Geno's Steaks owner Joey Vento dies of massive heart attack

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: 6ABC

PHILADELPHIA - August 23, 2011 (WPVI) -- The owner of the landmark South Philadelphia cheesesteak stand who once told customers to order in English has died.

<snip>

In June 2006, Vento and Geno's grabbed headlines for two small signs posted at the shop stating, "This is AMERICA: WHEN ORDERING 'PLEASE SPEAK ENGLISH."' Vento said he posted the signs due to concerns over the debate on immigration reform and the increasing number of people who couldn't order in English.

Read more: http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/local&id=8323177

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No comment.

[titaniumsalute]

1. Pats and Genos are both awesome

As a non Philly native I think it is kind of funny Vento told people to order in English. The language I heard from locals ordering didn't sound like anything in English I ever heard.

[BumRushDaShow]

4. You got that right! Some really do sound like Tweety.

:rofl:

[msanthrope]

19. Real Philadelphians eat at Tony Luke's. n/t

[BumRushDaShow]

20. Tony Luke's IS good!

Easier to find parking around there too... lol

[msanthrope]

34. Parking is better,,,so are the sammiches....

[wisteria]

25. Really? I am a real Philadelphian and I never heard of Tony Luke's. n/t

[msanthrope]

33. That is unfortunate. I recommend the Pork Italian. n/t

[FreeBillClinton]

41. You must not be much of a sandwich aficionado . Genos and Pats are horrible.

Geno's and Pat's are nasty. I though only tourists and after-hours drunks went there.

[Nick Hermann]

65. I concur!

[TorchTheWitch]

52. they're both horrible

Which is why we like it that they get all the promotion so all the tourists go there and stay away from the little shops that make the best eats.

[DontTreadOnMe]

2. The Cholesterol God has Spoketh!

Boy is he going to be surprised when he gets to Heaven, and they speak French.

[peace frog]

36. ,,,with signs posted everywhere exorting him to SPEAK FRENCH

Payback's a beeyatch.

[Tx4obama]

3. R.I.P. n/t

[mindwalker_i]

5. Time to meat your maker?

Not exactly a rare honor.

[Hissyspit]

6. And if you don't know English, how can you read the sign??

[Donnachaidh]

7. karma's on a rampage today

:rofl:

[socialshockwave]

8. It seems like common sense(I know I'm going to get flamed here)

If you come to America or Canada where the official language is ENGLISH, you should SPEAK and UNDERSTAND it to be able to do anything.

Duh?

[BumRushDaShow]

9. The problem with him

was that he made it political and became the "darling" of the rightwing media machine.

Both Pat's and Geno's (across the street from each other at 9th & Passyunk) are hot tourist spots (probably frequented more by tourists than locals who usually go to their own local shops in other parts of the city). It seemed vindictive to play to the lunatic fringe talk show circuit in order to get attention and brownie points - in essence turning off any non-English-speaking tourists who frequent this city as well. It's just rude and uncouth IMHO.

[Bluenorthwest]

11. Canada has two official languages English and French

Or so it says in the Constitution of Canada.

[BumRushDaShow]

12. Yup.

Due to Quebec...

[Bluenorthwest]

13. Oui

And yes.

[Davis_X_Machina]

14. As does the State of New Mexico..

[KamaAina]

58. And the State of Hawai'i

ka 'olelo Hawai'i makuahine being the other.

[provis99]

16. America does not have an official language.

Don't confuse it with Canada, which does.

[alcibiades_mystery]

22. The US doesn't have an official language

:hi:

[boppers]

30. No official language in the US. None. Zilch. Zip. Nada.

Underftand? Even the US Conftitution waf written in non-modern glyphf of the time, af waf the Declaration of Independence.

[jmowreader]

63. You don't have the right character to do the Constitution's lowercase S

That's not an F, it's an ancient Germanic S--the difference is the S doesn't have a crossbar, and an F does.

[harmonicon]

31. umm.... news flash, buddy.

The US doesn't have any official language - none. This was by design. When the country was founded, there were arguments about what the official language, or languages, should be of the new country. Since a consensus couldn't be reached, they chose to have no official language. I think it's one of the great things about the US.

[WAFS]

35. It's not the official language in the U.S.

Besides, the business in question is private property. If the guy only wants English spoken on his private property, that's his business. Or at least, it WAS his business.

[BumRushDaShow]

44. Bzzzt. Sorry, wrong answer and illegal as well

http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/usc_sec_42_00002000---a000-.html">http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/usc_sec_42_00002000---a000-.html

TITLE 42 > CHAPTER 21 > SUBCHAPTER II > § 2000a

§ 2000a. Prohibition against discrimination or segregation in places of public accommodation

(a) Equal access
All persons shall be entitled to the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, and accommodations of any place of public accommodation, as defined in this section, without discrimination or segregation on the ground of race, color, religion, or national origin.

(b) Establishments affecting interstate commerce or supported in their activities by State action as places of public accommodation; lodgings; facilities principally engaged in selling food for consumption on the premises; gasoline stations; places of exhibition or entertainment; other covered establishments

Which is why he never actually followed through with his circus side-show act.

[WAFS]

48. I stand corrected.

[hughee99]

62. Is requiring "English only" discrimination on the grounds

of national origin? Two people from Bucharest come to Gino's. One speaks English well enough to order, the other does not. Under this policy, one would be served and the other would not, but they both have the same national origin.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

38. Oh that's right. Because if someone has been in the country for a week and

they happen to be hungry. Tough shit they need to get those English classes first. Or whatever other million factors might be affecting a particular individual at the time. What a stupid ass post.

