Mayor McCheeseSteak's Cheesesteak Reviews

Pizza Movers and Calzones (Washington D.C.)

2011-10-25T18:30:00.000-07:00

I wish the fact that I had a new place to put on my list was a good thing, but sadly the cheesesteak from Pizza Movers and Calzones flat out sucked. This was one of those especially offensive sandwiches that did just about everything wrong.

BREAD: How many times do I have to say it? Bread is the foundation of your cheesesteak. There's not much you can do to fix a house built on a faulty foundation. The roll for Pizza Mover was a toasted stale monstrosity. It was so dried out that it crunched. It may have been a decent roll when it was fresh, but this was clearly a bagged roll that had been sitting around too long. Absolutely no flavor, and no redeeming qualities except not collapsing under the weight of the anemic amount of meat and cheese on it.

MEAT: While advertised as "Ribeye," this was a lot closer to formerly frozen overcooked unseasoned meat product. The key to good meat for a cheesesteak is preparation. Good preparation makes a "Steak-um" taste like a filet. Pizza Movers had no preparation save put meat on grill, let sit until cooked, put meat on roll, enjoy! No seasoning. No oil. Just bland little pieces of what was supposed to be steak. The least offensive thing about the meat in this sandwich was that there was hardly any in it.

CHEESE: The cheese on this sandwich really intrigued me. It's still a mystery to me if it was provolone or american. It honestly tasted like a mixture of both, which leads me to believe that it was extremely cheap provolone. When you spend most of your sandwich eating time wondering what type of cheese is in the sandwich, this probably means you don't have good cheese in the sandwich.

OVERALL: Pretty spectacularly bad. The sandwich looked and tasted a lot like you had taken a Subway sandwich, left it sitting out for a while, and then tossed it under a broiler for a few minutes. At $10 for the footlong, I definitely won't be heading back.

Philadelphia Cheesesteak Factory

2010-12-06T09:44:00.000-08:00

The Philadelphia Cheesesteak Factory in the Tyson's Corner Mall is almost an ode to everything you could possibly do wrong with a cheesesteak. I'm almost inclined to recommend it just so you can stare in awe at how monumentally messed up this sandwich is.

BREAD: The sign behind the counter loudly proclaimed that these were genuine Amoroso rolls. I disagree strongly. Having had far more Amoroso rolls than any one person ever should, I can say with some certainty that this was not one. It was extremely airy- almost to the point of feeling like it was going to disolve. I was shocked when it held together for the whole meal. The roll had no flavor and started everything off poorly.

MEAT: So overcooked that it was like chewing on rubber. The genius idea at the Philadelphia Cheesesteak Factory was that they had some meat that was just sitting on the end of the grill- not really cooking or doing much of anything. When you weren't looking, they pulled already cooked meat out of a drawer and reheated it on the grill. (I don't mind reheated meat at all- some of my favorite food trucks in Philly use the precooked frozen stuff from the grocery store- but don't try to fool me into thinking you're making this fresh to order.) The process of reheating it really dried the meat out. It desperately needed some oil and seasoning.

CHEESE: How do you mess up whiz? Philadelphia Cheesesteak Factory did. They took a spatula and put a very slight dollop of cheese on the roll, spread that back and forth and then piled the dried out meat on top. If the inside of the roll hadn't turned a bit orange, I would have been barely able to tell that the cheese was on there. You've really got to spread the cheese out throughout the steak, especially when you dry the steak out so much.

OVERALL: The words "Epic Fail" rarely enter my vocabulary, but seem perfectly appropriate here. The sandwich is called a CHEESEsteak. That means you need to focus on the cheese. Here, there was barely any to speak of.

This place also gets special bonus points off for two other reasons:
1) Asking if I want "lettuce tomato onion" and then looking at me weird when I say no. Say it with me kids, "Adding lettuce, tomato, and onion makes it a cheesesteak hoagie, which is entirely different than a cheesesteak." Don't put a sign behind your counter with the Geno's ordering style (i.e. wiz wit) and then act like a person who orders one that way has two heads.

2) Why on earth would you put shredded mozzarella on cheese fries when you have whiz right there? Putting the shredded cheese on the fries and then putting that in the broiler not only adds steps and takes forever, but it makes the fries taste awful. Whiz on fries is awesome. You just dump it on and it tastes great.

Taylor Gourmet

2010-08-11T09:53:00.000-07:00

Ok, this post is kind of cheating since Taylor's does not have a cheesesteak on the menu. But what Taylor's does have that should be of extreme interest to my fellow cheesesteak aficionados is the best (only?) Roast Pork Sandwich in Washington, D.C..

Bread: A Sarcone roll imported fresh from Philadelphia. This roll is a true treat with its crisp exterior and chewy interior. There's a reason places like Campo's swear by this roll. While not as strong of a cheesesteak roll as the famed Amoroso roll, a roll from Sarcone's is always a wonderful thing.

Cheese: A superbly sharp and flavorful provolone. This cheese is so good that at times I just wanted to have a block of it to gnaw on. I can't say enough good things about it, so I won't even try.

Meat: The roast pork in this sandwich is an interesting deviation from your typical Philadelphia style Roast Pork sandwich you'd find at a place like DiNic's. It was noticeably drier. I actually really ended up enjoying this, since it meant my work clothes didn't get covered in delicious pork flavored juices after eating this sandwich. I really didn't find that the sandwich lost much flavor as a result of the (relative) dryness. Instead, I though it accentuated the excellent seasoning.

