The Ultimate Cheesesteak Challenge- Glen Macnow`s Search For The Best Cheesesteaks In Philadelphia And Beyond
This much we’ve learned living in this town for more than a few decades: You can question a man’s choice of women or criticize his wheels. You might even get away with slamming his favorite sport’s team. But rip on his No. 1 cheesesteak? Them’s fighting words.
“You’ve got a death wish,” a friend warned me when I announced plans to focus this year’s food hunt on this down’s native specialty. “Cheesesteaks are like religion,” said another. “People get crazy if you don’t see it their way.”
Perhaps. But after spending our last three food hunts on burgers (The winner: Rossi’s Bar & Grill in Trenton), ribs (Fat Jack’s in Clementon) and pizza (Tacconelli’s in Port Richmond), we’re ready to tackle the toughest project.
Not that it will be tough to find a great steak. This is, of course, where the product was invented, and everyone has his favorite spot – usually just around the corner. Point is, wherever you live, you don’t have to travel far to get good cheesesteak.
But I am looking for better than good. I want the perfect mix of fresh bread, top-grade All-American beef and melty cheese – with just the right amount of grease,
Thus, allow me to present ‘Glen Macnow’s Ultimate Cheese Challenge.”
Over the course of the next six weeks, I plan to sample every top-grade cheesesteak in the Delaware Valley. With the help of my ultra-secret tasting crew, we will rank them all. I’ll read all the reviews on the air and keep updating the rankings on this site.
To keep the judging consistent, I’m sticking with my favorite as often as possible – provolone and onions. No “Whiz,” no mushrooms, no specials with brie and broccoli rabe. I’ll leave the yuppie cheesers to Sen. Kerry.
In the end, I’ll invite the top finishers to a competition judged by a panel of experts (which is to say that I consider 320-pound Eagles linemen and NCAA basketball coaches to be experts). And, hey, who knows – maybe I’ll even open the final judging to our loyal WIP listeners.
Meanwhile, you can help me now. My goal is to try 40 cheesesteaks in 40 days, and I’m open to your suggestions. Please use the “Post Comment” section of this page to tell me which places I must visit. You may also feel free to question my judgment or second my opinion.
Glen`s Cheesesteak Reviews 1.John’s Roast Pork, 14 East Snyder Avenue, South Philadelphia, 215-463-1951. I love the smell of onions grilling in the morning. And that’s the best time to get to the classic and famous John’s Roast Pork, because it opens before 7 a.m. and closes down shortly after lunch.
This little shack of a place – nestled between train tracks and an abandoned building or two along Snyder Avenue – hardly needs our endorsement. It has been honored in recent times by Esquire and Gourmet magazines, named the best cheesesteak by the Inquirer’s Craig Laban a few years back and even won a snooty James Beard Foundation Award.
So, of course, we were skeptical. No place can be that good. But, tell you what – one whiff of the aroma wafting from John’s had us enticed. And one bite of the $7.76 cheesesteak, and we were in gastronomic heaven. This, my friends, is ecstasy on a toasted Carangi’s roll.
It’s about a foot long and a thing of beauty, as you unwrap the white paper surrounding it. Loads of molten sharp provolone oozed throughout every crevice of the sandwich. Top quality seasoned beef, sliced into ribbons. Onions that are sweet, while still retaining a little sting. The roll – crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside to hold the juices – even comes with some sesame seeds for flavor.
John’s has been around since 1930, and deserves to be recognized as a civic treasure. The day we went, the customers were a blend of cops and blue-collar guys and a couple of dark-suited attorneys debating a case as melted cheese dripped on their legal briefs. A great cross section of this city’s populace enjoying al fresco dining on a few picnic tables as the semis rumble through South Philly.
This is family-run operation, Momma Bucci and her sons, and everyone behind the counter and on the flat grill is gracious – in other words, they won’t holler if you screw up the ordering code.
I run these food hunts every year in order to tell you which places are the best. Folks, John’s Roast Pork, quite simply, makes the greatest cheesesteak I’ve ever had. 2. Steve’s Prince of Steaks, 7200 Bustleton Avenue, Northeast Philadelphia, 215-338-0985. There is a perception in this town that to get a genuinely great cheesesteak, you need to head south of, say, Washington Avenue. Too bad. Because the one we had at Steve’s in the near Northeast should eliminate any geographic bias.
The hand-trimmed roast beef is tender, thickly sliced and doesn’t have a trace of fat. Because Steve’s uses top quality meat (one of my tasters – a former butcher – declared it to be eye round, which would be very impressive) it doesn’t have to be diced into oblivion. Instead, it’s grilled in whole slices and laid across a torpedo roll. Ahh, let your eyes savor this thing of beauty for a few moments before your taste buds take over.
One more plus: The quality of the beef means they don’t have to cook into a vulcanized rubber mess. The pros at Steve’s actually take the meat off the grill when there’s a trace of pink left. Everything else is top shelf – the provolone had a little bite to it, the onions carmelized into a sweet accent and the chewy roll held up its end of the deal.
This is a truly magnificent sandwich, one worth breaking the diet for, a cheesesteak for the ages. Others may haughtily declare themselves “The King;” we’ll bow down to “The Prince.” 3. Chink’s, 6030 Torresdale Avenue, Philadelphia (Tacony), 215-535-9405 The grill is in the window on this Tacony hole-in-the-wall, and if the sight of steam rising from the meat on the big griller isn’t enough to pull you in, then the long line for take-out in mid-afternoon ought to be enough of endorsement. This joint – around for nearly 60 years – knows how to make our city’s signature meal
Any great sandwich starts with the bread. Chink’s roll was perfect – crisper than most on the outside, softer than any on the inside. This was not just two slices of bread to surround the meat, this roll could stand up on its own. The other big plus here was the cheese – stringier than most, almost like a good pizza cheese. The beef was fine, although a little overcooked; the onion beautifully browned.
A few other plusses: The servers are young and – well . . . let’s say, lovely. Since we’ve thrown all dietary caution to the wind, we ordered up a strawberry-banana shake, which was cold and thick and (3,000 calories later) made a great compliment to our cheesesteak. And the juke box blasted a medley of Beatles and Stones tunes, which played right into our middle-aged wheelhouse. All in all, a terrific back-in-the-day experience. 4. Talk of the Town, 3020 S Broad Street (at Pollock), South Philadelphia, 215-551-7277. I’ve learned in my years at WIP never to ignore Anthony Gargano’s food suggestions. So when The Cuz recommended this long-time Sports Complex-area diner, we loaded up the SUV with interns and headed down. Great call. Talk of the Town may not have the big-name cache of some other South Philly staples – it just has a better cheesesteak.
Everything works to near perfection here: the finely chopped onions, which are neatly distributed throughout the sandwich (nothing annoys us more than when onions are just sprinkled on top and tumble off onto our lap); the great roll, soft but not spongy; the thickly-cut, gently cooked ribeye, and the mouth-watering provolone, with an emphasis on the word sharp.