[roody]

39. No tourists allowed?

[richmwill]

43. You're right

If I go to Japan, would I expect everyone there to understand me when I only speak English? Nope.

[Incitatus]

50. Of course, not. But it would suck if every restaurant there told you to F off

if you don't speak their language. There are other ways to communicate.

The owner sounded like an ass. I'm sure he got some extra business from some teabagger types who liked his style.

[Aristus]

51. Wow. I didn't know anyone could be wrong twice in the same sentence:

America has no official language, and Canada has TWO official languages.

So if you get flamed, you kind of had it coming... :eyes:

[Bluebear]

55. So many right wing theories you seem to favor. Duh?

[Botany]

10. we all have to go sometime

although very bad for you but a real Philadelphia Cheesesteak tastes good! fat, salt, carbs, and onions ..... works for me.

I'll take mine with provolone, onions, & peppers

[tridim]

15. I really don't get the Chez Whiz thing. Provo all the way.

[BumRushDaShow]

17. I never got it either (as a 5th generation Fluffian)

:rofl:

American cheese all the way!

[Renew Deal]

28. I order it wit onions and wit wiz

:9

[October]

42. Having grown up in Philly... we NEVER used to use whiz...

I watched all the fuss with candidates over this... and I was confused.

We just ordered a cheesesteak.

But then... our family never went to Geno's and/or Pat's


Edited to add: And I don't have a (South) Philly accent either --

[provis99]

18. died of a heart attack. Must have lived on his own heart-attack causing food.

I like Philly cheesesteaks, but they ain't health food.

[dmallind]

23. Died in his 70s. how old was Steve Larsen again who died the same way? nt

[boppers]

32. Larsen was 39.

Children also die of heart attacks.

What's your point? That there are outlying data points?

[dmallind]

40. That it's stupid to automatically assume heart attack = bad lifestyle choices, obviously

as your own response indicates too.

[boppers]

53. How does my response indicate that?

Outliers are outliers, the majority of heart attacks are clustered around certain causes, but that doesn't mean they're all connected to "bad lifestyle choices".

[dmallind]

57. The majority of heart attacks are clustered around no such thing.

Typical health-nut-purity-wank. When a guy who runs a cheesesteak stand dies at 71 it's because he ate bad food. When a pro athlete nutrition buff drops dead of the same thing 30 odd years younger it's just an unlucky outlier. In reality of course heart attacks depend on a huge number of variables and the "200% greater chance" the innumerate press breathlessly spews about anyone who isn't built like a twig means nothing more than the fact - the much more certain fact - that buying two lottery tickets gives me 200% the chance of winning $100 million.

Tell me - do any fat or sedentary people fall victim to unlucky outlier events like Larsen's? If not we should really study the outlier-protective effects of adipose tissue.

[boppers]

59. Maybe he had a coke habit, too.... and smoked... and got a bad genetic draw...

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/heart-attack/DS00094/DSECTION=risk-factors

Heart attacks are not entirely random.

[dmallind]

60. not entirely no - but far more so than the facile cheesteaks=he deserved it shite above suggests. nt

[Jane Austin]

21. Adios!

Heh.

[tonekat]

24. Never got to Geno's

But the last time I tried Pat's, it was pretty awful. How the mighty have fallen.

[Renew Deal]

26. I'm sad to hear that.

I've never had Geno's. I've had Pats a couple times. Maybe I'll try it next time.

[CreekDog]

27. all those Spanish speaking Catholics up in heaven

he must hate that.

[frylock]

29. would make for a good twilight zone

[formercia]

37. Drug Dealers shouldn't use their own Dope

The Cheeze Wizz got him in the end.

[Boudica the Lyoness]

45. The tea baggers loved him

according to this;

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/08/24/tea-party-mourns-death-philly-cheesesteak-legend/

[lemonskweeza]

46. The guy loved his community

Vento loved his life and his community. He was not a politician. He was an Italian-American who was a little misguided but made a lot of people happy. RIP Joey Vento. Christ, not everything is about hating the Tea Party. He was a cheese steak guy, for fuck's sake.

[MADem]

49. He was a moron for being so small-minded. I'd have liked to see him learn

Arabic or Chinese, and see how well he would have done. He may have loved "his" community, but he sure didn't love mankind or any other "communities"--even those who came looking for his crappy food with money in hand.

Meanness like that is just uncalled for. It's not really being "misguided," it's being racist/discriminatory/ethnocentric/dumb--pick yer poison.

I have been shown many kindnesses in my travels round the world. I can't imagine failing to return the favor when the opportunity presents itself.

[lemonskweeza]

54. Meanness is uncalled for......

REALLY? Meanness is uncalled for? Well, I believe we have here a perfect example of Pot meets Kettle.

[MADem]

56. I have a right to my opinion. What, you're not supposed to MENTION

that the guy was an ASSHOLE when he was just that?

Please. That's not being mean, that's being frank. Had the guy not behaved as he did (which was BADLY), he wouldn't have earned his dubious fame.

Meanness is when you go OUT OF YOUR WAY to shit on someone, like say, just because they do not speak your language.

You apparently don't "get" the definition of "Pot meet kettle" either.

Have one of those nice days.

[rucky]

47. Vaya Con Queso! n/t

[MrSlayer]

61. As much of a douche as Vento was politically, he did do some good things.

He was very active in charities for fallen Police officers and he was also known to take care of a lot of poor people in the community. As much as his cheesesteaks suck and as ugly as his politics were, he did have good points.

[jmowreader]

64. It wasn't the food that killed him

It's putting up with all the right-wing douchebags who saw his shop as a Mecca of Patriotism.