h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

As someone who lives in the whole Pat's/Geno's area, I've got to say that I don't particularly like either of them. Both have smallish steaks, crappy cheese, and largish prices for what you get. (I'm cheap when it comes to food.)

My advice would be to look elsewhere for cheesesteaky goodness.

Firstly, you could check out Jim's Steaks on the corner of Fourth and South. It's not far north from the 9th-and-Passyunk intersection that houses Pat's and Geno's, it's a larger place, and the steaks are better. I particularly recommend getting mushrooms, if you're partial to them. Good stuff.
Jim's isn't perfect, though. It's on South Street, so if you come in during the evening, especially during the weekend, you'll be surrounded by trendy suburban kids who've come into Philly to pretend that they're cool. And, more importantly, it's expensive, even more so than Jim's and Geno's. - they charge about $5 for a steak, and Jim's charges around a dollar more. Jim's steaks are larger, and tastier, to be sure, but it's still more than I really feel like paying for a sandwich.

If you're cheap, or broke like me, don't despair! There are still some excellent steaks out there for you, but you'll have to travel a bit.

There's Paul's Pizza, around 7th and Sansom. I haven't been there in a while, but as I recall, they make a damn good steak, and charge around $5 for it. Very peppery by default, which I don't like, but you can of course ask them to hold the pepper.

Then there's John's Pizza, my favourite, at 17th and Spring Garden. It's right near my school, and it gives students discounts, but their steaks are a bargain even without a price break. $4.60 will buy you a large, succulent steak, packed with beef, cheese, onions (if you ask for them), and a whole lot of love. Besides that, it's a good place for burgers, fries, and onion rings. Oddly enough, their pizza isn't very good.

If you're in West Philly, try Fiesta Pizza, which is around 46th or 47th and Baltimore. Steaks are about $5, which is standard, and they're almost as good as John's. My one gripe is that they take forever to make the steaks, even when you're the only person in the place. It makes you wander just what they're *doing* to your food.
(all prices are approximate at the time of this writing.)

I've been to Jim's before. The best time to go is during the daytime, preferably lunch hours on a weekday. The cheesesteak was quite delicious. I wouldn't call it legendary by any means, but it was worth the trip across the river. I think any cheesesteak could be improved by adding just the slightest amount of worshestershire sauce during the cooking process. I wonder if any vendor has done this yet.