Because of its location by the stadiums, Talk of the Town likes to boast of all the players who stop by after games (they’re open until 1 a.m. on weekends). Maybe so, but we’re not into mixing celebrity watching with our cheesesteaks. Instead, we recommend going early, before games, and grabbing a cheesesteak to take to the ball game. Trust us, it’s a whole lot better than you’ll get inside. 5. Grey Lodge Pub, 6235 Frankford Avenue, Northeast Philadelphia, 215-825-5357 Every time I launch one of these food hunts, I discover (thanks to listeners) a gem of a neighborhood bar that serves great brew and has surprisingly great food. One such place was Rossi’s Bar & Grill in Trenton which won our Hamburger Hunt. Another is the Grey Lodge Pub, a cozy Northeast spot with dart boards, local microbrews on draft and one of the most flavorful cheesesteaks we’ve found yet.
This baby comes with sliced (not chopped) beef, big chunks of sweet onion and a generous amount of cheese. It arrives on a fresh roll covered with flour dust. It’s a tad pricey at $7, but, hey, you’re paying for the atmosphere as well, and I’ll give extra points for a sound system boasting Tom Petty, Cheap Trick and other geezer rock that I prefer. Overall, it’s an outstanding sandwich – tender, succulent, greasy enough to please my clogged heart. A real pleasant surprise.
Only afterward did we learn that Grey Lodge’s fries were named “Best of Philly” by Philadelphia Magazine. How did we miss that? Ah well, a good excuse to return and scarf some down with a pint of Sly Fox Porter. And return we will. 6. Slack’s Hoagie Shack, 2499 Aramingo Avenue, Philadelphia (Port Richmond), 215-423-4020. Full disclosure: Anyone listening to my show over the years knows that Slack’s has been a good sponsor and friend. I am proud of my association with this fine chain of sandwich shops. I am also proud to have sampled nearly every sandwich on the menu, although a little restraint from time to time probably wouldn’t hurt me.
Anyway, I keep coming back to the cheesesteak. It’s top-notch, because Slack’s doesn’t scrimp. They use loin tail beef, with a little skirt steak mixed in for flavor. The cheese is a creamy Wisconsin provolone and the roll is specially made for Slack’s by Amoroso. Nothing fake here, nothing artificial, no liquid injected into the meat. All in all, it’s a superb sandwich.
By the way, my radio partner, Ray Didinger, always orders something called “The Empire,” which comes with all kinds of veggies and peppers. C’mon Ray, why junk up a great thing? Stick with the basics.
Last time I checked, Slack’s has 16 locations in the Delaware Valley, but my favorite has always been the one at the corner of Aramingo and Cumberland. Beyond the cheesesteak, you can get a mean plate of onion rings, as well. 7. Sonny’s Famous Steaks, 228 Market Street, Philadelphia (Old City), 215-629-2760. This Old City steak shop received almost no notice from the thousand-plus folks who put comments on our Cheesesteak Challenge web page, and I’m not sure why. Thanks to my poker buddy who tipped me off., because Sonny’s is a spot that any self-respecting cheesesteak aficionado must not miss. It may not have the notoriety of some of the tourist-trap shops around town, it just offers a better sandwich.
They use rib eye here, fresh-sliced daily and cut thicker than most so that it doesn’t overcook. I like a tender cheesesteak. It may have a slightly higher fat content than some other places we’ve been to, but here’s the rub: They add no oil to the grill at Sonny’s, so the meat needs a little more of its own lard for cooking. All in all, it tastes closer to a good roast beef than your typical chopped hash.
A crisp and fresh roll, thickly sliced onions, better-than-average provolone. It all comes together to
produce one of the best cheesesteaks we’ve had over this grueling six weeks. Sonny’s has been open for less than five years, we’re told. Keep cranking out sandwiches this good, and it should enjoy a nice, long run.
8. Tony Luke’s, 39 East Oregon Avenue, South Philadelphia, 215-551-5725 You won’t believe this – I’ve been to Tony Luke’s dozens of times over the years and never ordered up a cheesesteak. Roast pork with greens and sharp provolone, yes. Veal cutlet with broccoli rabe, many times. But cheesesteak? I don’t know; it just seems like the kind of thing I could get anywhere else.
What was I waiting for? Tony Luke, Jr., one of Philadelphia’s great characters, puts the same care and quality into his cheesesteaks as he does into all of his signature sandwiches. The beef is thick and juicy and not overcooked. The cheese is laid on thick, and it’s tangy – real quality South Philly provolone, rather than the generic government cheese we suspect we’re getting elsewhere. The onions were nicely browned and incorporated throughout the sandwich so that – unlike other places – they don’t tumble onto the floor as soon as you take your first bite.
Several weeks into the Ultimate Cheesesteak Challenge we’ve discovered that the great myth is that you can only get a great and authentic cheesesteak in South Philadelphia. Well, Tony Luke’s may not win our contest, but it is – by far – the best we’ve had south of Vine Street so far. Still . . . next time we’re here, we’ll probably go back to the veal cutlet. 9. White House Sub Shop, Mississippi and Arctic Avenue, Atlantic City, 609-345-1564. We swore going in to this contest that we weren’t traveling as far as the Shore, limiting our search to the Delaware Valley. But so many callers and website bloggers insisted we try White House that we loaded up the Family Truckster and head for A.C. – bringing along, of course, our usual bag of loose change to fritter away at the casinos.
Was it worth the trip? Well, not judging by results at the tables. But the cheesesteak? Yeah, that was worth it. The meat here was first-rate. The onions were terrific – cooked to that great brown color, sweet but still a little crunchy. Top quality cheese as well.
The key at the White House is the freshly baked bread, still piping hot and boasting the perfect blend of crispy and soft. The sign on the window says it is delivered up to 12 times a day by nearby Formica Bros. bakery. Next time we go, we’re going to see if we can get a few of those great rolls to go.
So why isn’t White House at the top of this list? Two things. First, the sandwich was poorly assembled, with a mountain of meat in the middle, but nothing at the ends. (As we said, eating an empty roll here isn’t the worst thing that could happen). And second, they lose a few points for service. We called ahead for our cheesesteaks, but when we arrived, the order had been lost. So we stood around for a while – gazing at all the pictures of celebrities who’ve eaten there. They even have, framed on the wall, a towel that Sinatra used to wipe his brow at his last Atlantic City concert. How many sandwich shops can boast that kind of ambience? 10. Dalessandro’s, 600 Wendover Ave, Philadelphia (Roxborough), 215-482-5407. It’s cramped and a little bit seedy and there’s no menu to speak of. No matter – we’re not headed to this Roxborough hole-in-the-wall for ambience. Our mission is one of the city’s great cheesesteaks and, in that regard, the 50-year-old Dalessandro’s does not disappoint. This is a worthy contender for our title this year.