Overall: If D.C. only gets to have one place serve a Roast Pork sandwich, thank God it is this one. A truly excellent sandwich from top to bottom. The only reservation I have is that these sandwiches are a tad on the expensive side. ($9 for a 12 inch). That being said, you'll probably get two meals out of the foot long, since even your kind and wise Mayor McCheesesteak has trouble downing an entire foot long from Taylor Gourmet. Definitely worth the trip.

JJ's Cheesesteaks

2010-08-11T09:40:00.000-07:00

ZOMG New Content!

I've been out of the game too long, so writing this review is proving more difficult than I would have expected. But like Clint Eastwood in Unforgiven, I'm sure it will come back to me quick enough.

JJ's is a trendily adorned sandwich shop near the U Street metro stop in downtown Washington, D.C.. The menu is a bit frustrating at first because it is one of those menus that feels a need to give all of the sandwiches goofy "authentic" sounding names- like "The Franklin". While JJ's ultimately didn't turn out to be the best sandwich I've ever had, I ended up liking it a lot.

Bread: This was really my only problem with JJ's. The bread didn't seem as dense as your average cheesesteak roll. It's a weird criticism, but something just felt off about it. Other than this minor criticism, the bread was fantastic. It had great flavor and held together really well.

Cheese: Oh wiz. How I've missed you. JJ's did something interesting that not enough places do with their wiz. First, they placed a layer of wiz under the meat. Then they put an additional layer on top. Rather than making a wiz-y mess like Steve's, JJ's seems to have found the perfect combination to get a nearly perfect cheese to meat ratio.

Meat: The meat was completely inoffensive, if not entirely memorable. It may have been the slightest bit overcooked, but there was enough cheese on the sandwich that I didn't notice.

Overall: I really liked this sandwich. I'd rank it as slightly less tasty than Pat's, but that would still rank it pretty high on my list. It's probably the best cheesesteak you can get in D.C. proper (since South Street Steaks is in Bethesda). For the completely uninitiated, I'd recommend a trip for a fairly decent recreation of Philly's favorite sandwich. For fellow cheesesteak aficionado, it's probably worth a trip if you're in the neighborhood, but not solely to go to JJ's.

Quizno's Double Cheese Cheesesteak

2009-10-27T09:37:00.000-07:00

Dear Quizno's,

Please visit Philadelphia before trying to make a sandwich called a cheesesteak. Heck, for that matter, at least visit one your competitors and sample their cheesesteaks before trying to make one of your own.

Love,

Mayor McCheesesteak

I wasn't blown away by the new Double Cheese Cheesesteak that Quizno's has been heavily promoting as of late. You should be able to tell from the picture of the sandwich alone that this was a sandwich made by people who had heard that there was a sandwich called a "cheesesteak" but had never bothered to try one. As part of my sick obsession with hunting down cheesesteaks for this blog, I made the trek to Quizno's and was sorely disappointed with the results.

As a note before the more formal review, Quizno's definition of a cheesesteak is sliced Prime Rib, Onions, Swiss Cheese, and Mayo on your choice of wheat or white. Who knows where they got this "winning" formula from.

BREAD: I opted for white bread, because when you're eating something as unhealthy as a cheesesteak why bother fooling yourself with wheat bread? This roll had no personality of it's own. It wasn't quite an Italian roll, but it wasn't quite anything else either. It wreaked of being some kind of corporate designed "multi-purpose" roll, meant to emulate a lot of different breads rather than being it's own unique type of bread. The seeded roll the sandwich was served on was very unevenly toasted. Save for the toasted bits, the roll was very soft and had very little chewiness. The roll was completely devoid of any meaningful flavor, and instead merely served as a means to transport the meat and cheese from your plate to your mouth. In this vein the roll was a success, as it managed to competently hold together the sandwiches ingredients.

CHEESE: John Kerry can finally order a cheesesteak his way! Meanwhile, the rest of the world will remain baffled at the choice of Swiss for the cheese on this sandwich. Swiss is among the most healthy cheese options (in terms of protein to carb ratios), but that doesn't mean it should go on a cheesesteak. The Swiss on the Quizno's sandwich was mediocre. While there was an abundance of it, it added very little flavor or gooiness to the sandwich. This cheese was passable at best.

MEAT: Another bizarre choice by Quiznos. Rather than shaving or dicing a piece of steak into smaller pieces, Quizno's sandwich features actual chunks of steak. If you haven't seen the picture, imagine that you took a steak off the dinner table, cut it up into tiny pieces with your knife, and then tossed it on a roll. The meat in this sandwich wasn't terrible. It was very moist, though not very well seasoned. It lacked the greasiness that is the hallmark of your prototypical Philly cheesesteak.

OVERALL: Skip this one. There are better more authentic chain store cheesesteaks out there. I greatly preferred the Big Philly Cheesesteak at Subway and the Philly Cheesesteak at Jerry's. Quiznos sandwich was far from inedible, but the absolutely bizarre ingredient choices really hold this sandwich back.

