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Carson Kressley says Philly cheesesteaks are too plain. He prefers the red sauce treatment.

TV star Carson Kressley, who is set to host 6abc's Thanksgiving Day Parade, says Philly cheesesteaks are too plain. They deserve the red sauce treatment.

Carson Kressley is not impressed with Philly cheesesteaks.
Carson Kressley is not impressed with Philly cheesesteaks.Read moreAnton Klusener/ Staff illustration. Photos: The Inquirer/ AP

Carson Kressley, the original Queer Eye fashion expert and Allentown native will join 6abc for the network’s annual Dunkin Thanksgiving Day Parade at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Ahead of the holiday celebration, we talked to Kressley about his favorite Pennsylvania Dutch Thanksgiving dishes, the best place for a classic Philly cheesesteak, and why the famed sandwich needs a little zhush.

There’s no Thanksgiving without his homemade potato filling

Kressley, who comes from a Pennsylvania Dutch family, keeps Thanksgiving dinner Lehigh Valley and Berks County style, he said. That means swapping out traditional stuffing for potato filling. The dish packs in mashed potatoes, celery, parsley, bread cubes, butter, eggs and other ingredients to create “jacked up mashed potatoes.” “And I’m the one who gets to make it every year because my version is my mom’s favorite,” Kressley gloated.

New York Thanksgivings don’t compare to traditional Pennsylvania ones

The rest of Thanksgiving, he says, is pretty traditional. He’s inviting friends to the family farm in the Lehigh Valley from New York. With that in mind, he’s bracing himself for the vegan and gluten-free requests. ”You know the drill,” he says.

When it comes to cheesesteaks, Kressley prefers the regional variety

Kressley, an admirer of Philly history, says he favors Geno’s Steaks when it comes to traditional steaks. But nothing tops the Lehigh Valley version from Vince’s Cheesesteaks in his eyes. The Philly steak is “just meat and cheese,” he said.

“This is going to get me in a lot of trouble, but I like the Lehigh Valley cheesesteak even better than a Philly cheesesteak because we do red sauce on it,” he said. “In Philly, I feel like it’s just meat and cheese. When I get a cheesesteak here I’m like, ‘Where’s the red sauce?’ And then people are aghast. They say, ‘You can put ketchup on it?’ and I’m like, ‘No. It’s marinara, right?’ [I like] a cheesesteak with red sauce, onions, and American cheese.”

Kressley isn’t calling for a battle of the best regional cheesesteak. But he’s not about to be converted, either.

“I don’t want to make any enemies here, but I like the way we do it in the Valley.”

On Dec. 16, Kressley and the “Fab Five” crew will host “An Evening With The Fab Five – 20 Years Later” at Bethlehem’s Wind Creek Event Center. Tickets start at $49.50. For more information, visit windcreekeventcenter.com.