Cheesesteaks, Immigration, Blah Blah Blah
We'll say it one more time: We hate writing about cheesesteaks. But since this is Philadelphia and cheesesteaks stalk us like some Freddy Kreuger-like monster, despite all the other great food out there, we've gotta cope with it.
So it turns out that, in a court decision, Joey Vento of Geno's Steaks was allowed to keep his "This is America When Ordering: Speak English" sign.
Says the Philadelphia Daily News:
Critics charged that Vento had put up the signs because an increasing number of Mexicans had moved into the neighborhood around the steak shop. Vento said that he was disturbed only by "illegals," who were taking jobs from Americans. Vento acknowledged that his grandparents were Italian immigrants, but said that the family was forced to learn English when they came here. He said he'd gotten a lot of support via letters and e-mail, but others had harassed him. "They come by, call me a racist," he said. In addition to yesterday's vindication, Vento said that he'd like just one more thing: an "apology" from Mayor Nutter. Vento said that Nutter had declared during his election campaign that the signs should be taken down.
Next, we contemplate whether "wiz," "wit" or "witout" are part of the English language or not.
Geno's Steaks [MenuPages]
Geno's Steaks [Official Site]
