PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Omar Ghassan moved to Portland from Philadelphia in 2010 and immediately began missing the cheese steaks there.
Last year, he was finally able to open a food cart serving just that. Dr Philly Cheese Steaks opened downtown but moved to the Hawthorne Asylum pod in March 2019.
Ghassan said Portlanders love his take on Philly cheese steaks.
“I grew up liking this food, so I said, you know what? There isn’t any good cheese steak in town,” he said.
Ghassan tops his steak with a variety of cheeses including provolone, white American, cheddar and even cheese whiz.
The steaks are flown in from Philadelphia.
“The key to a good cheese steak is it has to be on a very low temperature because it’s so thin, if it’s too hot it’ll be dry,” he said.
“It’s a very simple sandwich, very filling. We like to tweak it to make it even better,” he said.
All sandwiches come with fries. He also makes a special with lamb.
“It’s a pretty simple menu.”
Ghassan hopes to eventually open another cart in Beaverton.
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