Jerry's Subs and Pizza

2009-10-18T22:32:00.000-07:00

Jerry's is a chain sandwich shop with a ton of locations in the Washington, D.C. area. While I knew the chain for it's cheap pizza, they have, as of late, been promoting their cheesesteaks very heavily. I went in expecting a drab chain store concoction, but was surprised to find a pretty decent little sandwich.

BREAD: Jerry's starts with a fairly standard Italian roll that's pretty perfectly toasted. The bread provided some nice flavor and did a great job of holding the sandwich together. So far, we're off to a good start.

MEAT: The meat is the biggest problem with Jerry's cheesesteak. The meat itself was not that bad. Sure it was frozen strips of steak that looked like something you'd buy at the grocery store, but it came out tasting pretty good. The problem with the meat is that it is fairly dry. I could tell as I watched them cook the sandwich that this was not your typical ridiculously greasy Philadelphia grill. Instead, the grill and utensils at Jerry's looked relatively grease free. This caused the meat to lose some serious points for flavor and texture.

CHEESE: Surprisingly good provolone. Not as sharp as a cheesesteak purist would probably like, but decent for cheese at a chain sandwich shop. While the cheese went a long way towards making up for the lack of grease, it ultimately couldn't fix the problem all by itself.

OVERALL: Much better than I would have expected. Right now, Jerry's is running a special on its cheesesteaks, which makes these sandwiches are pretty darn cheap. If they could fix the "lack of grease" problem, I could see myself coming back and actually paying the full menu price for one. But as it stands now, I can only really recommend it as a cheap alternative for when you're hungry for a cheesesteak on the road. Jerry's also has really great wedge-style French Fries and Birch Beer on tap- both of which cause it to get some bonus points in my book.

South Street Steaks (Washington, D.C.)

2009-07-18T18:50:00.000-07:00

I FOUND IT! I haven't come close to sampling all of Washington D.C.'s cheesesteaks, but I've definitely found the presumptive winner. South Street Steaks, about 3-4 blocks from the Bethesda metro stop and just about a mile outside of the District was so good that it would be a legitimate contender in Philly. I knew I was in the right place when the menu read "Cheesesteak-just cheese, meat, bread & onions....that’s it folks, this is the original way." The restaurant's interior had a tacky faux-Philly sheen and reminded me slightly of Steaks on South. Plastered on the wall were large pictures of Pat's, Geno's, and Jim's. I honestly think this sandwich was better than Jim's, and ranks up there comfortably with Pat's and Geno's.

BREAD: A real Amoroso roll. Enough said. There's a reason this is the roll of choice for so many cheesesteak shops. It has a great flavor. It's the exact right mixture of crisp and chewy. Having had several pretender rolls in my search for the best cheesesteak in D.C., it was very refreshing to have the real thing.

MEAT: They sliced the steak a little larger than normal, but cooked it well. I thought the steak needed a little seasoning, but this was a fairly minor quibble. The meat was succulently moist and had an amazing texture. So far so good.

CHEESE: This is the only area where South Street Steaks loses points, and it's not for the reason you would think. South Street Steaks prides itself on using whiz, but they put the whiz in the sandwich before the meat. Also, the sandwich was a little light on whiz. This caused the problem of having some delectably good cheesey bites towards the bottom of the sandwich, and some good, albeit not great, non-cheesey bites towards the top of the sandwich.

OVERALL: The best review I can give South Street Steaks is the advice I gave a woman who stopped to ask me what I was eating before she ordered- This is, with no pretense or equivocation, the best cheesesteak I've had outside of Philly. Would I prefer it if they drizzled the cheese on top of the meat? Sure, but this is still an amazing sandwich. One bite and you'll think you're hanging out at 8th and Passyunk.

Philadelphia Water Ice Factory

2009-07-12T15:50:00.000-07:00

A recent article in the Washington city paper loudly proclaimed that "It's still possible to find good Philly Cheesesteaks in D.C.!" My response- kind of. Today I visited the Philadelphia Water Ice Factory in Northeast D.C.. The City Paper describes Philadelphia Water Ice Factory as a "salt bomb", yet still ranks it as one of their top 3 cheesesteaks in D.C. since it uses Amoroso rolls. (City Paper currently ranks the Philadelphia Cheesesteak Factory and South Street Steaks as tied for best in the city). I was pleasantly surprised to find the best cheesesteak I've had so far in our nation's capital. But be warned, it'll set you back more than a cheesesteak in Philly.

BREAD: I remain a little skeptical about whether this was truly an Amoroso roll. While the bread was good, it had some problems. The roll had some great chew and some great flavor. It also held everything together nicely. But, the bread got a little too soggy for my tastes. I would have preferred something with a tad more crispness to it. I also thought the roll was a little on the small/skinny side. Especially considering the overall cost of the sandwich- $9!

MEAT: This was the real highlight of the sandwich for me. Very finely diced rib-eye that had been perfectly cooked and had excellent flavor. City Paper was correct, the meat was saltier than any of the other cheesesteaks I've had in D.C. so far, but it also tasted a heck of a lot better too. The meat was good enough that it could have stood toe to toe with some of the more famous shops in Philly.

CHEESE: The only major drawback of the sandwich. I felt somewhat like an elderly woman in an 80's television commercial, because I kept wondering, "Where's the Cheese?". I could taste a light flavor of American cheese, and the sandwich had a little bit of a cheesy gooiness to it, but overall the sandwich was very very very light on cheese. If you didn't know any better, you could have easily thought it was just a plain steak sandwich and not a cheesesteak.