Start with the roll, which was described as “squishy” by one member of my Taste Team, but struck me as fresh and tasty. The beef is cooked on a big flat-top grill that insiders say is regularly seasoned with fat. Don’t ponder that image too long, just enjoy the great blend of meat and grease. Hey, if you don’t like grease in the first place, why are you eating a cheesesteak?
Dalessandro’s melts the cheese on top, the better to ooze cholesterol-packed deliciousness through the chopped – but not too finely – ribeye. The onions were cut a little large for our liking, and somewhat under-fried. We ended up pushing about half of them off the sandwich. That’s okay, there was more than enough to eat – Dalessandro’s is not stingy with the beef. One more plus: You can order up a beer with your steak. Now that’s a party. 11. Donkey’s II, 7 Tomlinson Mill Road, Medford, N.J., 856-810-0445. We were steered by listeners to the original Donkey’s in Camden, an atmospheric bar with an old-time boxing theme. But in both our trips – around 7 p.m. on a weekday and 2 p.m. on a Saturday – it was closed. So we drove out to the more sterile offshoot in the Jersey suburbs.
Glad we did. This is a terrific sandwich with some of the most-tender beef we’ve encountered along the way (which was helpful, since I cracked a tooth three days earlier). It’s got glorious sautéed onions, ladled on so generously you almost feel like you’re eating onion soup.
Here’s the difference: Donkey’s serves its sandwich on a round Kaiser roll, rather than the standard hoagie roll. It’s delectable bread, poppy seeds and all, and because it’s smaller than the norm, the seasoned meat and cheese is piled high. Bring a bib, this is one messy creation.
Several members of my tasting crew voted to disqualify Donkey’s from the contest, arguing that the sandwich is less a true cheesesteak than it is a roast beef sandwich, similar to what you might get at two of my favorite Philadelphia haunts – Old Original Nick’s Roast Beef and McNally’s H&J Tavern. (I think my interns are just aggravated about their two wasted drives to Camden). Here’s my verdict: Call it what you want. I’m not into labels. Just recognize it as one mouth-watering two-fisted meal. 12. Jim’s Steaks, 431 North 62nd Street, West Philadelphia, 215-747-6615. There are several Jim’s, of course, the most famous being on South and Fourth, where the late-night line of sodden customers – as well as the blessed aroma of fried onions – winds down the street. But every aficionado we know insisted that the best Jim’s is the original Jim’s, just east of the Cobb’s Creek Golf Course. They did not steer us wrong.
Jim’s starts with USDA choice top round western steer beef, fresh enough that I think I heard it “moo” when it first hit the big grill. It’s chopped a little too fine for our liking, but still retains its juices. Put it on a roll that’s soft, but not spongy. Add some provolone – a little sharper cheese than most we’ve had on this food hunt, which means you can still taste it after it melts.
In our mind, it’s the onions that push Jim’s toward the top of the rankings. They’re not diced quite as fine as some other places and they’re grilled to near perfection – brown and sweet and flavorful. Ordering a steak at Jim’s without onions would be like ordering a non-alcohol beer – what’s the point?
Speaking of beer, Jim’s has a decent selection to accompany your meal. They’ll also sell you a salad, although I can’t imagine a single person in history has ever ordered one of those. The cheesesteak is a tad undersized compared to others we’ve sampled, but still a decent meal. 13. Oregon Beef, 10th and Oregon, South Philadelphia. Another favorite of Anthony Gargano and we’ll concede this: The Cuz knows his cheesesteaks. Beyond that, place was unique among any in our hunt. We’re not really sure of the name, and we couldn’t find a phone number. Beyond that, we enjoyed the entire experience.
You order your sandwich through a little window on the side, and the same guy who takes the order turns around and cooks the steak. There was a small crowd old old-heads hanging around the night we went, swapping stories about inept Phils managers throughout history. We felt like we fit in just perfectly, and they were nice enough to invite us into their conversation. Friendly joint.
It only got better when we got our cheesesteak. Nice meat – a little dry, perhaps, but tender and tasty. Good onions, well blended throughout, and a good infusion of cheese throughout the sandwich. Not a Hall of Fame sandwich, but a solid starter. Since baseball was the conversation there, we’ll put it in baseball terms: If our Cheesesteak Challenge were the 1980s Phils, this wouldn’t be Schmidt or Carlton; it would be closer to the Greg Luzinski of sandwiches. And there ain’t nothing wrong with The Bull. 14. Frusco Steaks, 7220 Frankford Avenue, Philadelphia (Tacony), 215-333-0800. When we held the Pizza Palooza contest last year, we lamented that we could not find first-rate pizza in the Northeast, especially compared with the gems of South Philly. Well, guess what? It’s exactly the opposite with cheesesteaks. We’ve come to learn that Frankford Avenue is the old NFC East of cheesesteaks – everyplace plays the gastronomic equivalent of smash-mouth football.
And Frusco’s is right up there. Two big reasons: First, perfect cheese distribution, so that the entire sandwich is covered with gooey provolone. This is, I think, the attraction some people to Whiz – it melts throughout – and it’s an effect not every grill man can accomplish. Here, they can, and if I can get that velvety effect with genuine sharp provolone, why would I go with a synthetic cheese-like product?
Second, I’ve come to learn that I prefer the slices-of-steak-laid-out-on-the-bun technique to the Samurai-with-two-spatulas-shredding technique. Frusco’s, like a lot of the great places in this neighborhood (Steve’s, Grey Lodge Pub), gives you those juicy medallions of steak rather than the dried-out hash. Why would anyone go any other way?
If we have one criticism it’s that the meat was fattier than most, with a few genuine ridges of lard. Like my clogged arteries need any more of that. 15. Chubby’s. 5826 Henry Ave., Philadelphia (Roxborough), 215-487-2575. A Chase Utley relay throw away from Dalessandro’s, Chubby’s suffers a bit from “little brother” syndrome. In sports terms, if Dalessandro’s is the Wachovia Center, Chubby’s is the Spectrum. And, hey, we know plenty of people who have always preferred the Spectrum.
Chubby’s will serve you a beer with your cheesesteak – or even a shot of Scotch if that’s your preference – and the service is a bit friendlier here than across the street. It’s a popular neighborhood hangout and we’re told the French fries are outstanding although, unfortunately, we learned that after our visit.
The sandwich? Good, but far from outstanding. It’s a gristle-free chopped ribeye, packed into a good, fresh roll. But it’s chopped so fine, that you almost get the sense you’re eating ground beef rather than a cheesesteak. And, well, we prefer a little seasoning with our food – this called out for some pepper or spices or something to add taste. We ended up ladling on some banana peppers and breaking open two ketchup packets.
