October 19, 2006

Cheese Wit or Witout

Round 1.

    The battle for cheesesteak supremacy -- usually fought with beef, onions and cheese -- has moved out of the kitchen and into the courthouse.

    Pat's King of Steaks, a South Philadelphia institution since the 1930s, is suing Rick's Steaks for trademark infringement.

    The two eateries involved, located less than two miles apart, each are owned by a grandson of Pat Olivieri, purported inventor of Philly's favorite sandwich.

    Scott Pollack, the lawyer for Pat's, said Wednesday that the businesses are not connected in any way -- even if the owners are. Pat's owner Frank Olivieri never gave permission for cousin Rick Olivieri to use the trademarks in his advertising and signage, Pollack said.

    ''Obviously, Pat's Steaks is very, very famous. It's known all over the country and the world,'' said Pollack.

    The lawsuit filed Monday by Pat's claims that Rick's has been illegally trading on Pat's name, its crown logo and trademarked phrases, including ''Pat's King of Steaks Originators of the Steak Sandwich.'' It seeks unspecified damages and an order preventing Rick's from using the material.


I've never been to Rick's. But Pat's was my favorite until I found Tony Luke's.

At that point all looking stopped. I was home.

On the web Pennsylvania Posted by AlexC at October 19, 2006 12:15 PM

Hmmm, I'm still looking for a good lutefisk store around here. No luck yet.

Posted by: mdmhvonpa at October 19, 2006 3:50 PM

Uff da! mdmh included a link to a lutefisk description on Wikipedia but our default lutefisk filter removed it before anybody could get hurt.

(Perhaps Sugarchuck could mail you some from Minnesota. No doubt that contravenes the Commerce Clause, but a man has needs.)

Posted by: jk at October 19, 2006 4:24 PM

Ohhh, sure. You betcha! I usually pick up a case at water-rama but the crappies were biting this year soooo I went quick down to da lake to pull some out, don-cha-know.

Heh ... I'll have Alex pick up the covertly wrapped package next time he is commuting through Commiecrapoulos.

Posted by: mdmhvonpa at October 19, 2006 7:47 PM

I'll be there tuesday am between 5:30 and 7:15.

Just have somebody throw it to me behind security. ;)

Posted by: AlexC at October 20, 2006 2:08 AM | What do you think? [4]