OVERALL: Good. Philadelphia Water Ice Factory replicates a Philly Cheesesteak really well, and I genuinely think this sandwich could go toe to toe with a lot of the mid-tier(maybe even higher) places in Philadelphia. But at $9 a pop I don't necessarily see myself going back any time soon. If I find myself on the "H Street Corridor" again with $10 bucks to blow then sure, but I wouldn't make a special trip for it.

Subway's Chipotle Cheesesteak

2009-07-08T10:16:00.000-07:00

I'm still perplexed about this sandwich. Not only was I surprisingly unoffended by it, but I actually thought that it was rather tasty. As a new promotion, Subway is selling "Chipotle" Cheesesteaks for a limited time. If not for the ridiculous price ($8.50 for a foot long, which equates to a little over $9 after tax), I would wholeheartedly recommend trying one out next time you're not in Philly and have a cheesesteak hankering.

BREAD: Subway gives you the choice of several types of bread. I chose the traditional Italian in order to make the sandwich as much like a traditional Philly Cheesesteak as possible. The bread had some great chew to it. It may have a been a little too crisp on parts, but overall the texture was just about right. The biggest difference between this and your typical Philly Cheesesteak roll was the roll's flavor. The Subway roll was rather bland. Luckily, the bread's great texture made up for the lack of flavor.

CHEESE: Again, Subway has oodles of choices. I opted for Provolone. The cheese was surprisingly sharp for cheese from a chain sandwich shop. It had a great sweetness and flavor to it. Sadly, there wasn't much on the sandwich, so it probably wasn't as gooey as your typical Philly Cheesesteak should be.

MEAT: I saw the meat sitting in a heated drawer and was prepared for the worst. Surprisingly, it wasn't that bad. It was actually pretty good. Not only was it not overcooked from sitting in the heated drawer all day, but it also wasn't soggy either. The meat had a decent flavor, though nothing to write home about. I thought the "chipotle" factor was relatively lacking. I was expecting something a little spicy, and instead this just tasted like a slightly sweeter cheesesteak.

OVERALL: Not nearly as bad as you would expect. If it was offered as a "$5 Foot Long", I would give this a very strong endorsement. Since it's nearly twice that price, I have to ratchet my recommendation down a bit. If you're nowhere near Philly and looking for a decent cheesesteak substitute, this may be the best I've found at a chain store.

Ollie's Trolley (Washington D.C.)

2009-07-02T09:48:00.000-07:00

Nestled downtown about 3 blocks away from the White House sits Ollie's Trolley, a lunch favorite that advertises itself as having been in business for 30 years. First things first, the cheesesteak on Ollie's menu is a cheesesteak hoagie, not a cheesesteak (I'm beginning to see a trend). Thankfully, the courteous staff was very open to preparing a normal cheesesteak. While far from terrible, the cheesesteak at Ollie's was not great. It made had its heart in the right place, but just couldn't overcome its substandard ingredients.

BREAD: A very similar roll to that used at the Steak and Potato company. This was your average sub roll that you'd find at the supermarket. Ollie's toasted it a little, but overall the bread was just a little too bland and unmemorable to make this a great sandwich. It lacked the chewiness of a great Amoroso roll or the heft of a Sarcone roll. I also learned the hard way that this roll got very greasy very fast.

CHEESE: Cheap plastic-y American. No cheese choices here. Not only was the cheese not the best, but the sandwich was a little light on cheese. This made it a little less gooey than your average cheesesteak.

MEAT: The meat at Ollie's was strange. It was simultaneously overcooked, and yet too greasy. This grease quickly made its way from the overcooked meat to the roll, giving you tough meat and an overly greasy roll. The meat could have used a little seasoning. While I wasn't able to see them prepare the sandwich, it tasted like frozen steak slices, not fresh meat.

OVERALL: About as good as could be expected given the poor ingredients. Not a superb sandwich, but certainly edible. Ultimately, I preferred the cheesesteak at the Steak and Potato Company due to its better cheese and its better cooked meat. A note about Ollie's, it gets very busy at lunch time. Part of this is because of the crowds, but a larger part of this is because the service is a little slow. I went about a 15 minutes before the lunch rush and still ended up waiting almost 10 minutes for my sandwich. Also, the "combo" was a little pricey. Decent fries, a soda, and the sandwich was $10.

Line Etiquette

2009-06-29T19:08:00.000-07:00

One of the most notorious pieces of Philly Cheesesteak lore is that cheesesteak joints in Philadelphia will send you to the back of the line unless you perfectly utter the secret code, known only by a handful of locals and the person behind the counter. Virtually everyone has a "friend of a friend" who saw someone sent back to the line at Geno's for having the audacity to say "cheese whiz and onions" as opposed to the fabled "wiz wit'". I would contend that while people in Philadelphia can be rude, that these stories are for the most part urban legends. However, they do bring up the issue of being ready to order by the time you get to the front of the line, which I feel is a very important piece of social etiquette that seems to have been lost somewhere.

Few things are more frustrating as a consumer than waiting in line behind someone who wants to turn ordering a sandwich into a conversation. You've seen these people before:

"I'd like a steak sandwich with cheese."