All in all, not a bad steak. If the line is too long at Dalassandro’s, going to Chubby’s makes a fine alternative. But it is the second choice in this neighborhood. 16. Pepper Mill, 813 N Chester Road, West Chester, 610-692-0100. A superb cheesesteak way out in West Chester? Who would have thunk? But Pepper Mill – an unassuming neighborhood favorite at the corner of 352 and Paoli Pike – made a worthy sandwich, indeed.
This is among the better cuts of meat we’ve had. It’s juicy and tender, and you get a generous portion on the sandwich. There’s a little bit of fat in there, all the better for flavor. Plus, at Pepper Mill, they don’t grill it into oblivion. The beef retains some of the liquid.
It’s all nicely aided by the fried onions, and cheese that makes its way throughout the sandwich. Take off a point or two for a roll that’s overly spongy, but, all in all, this is a solid cheesesteak.
My wife, whose idea of fine dining is about six levels above mine, is a fan of a particular French restaurant out in West Chester who you can order sautéed calves’ livers with a raspberry vinegar demi-glace sauce for 26 bucks. I think next time we head out that way, I’ll drop her off at the French joint, and grab a cheesesteak and milkshake at the Pepper Mill. 17. Cosmi’s Deli, 1501 S 8th St (at Dickinson), South Philadelphia, 215-468-6093. First, full disclosure: There is a sandwich named after me on the Cosmi’s menu, which I find extremely flattering. It is not, however, a cheesesteak, and we are reviewing those – and not corned beef specials – in this food hunt.
That said, Cosmi’s cheesesteak is a worthwhile sandwich – soft roll, lots of juice, good price, especially when compared with some of the nearby tourist traps. The place is a full-service deli that turns over a lot of product every day, which means the meat and cheese is absolutely fresh. The beef, I recently read in Maxim magazine of all places, is called “8 oz Wow,” a blend of choice and select grade loin tails, rib lifter and cap/wedge meat.” I don’t even know what that means, but it sounds impressive.
It’s also marinated and highly seasoned and that’s what pushed Cosmi’s from the top of our list. I like pepper as much as the next guy, but this baby had far too much. Hey, we usually order our pepper steak in a Chinese restaurant.
Listen, other experts have named Cosmi’s cheesesteak the best in the city. You should try one. But while you’re there, make sure to sample the corned beef special as well. I’d hate to have a sandwich named after me that no one ever ordered. 18. Pudge’s, 1530 Dekalb Pike, Blue Bell, 610-277-1717. This 30-year-old Montgomery County standard was a favorite with listeners posting comments on our website. “If you don’t try Pudge’s,” one wrote, “your entire Cheesesteak Challenge is a fraud.”
Sheesh. We certainly don’t want to be called fugazi, so we headed up the Blue Route for a try. The verdict? Good – very good in fact. But not elite. Not award worthy.
Give Pudge’s lots of points for a moist, tender sandwich. The meat comes from Altieri & Sons, which a carnivorous friend of ours praises as one of the best butchers around. Nicely chopped, but not diced into oblivion. No gristle, not too much fat. The meat alone would make this baby an all-star.
But cheesesteaks are not meat alone. So subtract points for a roll with no character and, mostly, for cheese that just sat there on top. You’ve got to mix the cheese throughout the sandwich to reach epic proportion, not just lay a slice or two on at the end.
Still, that good beef will pull us back to Pudge’s for at least one more try. That, plus the extremely friendly waitress who called us, “Hon.” We love anyplace where they call us “Hon.” 19. Fresh Works, 407 Baltimore Pike, Springfield, 610-544-4022. In a city of first-rate bakeries, Fresh Works has the temerity to bake its own cheesesteak rolls. And you know what? This bread can stand up to the greats, like Sarcone’s and Liscio’s. It’s a big, crispy roll with a slight taste of sour dough. To be honest, just give me the roll and a couple of pats of butter and I’d be all set.
Which is not to criticize the rest of the sandwich. Good, melty cheese. Sweet, translucent onions. If we have a gripe it’s that the meat was a little tough. Tasty, but tough. Oh, and one more gripe – meat distribution was uneven, so that there was lots in the middle, but nothing at the two ends of the roll. Which, as we said, wasn’t a tragedy, since we enjoyed the bread so much.
Fresh Works is a small chain with restaurants around the suburbs on both sides of the river. At $5.25, it was one of the least pricey cheesesteaks we’ve found. Our advice – order a cheesesteak, but be sure to get an extra roll or two to take home afterward. 20. Campo’s, 214 Market Street, Philadelphia (Old City), 215-923-1000. Any great sandwich needs great bread, and this Mom n’ Pop operation (literally) knows that, because your cheesesteak begins with them slicing open one of those crunchy-but-airy rolls from Sarcone’s. You can even get it with sesame seeds.
They use thinly sliced ribeye at Campo’s, and they don’t ruin it by shredding it to death. The cheese is a bit sharper and muskier than most – but why do they charge an extra 50 cents for provolone? That seems a bit petty. The onions were undercooked, which gave them too much bite. But overall, a fine $7 cheesesteak.
There is a lot of discussion on the foodie websites (yeah, I read that nonsense) about service at Campo’s being downright hostile. All I can say is that I’ve been there a dozen times over the years and always found the folks running this little sandwich shop to be friendly and accommodating. If you come at the right time, they’ll even let you sample items right out of the oven. Hell, they wouldn’t have survived at Second and Market for 60 years if they weren’t doing things right. 21. Mr. V’s Steaks, 193 Franklin Mills Blvd., Northeast Philadelphia, 215-824-2450. A new spot, and a good one. Give Mr. V’s a little more experience, let the grills (and the staff) get fully seasoned, and this joint could move up into our top ten in the next few years.
Mr. V’s is right across from the Franklin Mills mega-mall, and – considered the other dreadful chain restaurants up there – probably your best food option. The staff is overtly friendly (always welcome after a few hours of being dragged around the mall by your wife), and the place is decorated with signed photos of every local sports hero from Tommy McDonald to Rick Tocchet.
And the cheesesteak? A pleasant surprise. You watch through a plate-glass window while the meat travels straight from fridge to grill top. This is important – I’ve been to too many places where the meat lingers for, perhaps, hours while waiting to get cooked. You get a choice of sharp or mild provolone. The onions are laid on thick, although they’re a little too raw for my standards. And it’s all combined on a crispy seeded roll.
All in all, a solid “B” from the professor. I try to avoid Franklin Mills. But if stuck there in the future, at least I know I’ll get a good reward in the end. 22. John’s Pizza, 630 Lancaster Avenue, Frazer, 610-647-4297. Located along a five-mile stretch of, well, nothing, out along Lancaster Avenue, John’s Pizza has been a popular Chester County stop for close to 40 years. It’s a big place, half filled up with a kiddie arcade, the other half with a restaurant that sells quality pizza and steaks. Make sure you pay homage to the autographed picture of Tony Danza.
