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New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill<\/a> dissed Philadelphia cheesesteaks earlier this summer, and she just doubled down.<\/p>\n \u201cThe best cheesesteaks actually aren\u2019t in Philly,\u201d she declares in a video posted to her social media Wednesday afternoon centered on a recent visit to Donkey\u2019s Place in Camden. \u201cThey\u2019re right here in Jersey, and we\u2019re about to go have one.\u201d<\/p>\n In the video, Sherrill leans against the bar next to a customer drinking a beer and sporting a Phillies cap. The first-term Democrat notes with a grin that a \u201creal-life\u201d Philadelphian is \u201chere in Jersey, getting a cheesesteak!\u201d <\/p>\n She noted in the post that a friend of hers from California had mentioned the cheesesteak place to her \u2014 showing that the acclaimed Haddon Avenue spot, founded in 1943, is known across the country. She said she \u201cnever doubted that New Jersey has the best cheesesteaks,\u201d but had to visit Donkey\u2019s to \u201cconfirm\u201d for herself. <\/p>\n I never doubted that New Jersey has the best cheesesteaks, but I still had to stop by Donkey’s Place in Camden earlier this summer to confirm it for myself. pic.twitter.com\/48JV0PavJQ<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Governor Mikie Sherrill (@GovSherrillNJ) August 5, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Anthony Bourdain felt similarly. <\/p>\n In 2015, Bourdain, who grew up in North Jersey, opined on an episode of his Parts Unknown show<\/a> that finding the best cheesesteak in \u201cthe center of the cheesesteak universe\u201d may require crossing the Benjamin Franklin Bridge. The restaurant proudly displays his quote on its website<\/a>: \u201cThe best cheesesteak in the area might well come from New Jersey.\u201d<\/p>\n During her visit to Donkey\u2019s, Sherrill got in on the cheesesteak action with owner Rob Lucas Jr., whose father, Bob Lucas, previously owned the restaurant. The younger Lucas\u2019 grandfather, Olympic boxer Leon \u201cDonkey\u201d Lucas, was the founder. <\/p>\n Equipped with plastic gloves and a griddle spatula for each hand, the governor assists Lucas by shaking loads of seasoning on a pile of onions.<\/p>\n \u201cTake three pieces of cheese, put it right on top of that,\u201d he directs her in the video.<\/p>\n Sherrill noted she loves onions, in contrast to the three orders of \u201cno onions\u201d ahead of her.<\/p>\n Donkey\u2019s steaks are endowed with white American cheese and come with fried onions on a poppy-seed kaiser roll.<\/p>\n \u201cGuys, the verdict\u2019s in, and you probably know I\u2019ve been going to Army-Navy in Philly for years,\u201d Sherrill, a former Navy helicopter pilot, proudly says, sitting with her creation. \u201cI\u2019ve had a million cheesesteaks. There is no better cheesesteak than here at Donkey\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n The historic Army-Navy football game was first played in Philadelphia in 1899<\/a> and it has been hosted in the City of Brotherly Love more times than any other city. The last time it was in Philly was in 2022, and it will be hosted by New Jersey, in East Rutherford, this year before returning to Pennsylvania\u2019s largest city in 2027.<\/p>\n Sherrill visited Donkey\u2019s in late June the same day she visited Camden\u2019s World Cup<\/a> fan fest at Wiggins Waterfront Park just days before the deadline for her first New Jersey budget.<\/a> During that appearance, local officials praised<\/a> the governor for showing up for South Jersey.<\/p>\n During a speech on the fan fest stage, Sherrill boasted that as visitors flood to the region for the World Cup, \u201cthe best cheesesteaks are not across the river, they\u2019re right here at Donkey\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n