"What kinds of cheeses do you have?" "Do you have (cheese not listed by person behind the counter or listed on any sign in the shop)?"

"Hmm, well I think it'd be great if you had that cheese. Can you put some mustard on it? I like yellow mustard."

"Now how does that come out? Do you serve it in baskets? I love those places that have the cute little red baskets they put all the food in. Just like Johnny Rockets. Is there one of those nearby?"

"Oh by they way, do you know how to get to (random completely unrelated place that is nowhere nearby)?"

And so on and so on. Even worse are the people who get to the front of the line and then seem baffled by the idea that they have been called upon to order. "I need a minute."

As your mayor, I urge you fellow consumers, be kind to the others in line. Rather than chit-chatting with your friends or staring at the scenery, take time to actually look at the menu. Figure out what everyone you are ordering with wants, and make sure you have that order down before you get to the front of the line. Not only will you make the line move faster, but you'll make the people in line behind you and the people behind the counter much happier.

The Great Steak and Potato Company (First DC Cheesesteak Reveiw! )

2009-06-26T13:01:00.000-07:00

(Blogger's Note- This is the first in a series on my quest to find a great cheesesteak in Washington D.C.)

I stopped at Union Station today. Tucked away in the back corner of the station's massive foodcourt is a tiny little stand called the "Great Steak and Potato Company". Now Philly cheesesteak purest will be dismayed immediately, as Steak and Potato's idea of a cheesesteak is steak, cheese, onions, lettuce, tomato, and mayo. Sure, we all know that's a cheesesteak hoagie, but apparently they didn't get the memo. Thankfully, the staff was pleasant and it was easy enough to get a normal cheesesteak. I have to admit I was surprised by my sandwich. While it was a far cry from the best I've ever had, it wasn't altogether terrible either. Considering I've been away from the City of Brotherly Love for a little over a month now, I was just happy to have something remotely resembling a cheesesteak, and this sandwich did not disappoint.

BREAD: The biggest problem with this sandwich was the roll. It was a little too chewy, and could have used a little more crisp. Don't get me wrong, this wasn't the kind of mushy mess of a roll that they serve at Larry's, but it wasn't a perfectly toasted Amoroso roll either. Overall, the bread, like most of the sandwich, was adequate, though not extraordinary.

CHEESE: Choices of Provolone or Swiss. Swiss? Not sure where they got that one from. I went with the provolone and it was pretty decent. I think it was mild, not sharp, but it did a decent job of providing some great flavor and getting the sandwich that perfect level of gooey. One thing I noticed was that the cooks here left the cheese on top of the meat on the grill about twice as long as most places in Philly do. It worked out well, and the cheese was probably the best part of this sandwich.

MEAT: Frozen steak slices chopped up on the grill. The Philly cheesesteak purest would be truly offended. I'll admit, the meat wasn't nearly as flavorful as some of Philly's better institutions, but it wasn't altogether bad either. It had been cooked well. I thought the sandwich seemed a little light on meat, but not offensively so.

OVERALL: Not too bad. In Philly this place would seem pretty mediocre, but I'm hoping it's a promising start to my D.C. Cheesesteak adventure.

In Search Of A Decent Cheesesteak While On The Road

2009-06-25T19:21:00.001-07:00

Cheesesteak aficionados, I'm in a position that I'm sure many of you can relate to. I'm away from the Philadelphia area and desperately crave something resembling a genuine Philly Cheesesteak. I've currently taken up residence in our Nation's Capital, and so far I've had no luck in finding any place that looks remotely promising. Tomorrow is going to be my first attempt at sampling what passes for a cheesesteak in these here parts. On the list for sampling in DC are:

The Philadelphia Cheesesteak Factory
The Steak and Potato Company
Penn Grill
Z-Burger
Ollie's Trolley

Honestly, this looks like a pretty abysmal list so far, so suggestions from cheesesteak fans in the DC Metro area would be much appreciated.

99

2009-06-15T12:50:00.000-07:00

Hey fellow cheesesteak fanatics. Long time no see. I've had a million things going on that have prevented me from putting up any new cheesesteak reviews, but this weekend I was lucky enough to go to a place that had cheesesteaks on the menu. 99 is a chain restaurant a la Applebee's or Friday's. I don't know why I expected to find a decent cheesesteak here. (I think it had something to do with not having had a cheesesteak in over a month) Our appetizers were actually quite good, but the cheesesteak was a special kind of bad.

BREAD: FAIL! This soggy miserable excuse for a roll imploded under the weight of the sandiwch. Not only did the roll do nothing to add any flavor or texture to the sandwich, it actually had its own bad flavor.

MEAT: Really overcooked and lacking anything remotely resembling flavor or seasoning. This meat was really dry and really gross. Not that I really noticed because of the absolutely horrendous meat to cheese ratio.

CHEESE: To be honest, my first reaction when seeing this sandwich was that the cook had taken the entire can of whiz and dumped it over the sandwich. It was absolutely overflowing in the worst way possible. To make matters worse, it was bland and cold. Yuck.

