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Food

The DNC Pitted New York and Philadelphia Food Favorites in a Brutal Throwdown

Things have gotten nasty in the presidential race between Trump and Clinton, but that's nothing compared to Philly cheesesteak versus NYC cheesecake.
Photo via Flickr user Kimberly Hardeman

The Democratic National Convention has invaded Philadelphia, and while the oft-contentious political process plays out in the city—which has brought us such great American hits as the signings of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, and the home of our main man Benjamin Franklin—a more important contest is underway in the cradle of liberty. Philadelphia Democrats want to know: New York, does your cheesecake have jack shit on our cheesesteaks?!

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Democratic delegates and I-95 rivals from New York and Philadelphia decided to throw down in a pyrrhic culinary challenge on Tuesday, not only pitting cheesecake against cheesesteak, but also sending entire collections of the cities' hometown comfort food heavyweights to battle.

Photo via Flickr carmyarmyofme

Cheesecake from Junior's. Photo via Flickr carmyarmyofme

Representing the Big Apple alongside the cheesecake (shipped in from Junior's, no less, by New York Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney) was a squad consisting of the mighty pastrami sandwich; the man of mystery himself known as the black and white cookie; the perennial crowd favorite bagel and lox; and the indefatigable New York pizza slice..

Representing the City of Sisterly Affection, the Philly corner packed a huge punch with a meat-heavy roster comprised of the formidable roast pork sandwich; the inimitable Italian hoagie, a testament to the proud history of immigration in America; the cannoli; and the, uh, soft pretzel. The cheesesteak, by the way, was from Pat's King of Steaks.

Photo via Flickr user Kevin Tao

New York's most quintessential pastrami sandwich from Katz's Deli. Photo via Flickr user Kevin Tao

The NY/PA Food Fight was hosted by the political news groups City & State PA and City & State NY, and Congresswomen Maloney and Pennsylvania Congressman Brendan Boyle headed up their respective delegations. In a close contest, the cheesecake was crowned the champion over the cheesesteak—eat it, Philadelphia—but ultimately the spread from Philadelphia won out by a slight margin, which, we all know, was a fixed result that was later confirmed by an organizer.

"Everything is rigged in America," City and State CEO Tom Allon said. "Sometimes the system wins, and sometimes outsiders win. In this case, the system won."

And you better believe it there were yuck 'em ups aplenty. About to dive in to the spread, Congressman Maloney said, "You can get a heart attack with some of this food we're having today." Boyle said, coyly, that all of the foods they were eating were "fat-free" before making a rather confusing knee-slapper about Donald Trump "[using] fat in his speeches."

Not content to let the beef stay between New York and Philadelphia, Maloney also got in an absolute zinger directed at unsuspecting Chicago Democrats, saying, "In New York, we eat pizza with our hands." Don't know how you recover from that one.

Philadelphia won this round, but four years from now, maybe New York will get another shot at the title if the Dems brings the convention to Brooklyn. Nathan's Famous hot dogs, Peter Luger's steak, and Manhattan clam chowder are ready for whatever you can throw at them.