Anyway, the cheesesteak is worthy. Start with an average roll, a bit too soft and puffy for our taste, but certainly big enough. Good fried onions. The best part at John’s is the meat – lean and tasty, nicely sliced. And they certainly give you more than a fair share for $7.25. We like generosity.
So we’re confused. On a huge roll, with stacks of delicious beef, we could barely find the cheese in our cheesesteak. Did we miss something? Is there a national shortage of provolone that no one bothered to tell us about? I am reminded, for some odd reason, of the old “Kung Fu” TV series starring David Carradine. It was Zen Master Po, if I recall correctly, who used to teach, “Balance, my young Grasshopper, is the key to successful life.”
And to a successful cheesesteak. 23. Leo’s, 1403 Chester Pike, Folcroft, 610-586-1199 We disagree with Leo’s loud band of loyalists who insist this is the top cheesesteak in the entire Delaware Valley, but we will agree it’s the best yet that we’ve tried in Delaware County. And there’s nothing wrong with that. What Leo’s has going for it is good value – it’s a huge sandwich, thickly packed with meat, dripping with gooey cheese and two napkins’ worth of grease, which struck us as the proper amount.
What kept it from the upper echelon, we felt, was a flimsy roll, not befitting this massive pile of beef. And, for us, the meat was chopped too fine. Hey, that’s a matter of personal choice – we’ve learned that we prefer the slabs of beef laid across our cheesesteak. You may like it diced. Feel free to run your own contest.
Leo’s is a longtime Folcroft landmark that announces itself with a big neon sign and the alluring smell of cooking onions. Be forewarned that there’s no indoor seating (a definite drawback in the winter), and just two picnic tables outside. So order one to take home. And share it with a friend. It is that big. 24. Gaetano’s, Route 130 and Browning Road, Brooklawn, N.J., 856-742-1300. Gaetano’s is a franchise, but each owner, we are told, concocts his own menu and chooses his own ingredients. We ended up trying the one in Brooklawn – run by a guy named Allen – and are glad we did. Nice guy, good food.
The menu boasts that Gaetano’s has been named the best cheesesteak in South Jersey six of the past 10 years, although it doesn’t say who bestowed the title. We don’t know about that, but it is a better-than-average sandwich. The plusses: Nice quality meat (they use a loin tail cut), and you get a lot of it. Steady cheese distribution, which means you don’t ever go a bite without tasting the snap of provolone – you’d be surprised how many grill men are too careless to achieve that. And we enjoyed the sesame seeds on the roll.
No real minuses, except perhaps that big roll was kind of soft and puffy. You need sturdy bread to hold up its end of things on a hearty sandwich. If not, as in this case, you’ll go through a dozen napkins.
But no big deal. All in all, we enjoyed Gaetano’s and suggest you try it. And next time, we may venture off our provolone-and-onions diet and try one of their more creative menu items – including a garlic bread cheesesteak and a so-called Jersey steak, which comes with (among otheradd-ons) potatoes and A-1 Sauce. 25. Little Beef’s, 4201 Church Road, Mount Laurel, N.J., 856-722-1101. New Jersey is a fine state for tomatoes, cheap gas (well… cheaper anyway), shoreside bars and even pizza. It is largely a vast wasteland for cheesesteaks. Little Beef’s, located in the Ellipse Shopping Center in Mount Laurel, is one of those good exceptions.
It’s a burger-and-fries joint, with lots of low-cost Italian dishes also on the menu. We can’t attest to any of that, but we will praise the cheesesteaks. Ours, to be honest, had to travel over the bridge, so it wasn’t exactly piping hot. But the meat was still tender and tasty, the cheese tangy and nicely chewy, the onions a little smoky. The roll was too soft, but we’ll write that off to the 25-minute delivery time.
Here’s the bottom line: Between the Ben Franklin Bridge and the Jersey Shore (Whitehouse Sub Shop), we found exactly three worthwhile spots for cheesesteaks – Donkey’s, Gaetano’s and Little Beef’s. You can get a good sandwich at any of the three. 26. Grilladelphia, 2330 Aramingo Ave (inside the Exxon Tiger Mart), Philadelphia (Fishtown), 215-739-3801. Grilladelphia is another place that attempts a different take on the traditional cheesesteak. They take a big Amoroso roll, not exactly a hoagie roll, scoop out the innards and serve you the sandwich in a pouch form. It’s all kind of melted together – sort of a cheesesteak meets Stromboli creation. You need to be open minded to accept this notion.
Difference aside, there’s a lot to praise at Grilladelphia (although the contrived name seems kind of lame to us). The cheese is gooey in a pleasant way. The amount of meat is generous, although it’s not as tasty as most we’ve had. All in all, it’s a sandwich that hits the spot, but is several steps away from the elite on this list. Hey, after 37 cheesesteaks, it was just nice to try something unique.
We think a few versions of this fledgling chain have sprung up around town. The one we visited is located inside a gas station in Fishtown. Ahh, it doesn’t get more atmospheric than that. Bon appetite. 27. Lou’s, 414 East Main Street, Norristown, 610-279-5415. Lou’s is a neighborhood dive of Formica table tops and tile floors – and understand, when we say “dive,” we mean it with affection. Some of the best meals come from the most modest of places. This is the home of Norristown’s famous “Zep,” which is a round hoagie spinoff that’s best with salami and lots of onions.
We hoped the cheesesteak would be equally special but, alas, it was no better than good. The meat was rather dry and would have benefited from a nice infusion of grease. The roll was best described as generic – not up to the standards of some other great bread we’ve had along this trail. Two plusses, however: Lots of melted cheese running through the sandwich, and some of the best onions we’ve had.
We’ve come to regard onions as the Jon Runyan of the cheesesteak – underrated and unappreciated, but essential to the success of the whole. When they do their job, the sandwich works. At Lou’s, the onions are sweet, carmelized and plentiful. Unfortunately, while the onions were Pro Bowl level, too much of the rest of the sandwich performed like Reggie Brown and L.J. Smith. 28. Dimitri’s Steak and Hoagies, 37 East Street Road (at Bustleton), Philadelphia, 215-942-7800. To be honest, we stumbled upon this place looking for another shop (which we since learn has closed), and knew nothing about it before bravely ordering. That’s because, the owner told us, he has been open for just three days. So it’s probably unfair to judge a place this new, but when the owner (Dimitri?) boasted to us that he makes “the best cheesesteak in Philly,” well, we put him to the test.
It’s not the best, but it is solid. What Dimitri seems to know is that a good cheesesteak involves melding – between the meat, the cheese and the onions. You don’t want to taste too much of one and not the other. This cheesesteak stood up. It was a good, generous sandwich for $5.95. And give Dimitri’s extra point for the tenderness of the beef. If we have a criticism – and of course we do – it was the roll, which seemed more of soft, cushy hot dog bun than the standard crispy-on-the-outside cheesesteak roll.