VERDICT: I didn't expect much from a chain restaurant, but I expected it to at least be edible. I barely got down half of this poor excuse for a sandwich. Terrible in every way possible

CURRENT TALLY:

1. John's Roast Pork
2. Steaks on South
3. Tony Luke's
4. Steve's
5. Chinks
6. Grilladelphia
7. Campo's
8. Pat's
9. Donkey's
10. Gul's
11. Jim's
12. Geno's
13. Cosmi's
14. Dalessandro's
15. Suburban Diner
16. Larry's
17. Chubby's
18. Steak Queen
19. 99
20. Abner's

A Very Special Mayor McCheesesteak

2009-05-13T13:39:00.001-07:00

What I ate today doesn't technically qualify as a cheesesteak, but it sure tried its darndest to be. Today we sampled a "cheeseteak" from the Basic Four Vegetarian Snack Bar at Reading Terminal. Many believe that Basic Four is home to some of the best vegan food in the city. While it wasn't nearly as yummy as a real cheesesteak from John's Roast Pork, the sandwich really wasn't as bad as you would have expected. Not only that, but I didn't feel anywhere near as gross after finishing this bad boy as I do after downing a normal cheesesteak.

BREAD: This looked like and tasted like a whole grain roll. It held together very well and was adequately chewy. Not as good as an Amoroso or Sarcone roll, but not nearly as bad as some of the worst rolls on this list (See Abner's, Louie's, etc.)

MEAT: Well this really wasn't meat, but instead it was some type of protein subsitute. They grilled it up very well and whatever it exactly was tasted something like steak. Could have used a little seasoning.

CHEESE: The cheese was one of the weaker points of the sandwich. I'm not sure if this was American cheese or "vegan" cheese, but it tasted a little plastic-y. The meat to cheese ratio was a little off, and I thought that the sandwich could have done with a little less cheese.

OVERALL: Not nearly as bad as I would have expected. While not my cup of tea, it was a great alternative for your vegan/vegetarian friends.

Donkey's

2009-05-07T12:54:00.000-07:00

Wowza! I was not at all prepared for the "deliciousness" offered by Donkey's. Donkey's is the diviest dive I have ever been to. Located just outside the heart of Camden, this place served a variation on a Philly cheesesteak that was absolutely awesome. No wonder Ed Rendell listed this as his favorite cheesesteak in New Jersey. If only the sandwiches weren't so expensive, I would have ranked this one very highly.

BREAD: A first on the list- a sesame seed roll. While purists will scoff, I thought the roll was pretty great. It did a more than adequate job holding everything in, and didn't get too mushy (as many smaller rolls tend to do when used for cheesesteaks). Now I've heard that with Donkey's absolutely delicious onions the roll got a little too soggy, but in my test it was great.

MEAT: Squares of meat that were sliced like thin pieces of American cheese. The meat was absolutely delicious here. It was the perfect balance of tender, chewy, and moist. I almost ordered a second sandwich based on the meat alone. This must be why Ed Rendell asked the owner of Donkey's to open a shop in Philadelphia.

CHEESE: The sandwich was a little light on cheese, but not terribly so. You had a choice of American, or American, or American, so those looking for a great provolone or whiz need look elsewhere. I thought the sandwich had an adequate cheese to meat ratio, but some of my fellow reviewers remarked that they felt the sandwich was somewhat lacking the cheese department.

VERDICT: Absolutely awesome sandwich. I devoured mine and very nearly went for seconds. The sandwich is completely non-traditional, bucking many cheesesteak conventions, but it tastes just as good as many of the highest ranked sandwiches on the list. In case you couldn't tell, I was really blown away by this sandwich. Donkey's does have 3 huge drawbacks that will prevent me from going back 1) Location - The middle of Camden, need I say more? 2) Hours - 9-5 Monday through Friday 3) Price - $6.50 for a relatively small sandwich. If you're in the neighborhood, this place is definetely worth the stop.

CURRENT TALLY:

1. John's Roast Pork
2. Steaks on South
3. Tony Luke's
4. Steve's
5. Chinks
6. Grilladelphia
7. Campo's
8. Pat's
9. Donkey's
10. Gul's
11. Jim's
12. Geno's
13. Cosmi's
14. Dalessandro's
15. Suburban Diner
16. Larry's
17. Chubby's
18. Steak Queen
19. 99
20. Abner's

Steak Queen

2009-04-21T15:15:00.000-07:00

I was on my way to Bui's, a famous West Philly food truck at the corner of 38th and Spruce, when I passed by this smaller less crowded truck that had a giant sign on the side proclaiming "Best Steaks on Campus". This claim was far from true. Not only was it far from the best steak in Philly, it wasn't even close to the best steak on campus.

BREAD: DISGUSTING! This was the second worst roll I have ever had a cheesesteak on. The only reason it rates higher than Abner's is because it held together. It was mushy and tasted like it may have been sitting on the floor in a pile of sludge.

MEAT: Not a huge surprise, but the meat was over cooked. It was poorly seasoned and really bland.

CHEESE: The whiz was the only thing right with this sandwich. The sandwich had an adequate cheese to meat ratio and the whiz tasted how it was supposed to.

VERDICT: A very bad sandwich. I'm only giving it a leg up over Abner's because it stayed in one piece and because Steak Queen had some very cool ideas for cheesesteak variations on its menu (like a buffalo cheesesteak with hot sauce and blue cheese). If you're in the neighborhood head to Bui's or Gul's for a far superior sandwich.

