Less talk more rock:

The sandwich: Cheesesteak with Cheez Whiz, without onions, with hot peppers from Carl’s Steaks, 34th and 3rd in Manhattan.

The construction: Basically all those things I listed above, on a hero roll (hoagie if you want to be all Philadelphian about it).

Important background information: OK, I don’t want to make this a whole thing about cheesesteaks because I’ve already written a whole thing about cheesesteaks, way back when. But I suspect that, at least in part due to the simplicity of their construction, cheesesteaks have a higher floor and lower ceiling than most sandwiches. More on this to follow.

What it looks like:

How it tastes: Primarily, it tastes like a cheesesteak.

Whenever I eat a cheesesteak that someone has recommended to me — as I have at Pat’s in Philly, and as I did at Carl’s — I come back to the same question: What is it about this particular cheesesteak that merited the mention?

Obviously there are particulars that impact the taste, some clearer than others: The roll has to be fresh. The cheese has to be reasonably plentiful. There should be ketchup, added by the sandwich’s maker or by me.

But once we get beyond that, what is there to a cheesesteak? Almost the entire sandwich is constituted of the thinly sliced steak, which tastes pretty much the same no matter where you get it — mostly dry, and more than anything a beefy conduit for delicious cheese and ketchup flavors.

Obviously cheese quality matters, but if you’re opting for the choice that’s standardized across many cheesesteak purveyors — the Cheez Whiz — then it just seems like there’s not going to be a hell of a lot of difference between the best and worst cheesesteaks*.

As for this cheesesteak: It was a pretty good cheesesteak, even on the narrow cheesesteak spectrum. The bread was clearly fresh, the proportions were fine, and the hot peppers added a nice kick to it. Would I say it was the best cheesesteak I’ve ever had? No, but then I can’t remember a specific cheesesteak deserving of that honor.

Is the one from Carl’s better than the one from the Midtown deli/foodbar place downstairs from my office? I think so. The bread is better and there’s a little more meat. Plus the place downstairs uses sliced American cheese, and I like the gooey creaminess the Whiz adds to Carl’s offering.

Can the cheesesteak at Carl’s compare to the famous sandwich at Pat’s? It’s not as big, for certain. But then I didn’t have to go to Philadelphia to get it. And the people at Carl’s are nice, to boot. I’ve said this before, but there’s really nothing I detest more than places that make it their shtick to be mean to customers. I’m paying you. It’s just a cheesesteak, bro, no need to be a jerk about it.

What it’s worth: The cheesesteak was $6.75 and the peppers were an extra 50 cents — totally reasonable. Also a trek around Murray Hill, but that’s a different story.

How it rates: I’ll say 73 out of 100, and note that a 73 is still a very good sandwich. And I’ll offer that probably all cheesesteaks made on even remotely fresh bread fall between 60 and 80 on the scale. I’ve yet to be blown away by a cheesesteak, though I remain open to having my mind changed about the whole narrow-deliciousness-spectrum thing.