The place was spanking clean (again, it’s been open for three days), but be forewarned, it’s takeout only. All in all, a good solid effort. Not the best cheesesteak in town, but if we were naming a rookie of the year, Dimitri’s would be a worthy contender. 29. Mama’s Pizzeria, 426 Belmont Avenue, Bala Cynwyd, 610-664-4757. Mama’s is to cheesesteaks what Pam Anderson is to acting – jaw-droppingly impressive to look at, but, when you get down to it, there’s not a lot of substance. It is a massive product – wet and dripping (no more Pam Anderson jokes here) with three kinds of melted cheese and sloppy liquid. It’s also pricey for a cheesesteak, although I guess if you figure out what you’re paying for the pound, it could be a bargain.
To put it bluntly, this is a cheesesteak for fat people – there’s no depth of flavor or subtlety of onion aroma. Just cheese – lots of it – and meat – lots more of it and certainly not to the standards of others we’ve tried. I heard a strange noise as I was downing my Mama’s, and then realized what I was listening to was my arteries hardening on the spot. And when we went to throw away the wrapper that came with our cheesesteak, we noticed it was covered with an oil slick that would threaten the ecosystem.
Don’t get us wrong, we enjoyed the sandwich, which can truly be described as a guilty pleasure. We enjoy Pam Anderson too. 30. Rick’s in the Reading Terminal Market. The owner of Rick’s, Mr. Rick Olivieri, has a direct lineage to the inventor of the cheesesteak, so we should all take a minute to salute the moment his grandfather was inspired to mix beef and cheese and throw it on a hoagie roll. Thank you, sir.
And while we’re at it, let me lend moral support to Rick’s in its fight to stay at the historic Reading Terminal Market. Twenty-five years at the site ought to count for something.
That said, this is far from the best cheesesteak in town. It can’t be. Because Rick’s happens to be among the more popular booths at the Market, that means eight hours a day of assembly-line production. And nothing that’s mass-produced is ever as good as something made one at a time.
The line snakes around the corner from Rick’s, and the beef is piled high on the stainless steel grill. That’s the problem really. By the time you get to the front of the line, it’s been 20 minutes, and that beef has probably been simmering twice that long. It’s thrown together rapid fire – roll, cheese, beef, onions – and you get a sense that no one’s really looking out for the quality.
It’s a decent steak, certainly better than the traditional touristy places around town. But you can do a lot better. Next time I’m at the Reading Terminal, I’m going for that “Fresh-killed Amish chicken.” Tough people, those Amish. 31. La Sicilia, 58 South Third Street, Oxford, 610-998-989. Brought to our attention by our Flyers’ “In the Room” correspondent Anthony San Filippo, La Sicilia is a friendly little Italian place in the deep ‘burbs that delivers a good, solid sandwich. Something exceptional here, but you get a well-constructed, moderately priced cheesesteak that hits the spot.
One thing we’ve discovered along the path to 40 cheesesteaks is how poorly most pizza joints are at making Philadelphia’s trademark sandwich. Why is that? How come we can hardly find a spot that excels at both fast foods? Do the two have to be mutually exclusive? We don’t know. But La Sicilia succeeds, at least, in giving you a fine pizza and a worthwhile cheeseteak. And that’s saying something right there. 32. The Phil’s Tavern, 931 West Butler Pike, Ambler, 215-643-5664. Listen, we’ve been a huge fan of Phil’s since we started these food hunts. Its stupendous bacon cheeseburger (with 13 slices of bacon!) was a top fiver in our Burger Hunt. The succulent ribs finished top 10 in our rib safari. So we had full confidence the cheesesteak at Phils would do equally well.
Ummm, no. Although the size of this sandwich reached Phil’s typical “Land of the Giants” status, it didn’t measure up in any other way. The beef had a taste that we can best describe as meaty but not pleasant. Likewise, the roll had no flavor, and became soggy and limp trying to support the massive load of meat. And the provolone – while the most pleasant taste of the experience– was just laid on top at the end and didn’t sufficiently melt through the steak.
We mitigated the damage with some snappy hot peppers and a few grabs from the bowl of spicy pickles Phil’s puts on each table. A draft Guinness didn’t hurt, either. Oh, and one more thing: The Buffalo chicken cheesesteak my friend ordered was surprisingly delicious. I ended up stealing her sandwich and pushing my own off on her. So, go to The Phil’s tavern. Just don’t choose the cheesesteak. 33. Station Pizza, 9319 Krewstown Rd, Philadelphia, 215-676-6969 Our intern skewed the vote upward for this Bustleton eatery – not because the food was especially good, but because he developed a serious crush on the cute waitress. Okay, let’s take flirtation out of the equation (although we admire our intern’s taste here), and say that if you lined up every cheesesteak in the Delaware Valley by quality and flavor, Station Pizza would likely rank exactly in the middle. This is the Pat Sajak of sandwiches – inoffensive enough, but without personality. Nothing exceptional and nothing objectionable.
The meat was tender and not overcooked. We got a sense it was flavored with something, but couldn’t identify exactly what – garlic powder, maybe? The onions were dry and too stringy. The cheese pleasant enough, but without any kind of zip. Good grease quotient, but not memorable in any way.
Is it possible that, all these cheesesteaks into our challenge, it’s all starting to blend together into one big, gloppy jumble in my mind? Maybe so. Maybe I need a week of salads and alfalfa sprouts to cleanse the palette. Nah, we’ll keep plugging along. 34. Larry’s, 2457 North 54th Street, Philadelphia, 215-879-1776. Home of the locally famous “belly filler,” an 18-inch monster that could fairly feed a small village for a week. Beyond that, Larry’s biggest calling is its location on Saint Joe’s campus and its late-night hours. In other words, if you’re a sloshed college student looking for sustenance at 2 a.m., Larry’s fits the bill. If not, there are dozens of better options for your steaks.
My three tasters described Larry’s standard cheesesteak as “dry,” “tasteless” and “unexciting.” It was the texture, more than the taste, that disturbed us – the beef was as leathery as our old high school baseball glove. One of the problems, it seems to us, is that the griddle was piled high with meat when we walked in, suggesting that they cook the stuff in advance and then just stuff it into the roll after you order. We like ours a little fresher than that.
We want to say a few nice things about Larry’s so here are two: 1) You can get pepperoni on your cheesesteak, which gives it a little more zip, and 2) It’s widely known as Kobe Bryant’s favorite cheesesteak place. On the other hand, in this town getting Kobe’s endorsement may not be regarded as much of a plus. 35. Geno’s Steaks, 1219 S. 9th Street, South Philadelphia, 215-389-0659. The neon lights and bright orange tiles here can probably been seen from Sky Lab (or at least Google Earth), so you should have no problem finding the corner of Ninth and Passyunk, where Joey Vento has been serving “Whiz wit” since 1966. There’s a lot of atmosphere here and a long list of rules – we’ve learned that it’s best to embrace the Philly att-y-tude.