CURRENT TALLY:

1. John's Roast Pork
2. Steaks on South
3. Tony Luke's
4. Steve's
5. Chinks
6. Grilladelphia
7. Campo's
8. Pat's
9. Donkey's
10. Gul's
11. Jim's
12. Geno's
13. Cosmi's
14. Dalessandro's
15. Suburban Diner
16. Larry's
17. Chubby's
18. Steak Queen
19. 99
20. Abner's

Tony Luke's Part 2

2009-04-21T08:21:00.001-07:00

I was treated to free Tony Luke's last night, and it inspired me to write about it again because I think I may have undersold just how good this sandwich is in my previous post. The more places I add to the list, the more I think the effect of recency is skewing the list. So in the interest of fairness, I'm going to reevaluate this ballpark favorite.

BREAD: The bread at Tony Luke's is top notch! The sandwich comes out on an Amoroso roll that has the perfect bit of crunch and chew to it. The roll had great flavor which really added to the overall taste of the sandwich. Based on roll alone, this sandwich has got to move up a few notches on my list.

MEAT: The slices of steak are a little bit larger than your average slices. While very well cooked, I would have preferred it to have been slightly better seasoned. A little oilier and greasier than normal. This is a traditional cheesesteak in the sense that it can make quite the mess.

CHEESE: Great whiz that perfectly coupled with the meat. The only problem was somewhat imperfect distribution. I had a lot more whiz than I would have liked on the bottom of the sandwich, and not nearly as much as I would have liked on the top of the sandwich. Not the worst of sins, but enough to keep Tony Luke's from jumping up to the top spot.

VERDICT: Well worth the trip even if you're not going to the ballpark. One of the best sandwiches in the city, and probably the best "traditional" cheesesteak you're going to find.

CURRENT TALLY:

1. John's Roast Pork
2. Steaks on South
3. Tony Luke's
4. Steve's
5. Chinks
6. Grilladelphia
7. Campo's
8. Pat's
9. Donkey's
10. Gul's
11. Jim's
12. Geno's
13. Cosmi's
14. Dalessandro's
15. Suburban Diner
16. Larry's
17. Chubby's
18. Steak Queen
19. 99
20. Abner's

Suburban Diner

2009-04-19T10:37:00.000-07:00

Trying to find a good cheesesteak at a diner reminds me a lot of the old Pace Picante Sauce commercials which opined that you can't get real salsa from New York City. But at this point, my cheesesteak adventure has become something akin to a compulsion, so I tried for the cheesesteak at this Southhampton, PA (just north of Philadelphia) favorite. The sandwich certainly wasn't great, but it could have been a lot worse.

BREAD: The bread was the biggest problem with this sandwich. The roll was far too toasted. Instead of a nice warm roll with maybe a little crunch, parts of my sandwich were like eating a cheesesteak on toasted white bread. The parts of the roll that hadn't been toasted too much weren't actually that bad.

MEAT: Relatively small slices of steak that had been overcooked. The meat in this sandwich was a little bland, but tasted significantly better after a little seasoning. Overall, it probably could have used a little oil to make up for the dryness.

CHEESE: Nothing wrong with the cheese here. Great tasting slices of American melted on top. This sandwich had a very solid meat to cheese ratio, which was a major plus and probably the best aspect of the sandwich.

VERDICT: If you're in Southampton then this isn't a terrible place to grab a bite to eat. Not worth a trip out of the city for, but honestly, what more would you expect from a cheesesteak at a diner?
CURRENT TALLY:

1. John's Roast Pork
2. Steaks on South
3. Tony Luke's
4. Steve's
5. Chinks
6. Grilladelphia
7. Campo's
8. Pat's
9. Donkey's
10. Gul's
11. Jim's
12. Geno's
13. Cosmi's
14. Dalessandro's
15. Suburban Diner
16. Larry's
17. Chubby's
18. Steak Queen
19. 99
20. Abner's

5 Random Thoughts On What Makes A Great Cheesesteak

2009-04-16T07:29:00.000-07:00

Over the course of 16 cheesesteaks, I've learned a lot about what makes a great sandwich. I never really thought that there could be so many variations in style and quality in something as simple as a cheesesteak. I've had the great pleasure of trying some truly excellent sandwiches, and below I've listed some of the lessons I've learned so far.

1. The Bread Is The Most Important Factor In A Truly Great Cheesesteak.

I've seen so many good sandwiches ruined by bad bread. Larry's, for example, would have probably been a pretty decent, albeit not great sandwich, had it been served on a warm crisp Amoroso roll, instead of the limp soggy excuse for a roll that I received. Similarly, I've seen many mediocre sandwiches propelled higher on the list because of a great roll. Even when I've gotten overcooked meat at John's Roast Pork, the sandwich still tastes great because of the amazing roll. A great cheesesteak roll needs to be strong enough to hold in the ingredients (looking your way Abner's), and should provide a little flavor to the overall taste of the sandwich.
Bread- It's so simple, yet so often overlooked.

2. Amoroso Rolls Are Not The Be All An End All

Unlike Ed Rendell, I don't think that you necessarily need an Amoroso roll in order to have a great sandwich. In fact, many of my favorite sandwiches, such as Campo's and Grilladelphia, forgo the traditional Amoros roll. Amoroso rolls are definitely tasty and are an iconic part of Philadelphia's cheesesteak lore, but they aren't essential in order to have a great sandwich.

