Cheesesteak Quest: Can Ian find a decent Philly cheesesteak in St. Louis? Yes, he can!

Glorious Cheez Whiz! Is the rest of the cheesesteak "reasonably" authentic? Yes. The steak is shredded and tender, the roll soft but not dissolving, the onions sliced thin and perfectly caramelized; roasted red peppers are a fine, though not strictly necessary, addition. My only complaint is the amount of meat: It isn't quite a grease bomb, and I didn't need an entire day to recover from eating it. That aside (for which my heart, at least, is thankful), it's the best cheesesteak I've had yet in St. Louis.

Not every combination is an unqualified success. I liked but didn't love a croissant stuffed with thinly sliced prosciutto and a tomato-mascarpone spread and then drizzled with white-truffle oil. The prosciutto and white-truffle oil masked much of the spread's flavor, and the prosciutto was packed so tightly into the croissant that the ham's fattier portions were tough to chew.

I ordered the oven-baked mortadella sandwich warily. I love mortadella and capicola, but here the meats are topped with, yes, Provel. Also atop the meats are a roasted red-pepper aioli and a wonderfully piquant relish of artichoke, tomato and black olive. Not only did these provide an excellent contrast to the flavors of the mortadella and capicola, they also worked well with the creamy Provel.

A sandwich with Provel that I didn't simply tolerate but heartily recommend? It's almost as miraculous as a decent Philly cheesesteak west of the Mississippi.