What makes Geno’s superior to Pat’s, in our eyes, is the bread. The roll seems better – fresher, yet crisper and more flavorful than what’s across the street. What is it about Philadelphia that makes our city’s bread so terrific? Is it something in the water?
Still, we can’t honestly put Geno’s into our Pantheon of Great Sandwiches. The meat was too dry. The cheese, although doled out generously, was rather tasteless.
Listen, it’s a great experience going down to this corner post-midnight, figuring out 10 ways to illegally park and watching the characters who roll into Geno’s (on our night, it ranged from a formally dressed wedding party to a group of teens who went shirtless despite the 30-degree temperatures). Extra points for how spotlessly clean it is, despite the big crowds. But if your goal is the best cheesesteak around, there are many better options. 36. Steak ‘Em-Up, 11th and Shunk, South Philadelphia, 215-467-2100. Wow, go to the on-line foodie websites, and this place is debated more harshly than Hilary Clinton. Half the critics praise the food and service, the others call it unfriendly and inedible. We had ours delivered, so we can’t attest to the atmosphere in the joint. But the cheesesteak was neither outstanding nor sub-par.
It’s a good sized cheesesteak, and a good value for the $5.25 price. The taste? Neither great nor terrible. It defines average. If this sandwich were an Eagle, it would be Reggie Brown. If it were a Phillie, it would be Pedro Feliz. If it were a Sixer, it would be Willie Green. If it were a Flyer, it would be . . . well, you get the idea. Here’s the bottom line: There are many places in South Philly where you can get a superior cheesesteak. But you could do worse as well. 37. Anthony's Cafe and Bar, 319 E. Girard Ave., Philadelphia (Fishtown), 215-634-0981. We invite our listeners to post their comments and recommendations on the site about what places we need to visit on this Cheesesteak Challenge. We’ve got more than 800 so far, and about 30 said we needed to hit this Fishtown favorite. Never mind that all 30 endorsements appear to be written by the same person, we decided to give it a go.
Our one word review: Ehh. Nothing wrong with this sandwich – well, actually one thing wrong: they don’t have provolone, so we had to settle for American cheese. But nothing outstanding either. Nothing that would spark us to drive out of our way to scarf down one of these babies.Anthony’s cheesesteak was very gooey, which isn’t a bad thing. There was a nice blend of meat and cheese, but we had to grab a magnifying glass to locate any onions on this sandwich. The meat was a little tougher than most we’ve had a long the way – certainly not comparable to the top spots on this list. Bottom line: If you’re wandering around Fishtown at midnight, jonesing for a cheeser, Anthony’s is a perfectly fine place to get your cheesesteak fix. But in this town, you can do better. 38. Real Pizza, 100 North Narberth Avenue, Narberth, 61-664-1700. I’m not even sure how we ended up at this run-of-the-mill suburban pizza joint, where the staff was friendly and the tables kind of sticky late on a Tuesday night. To be honest, the cheesesteak was as non-descript as the restaurant, located about one pepperoni flip away from the underrated Narberth Theater movie house.
Anyway, the roll was a little stale, the meat a little tough and the onions a little sparse on Real Pizza’s $6.20 cheesesteak. Nothing terrible, but nothing worth coming back for. We should have listened to one of our e-mailers, who suggested getting the pizza steak, which comes with sauce, more cheese and a turn in the oven to crisp the top. Next time – well, if there is a next time.
To be fair, asking Real Pizza to compete with some of the top cheesesteak places in this area is like asking Steve Jeltz to go yard off of Johann Santana. Now, at age 48. Swinging a piano leg. 39. Abner’s, 38th and Chestnut Streets, Philadelphia (University City), 215-662-0100 We really wanted to like this University City place, which had the nice feel of a college hangout (translation: beer and coeds) and a terrifically friendly staff. There are fascinating Penn and Drexel photos and news clipping around the walls. In fact, they give out free cheesesteaks whenever the Quakers hoopsters score more than 100 points. Not much chance of that this season, eh?
Anyway, everything was great until we got our actual cheesesteak. The onion chunks were too large, and just kind of thrown on top. The good news: The meat was tender and gristle-free. The bad news: It had all the taste of a cardboard box. Fortunately, there’s a great fixins’ bar in the middle of the restaurant with terrific red hot peppers. Grab enough of those babies, scatter them on top and you can almost ignore the blandness of the sandwich.
The biggest problem with Abner’s cheesesteak was that the roll was as limp as overcooked pasta. Two minutes in, the entire concoction was crumbling in our hands into a soggy mess. And it’s tough to impress those coeds when your hands are dropping with grease and shredded meat. 40. City Line Pizza, 2749 North 47th Street, Philadelphia, 215-477-1535. We have co-workers who praise the pizza at this neighborhood joint. Our advice: Stick with that. Because the cheesesteak was downright awful. Ahhh, where to start? How about with the roll that had the texture of a kitchen sponge? And the taste of that sponge, come to think of it.
The meat on this baby was finely chopped. We’re fine with that technique, but it quickly became apparent that all the slicing and dicing was devised to cover up the toughness of the beef. Rumor has it there was some actual cheese on our so-called “cheesesteak,” but we couldn’t find it. And we sure couldn’t taste it. In fact, the most distinct flavor on City Line’s sandwich was the faint aftertaste of freezer burn.
Let me use this space to praise WIP producer Turtle Golden, who snatched a bottle of hot sauce from the station’s kitchen. After about 10 shakes of the sauce, our sandwich became edible. But barely. 41. Max's Steaks, 3653 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia, 215-229-9048 A couple of people who put their opinions on this website recommended we try Max’s. So we did. Which only makes me wonder afterward – if people who can’t see are called blind, and people who can’t hear are called deaf, what do you call people who can’t taste? Tasteless?
Because anyone who would recommend this cheesesteak clearly has lost one of his senses (as well as his mind). This was a morbidly bad sandwich, dripping with either grease or water or both. I can’t really tell you whether the roll was any good, because it quickly became so soggy that it began squishing in my hands. No texture, no chewiness. The good news, I suppose, is that you can eat one of Max’s steaks even if you have no teeth. As you know by now, we order them the same everywhere – provolone cheese and onions. If there was a snippet of onion on this cheesesteak, it would take Sherlock Holmes to find it.
We want to be fair, so we’ll just say that Max’s cheesesteak is slightly better tasting than that from one hallmark Philadelphia institution (which we’ll rate on Wednesday). Of course, that’s like saying that your girlfriend is slightly cuter than Ugly Betty. 42. Pat’s King of Steaks, 1237 E. Passyunk Avenue, South Philadelphia, 215-468-1546 There’s an old Woody Allen joke From “Annie Hall”: Two elderly women are at a Catskill mountain resort, and one of them says, “Boy, the food at this place is really terrible.” The other one replies, “Yeah, I know; and such small portions.” That’s how I felt at Pat’s – One of the most rubbery, tasteless cheesesteaks we had – and at $7.50 it was almost among the smallest.
