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Times editor gets meme-ified for 'mediocre' cheesesteak tweet from Philly (w/video)

 
Tampa Bay Times political editor Adam Smith is getting the opposite of brotherly love from Philadelphia after tweeting from the Democratic National Convention that the city's famous cheesesteaks are "mediocre to gross." [iStockphoto]
Tampa Bay Times political editor Adam Smith is getting the opposite of brotherly love from Philadelphia after tweeting from the Democratic National Convention that the city's famous cheesesteaks are "mediocre to gross." [iStockphoto]
Published July 28, 2016

Tampa Bay Times political editor Adam Smith is getting the opposite of brotherly love from Philadelphia after tweeting from the Democratic National Convention that the city's famous cheesesteaks are "mediocre to gross."

Can we just acknowledge that Philly cheese steaks are mediocre to gross? #DemsInPhilly

Since the post, a long stream of defensive subtweets have been posted at Smith with everything from the time-tested "delete your account," to its rarely seen variants, "destroy your computer" and "catapult yourself into the sun."

@adamsmithtimes hate to do it to you, playa. hint: buy some vowels. pic.twitter.com/ZNCKtUp27Y

@adamsmithtimes catapult yourself into the sun.

@adamsmithtimes leave the planet

Then the tweets turned on Tampa Bay, its cuisine and sports teams.

@Jordan_Lovett @adamsmithtimes Never had the pork rinds and PBR down there but I heard its delectable.

.@adamsmithtimes Definitely not as good as Tampa's signature dish, the Mayonnaise Fish Taco

@adamsmithtimes tastes extra salty after losing to the Phillies in the World Series.

@adamsmithtimes hey adam, can we just acknowledge that the tampa bay in tampa bay is gross? #DumpsInTampa

And finally, the whole thing devolved into Smith's profile photo being turned into head-scratchingly odd memes — essentially the Internet's highest honor.

.@adamsmithtimes pic.twitter.com/UU7cO9ACd8

Smith is sticking to his assessment, though. He discussed his distaste for the sandwich at the end of a Facebook Live politics discussion from inside the Wells Fargo Center, explaining that he'd opted for sweet peppers and onions, and even got a recommendation from a local on which sandwich shop to try at the Reading Terminal on Philadelphia's Market Street.

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"Sorry, Philly. Not impressed," he said. "People were saying you really need to do the actual Cheez Wiz; the death cheese, the day-glo stuff. I'm not doing that so I went with provolone. Maybe that was my mistake."

He also got a few offers from what seemed to be truly puzzled locals who sincerely just wanted to right this wrong.

@adamsmithtimes I'm guessing you just had the wrong one. Hit me up - I'll buy #weregoingtojoes @JoesSteaks

Surprisingly, as of this writing, nobody has used the subtweets to weigh in on the merits of the Tampa's Cuban sandwich or grouper reuben versus the Philly cheesesteak.