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— Adam Smith (@adamsmithtimes) July 28, 2016
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— John Lamb (@jmlamb8) July 28, 2016
@adamsmithtimes hate to do it to you, playa. hint: buy some vowels. pic.twitter.com/ZNCKtUp27Y
@adamsmithtimes catapult yourself into the sun.— It Me, Veriffied DT (@DirectingTitan) July 28, 2016
@adamsmithtimes catapult yourself into the sun.
@adamsmithtimes leave the planet— Anthony Vena (@venadude21) July 28, 2016
@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.— bob. (@BeeOhBeeRT) July 28, 2016
@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— Fav'd By The Bell (@kwyrauuuuch) July 28, 2016
.@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.— Karl (@PhillySportsMMA) July 28, 2016
@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— The Process Truster (@motherofgrm) July 28, 2016
@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— michael yesvirth (@TheMikes_) July 28, 2016
.@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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Explore all your options"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— Joe Creighton (@RivertonJoe) July 28, 2016
@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.