It’s a shame that every tourist and out-of-town camera crew finds its way to the corner of Ninth and Passyunk. Because, other than the bright neon lights and all-night circus scene around the Geno’s v. Pat’s rivalry, there is not much more reason to regard this as the vanguard for our city’s hallmark sandwich. Lots of gristle and fat, a cold roll, all kinds of strictly enforced rules about ordering – but hey, at least they let me speak in Spanish on this side of the street.
It is interesting that, of the first 200 people who made suggestions to our website, not a single one endorsed Pat’s. There are dozens of places to get a great cheesesteak in Philadelphia. With all due respect to tradition, we do not believe that Pat’s is any kind of king among them. 43. Bill Pagano’s, 7617 Ogontz Avenue, Philadelphia (Mount Airy), 215-549-1646. Try it, our callers insisted, you’ll like it. Try it, said bloggers to the web site, you’ll like it.
We drove up to Mount Airy and tried it. Thought we were gonna . . . well, let’s just say some people must taste something here that we’re missing. Or, actually, we probably tasted something that others must be missing – specifically, a nice big piece of gristle on the second bite of the sandwich. That’s kind of a deal breaker, don’t you think?
Pagano’s serves a big cheeser, packed with beef and onions, and smelling just great. After that, everything goes downhill. That includes the meat itself, half of which rolls off the sandwich onto the table, because Pagano’s roll is too flimsy to hold up its end of the deal. And while we have endorsed grease along this food hunt, Pagano’s goes well beyond the acceptable limit. Hey, with crude now selling at over $100 a barrel, they would probably be wise to cut back a little bit.
There was almost no cheese to speak of on this cheesesteak, but Pagano’s apparently aimed to make up for it with extra-fatty meat. All in all, a dreadful experience. 44. Sub Shoppe, Cherry Avenue at Fellowship Road, Maple Shade, N.J., 856-779-8505. Rule No. 1: Around these parts, where we speak of “hoagies” and “grinders,” avoid any place that promotes “subs.” Because, we figured out, calling your restaurant a sub shop (or shoppe) suggests loyalty to New York or Boston or somewhere else, where cheesesteaks are not the native food.
Rule No. 2: Never trust the judgment of an intern. We learned that one the hard way, after one of hungry volunteers insisted we try this South Jersey place. Here’s how bad it was: My tasting crew of five – combined weight at least 900 pounds – passed on finishing just two cheesesteaks. A few bites of this gamey mess, and we all withdrew from the table.
My aim here is not to be cruel. But there was nothing redeeming about this alleged meal. The roll had the consistency of a wet Nerf ball. The meat had a gamey taste that caused all five of us to simultaneously scrunch up our noses in that expression you make when you smell or taste something disagreeable. Per our intern’s recommendation (remember Rule No. 2), our second sandwich was a House Special with fried onions, green peppers, mushrooms, pepperoni and extra cheese. It arrived looking like something that had gone through the garbage disposal. Which is no coincidence, since that’s where it ended up. 45. Sun Valley Pizzeria and Catering, 838 Montgomery Avenue, Narberth, 610-667-0500. Several publications have cited Sun Valley’s cheesesteaks as the best around. And when we heard rumors that the rolls here come from the same source as the famous White House in Atlantic City (that review is forthcoming later this week), we ran to give it a try.
What a disaster. How were we disappointed? Let me count the ways: One, the meat, while flavorful, was as tough as beef jerky. Two, we needed a magnifying glass to find any hint of cheese here. And three, on both sandwiches we ordered, the much-touted bread was beyond dreadful. On the standard cheesesteak, it was as stale as Andy Reid’s West Coast offense. And, on my intern’s pizza steak, the roll was burned worse than, well, me attempting to cover, say, Randy Moss one-on-one. A good restaurant is all about quality control, and selling us a charcoal black, burnt-to-the-crisp roll suggests that Sun Valley doesn’t care much about what they serve you. That sandwich should have been in the garbage, not wrapped in foil (hiding the damage) and placed in my intern’s hands after he forked over $6.25.
One more thing – Sun Valley’s menu brags it is “the official food provider of the St. Joe’s sports teams.” If my Hawks miss the NCAA Tournament this year, I think I know where I’m assessing blame.
Glen Macnows Cheesesteak Rankings
Below you'll find Glen`s final rankings
FINAL RANKINGS
1. John`s Roast Pork, South Philadelphia, PA
2.Steve’s Prince of Steaks- Philadelphia, PA
3. Chink’s Steaks- N.E. Philadelphia, PA
4. Talk of the Town, South Philadelphia, PA
5. Grey Lodge Pub, Northeast Philadelphia, PA
6. Slack’s Hoagie Shack, N.E. Philadelphia
7. Sonny’s Famous Steaks- Old City, Philadelphia
8.Tony Luke’s- South Philadelphia, PA
9. White House Sub Shop, Atlantic City, NJ
10. Dalessandro`s- Roxborough, PA
11. Donkey’s II, Medford, N.J.,
12. Jim`s Steaks- West Philadelphia, PA
13. Oregon Beef, South Philadelphia 14. Frusco Steaks, N.E. Philadelphia, PA
15. Chubby`s- Roxborough, PA
16. Pepper Mill, West Chester, PA
17. Cosmi’s Deli, South Philadelphia, PA
18. Pudge’s, Blue Bel, PA
19. Fresh Works, Springfield, PA 20. Campo’s, Old City, Philadelphia
21. Mr. V’s Steaks,, Northeast Philadelphia
22. John’s Pizza, Frazer,PA
23. .Leo’s, Folcroft, PA
24. Gaetano’s, Brooklawn, N.J 25. Little Beef’s, Mount Laurel, N.J 26. Grilladelphia, Philadelphia (Fishtown) 27. Lou’s, Norristown, PA
28. Dimitri’s Steak and Hoagies, Philadelphia
29. Mama’s Pizzeria, Bala Cynwyd, PA 30. Rick’s in the Reading Terminal Market
31. La Sicilia, Oxford, PA 32. The Phil’s Tavern, Ambler, PA
33. Station Pizza, Philadelphia, PA 34. Larry’s, Philadelphia, PA
35. Geno’s Steaks, South Philadelphia 36. Steak ‘Em-Up, South Philadelphia 37. Anthony's Cafe and Bar, Fishtown, Phila
38. Real Pizza, Narberth, PA
39. Abner’s, Philadelphia, PA 40. City Line Pizza, Philadelphia, PA
41.Max's Steaks, Philadelphia, PA
42.Pat’s King of Steaks, South Phila
43.Bill Pagano’s, Philadelphia (Mount Airy)
44. Sub Shoppe, Maple Shade, N.J
45.Sun Valley Pizzeria and Catering, Narberth, PA
