’s covers those essential elements and then some.