3. The Meat Needs Some Grease

Dry meat can kill an otherwise great sandwich. I know that we live in a very health conscious world, but I sincerely doubt that a less greasy sandwich covered in whiz is a significantly healthier option than a greasier sandwich. I'm certainly not advocating for sandwiches dripping with grease, but too little causes the sandwiches to be too dry and loose too much flavor.

4. Whiz Is Great! But Other Cheeses Are Too.

I love whiz. I could probably eat it straight from the jar. It is perfect for cheesesteaks. Not only does it add a great flavor, but it can help make up for overcooked meat by adding a little gooiness to the sandwich. I'm not sure there's a good reason to not have whiz available as an option, and I think some already great sandwiches (Chink's in particular) might taste extraordinary with the addition of whiz.

I've gone back and forth between American and Provolone as a secondary cheese. Ultimately I've decided that I prefer American. While I love Provolone cheese, I think its ultimately a drier cheese than I'd prefer for a cheesesteak. American melts slightly better and has a less sharp taste that, in a way, mimics the gooieness created by whiz.

5. The Meat To Cheese Ratio Can Make Or Break A Sandwich

This seems like a no-brainer, yet tons of places get this wrong. Too much cheese and you have a gross gooey mess. Too much steak and you have a bland flavorless steak sandwich. The perfect cheese to steak ratio puts enough cheese in the sandwich to make it a little messy, but not so much that the sandwich overflows with every bite.

Grilladelphia

2009-04-16T07:10:00.000-07:00

Sometimes its fun when my regular group can't make it to our normal Wednesday outing. It means I get to try weird, new, and different places. Grilladelphia is located in Fishtown, and by mere appearances alone should not be the kind of place that serves a good cheesesteak. Grilladelphia is tucked away in a Exxon station, and was virtually abandoned when I got there at about 12:30pm on a Wednesday afternoon. That being said, I was pleasantly surprised by this really cool variation on the Philly cheesesteak.

BREAD: The bread is the big attraction for Grilladelphia. Rather than just taking your average sandwich roll, Grilladelphia takes a signifigantly larger circular roll and cuts it in half. They then rip about 1/2-3/4 of the bread out of the middle of the roll, creating a rather unique sandwich pouch. While I've heard it compared to a stromboli, I think the comparison is off. The pouch is made of a much more traditional sandwich-y type bread, than your average stromboli, which is often made out of something more akin to a pizza dough. Ultimately, while the pouch is the big draw for Grilladelphia, it is also part of what keeps this otherwise great sandwich out of the top spots. Once you're past the novelty of the pouch, you are ultimately left with bread that while good, is not as great as an Amoroso or Sarcone roll.

MEAT: Medium to small slices of steak that had been grilled to perfection. The steak was a little bit saltier than your average cheesesteak, but I really enjoyed that. Then again, I'm the type that usually finds myself putting salt on everything anyway. The meat had a great flavor and was just the right amount of greasy.

CHEESE: I was initially a little skeptical of the whiz here. While they were putting the sandwich together the whiz looked a little bit thinner than normal. I was pleasantly surprised by my perfectly gooey sandwich. Grilladelphia had one of, if not the best, meat to cheese ratios of any of the sandwiches I've sampled so far. Not so gooey that I was covered in cheese afterwards, like Steve's, yet not so lacking in cheese that I thought I had inadvertently been served a plain steak sandwich, like Dalesandro's. The whiz had a great flavor and really added to the overall taste of this sandwich.

VERDICT: Worth the trip. Grilladelphia makes one heck of a sandwich. Not only are they really tasty, but they are pretty cheap too. A "Half Pounder" pouch will only run you $5, and will fill you just as well as a traditional cheesesteak. Not only that, but they had some great specials available as well. Overall, the meat and cheese in this sandwich were absolutely top notch. The only thing keeping it out of the top spots is that the bread, while novel, isn't the best.

CURRENT TALLY:

1. John's Roast Pork
2. Steaks on South
3. Tony Luke's
4. Steve's
5. Chinks
6. Grilladelphia
7. Campo's
8. Pat's
9. Donkey's
10. Gul's
11. Jim's
12. Geno's
13. Cosmi's
14. Dalessandro's
15. Suburban Diner
16. Larry's
17. Chubby's
18. Steak Queen
19. 99
20. Abner's

Campo's Deli

2009-04-08T11:49:00.000-07:00

Campo's has been an Old City institution for over 60 years. Over that time it's inspired a lot of debate. On the one hand, there are many who swear by these hearty sandwiches (Rated "Best in Philly 2007"). On the other hand, there are a lot of detractors who hate the service and the sandwiches, most noticeably WIP's Glen Macnow who ranks this spot 20th in his famous Cheesesteaks of Philadelphia list. I ended up somewhere in the middle. While I walked away happy and full, I wouldn't say its the best sandwich I've ever had.

BREAD: The seeded Sarcone roll served at Campo's is a really nice change of pace. This thing was monstorous, and probably one of the biggest sandwiches on the list. The roll had great flavor, and coupled well with the larger than normal slices of steak. The only downside of the roll was that it was a little crunchier and thicker than your average Amoroso roll. As one gentleman put it, "You need some serious jaw power to bite into this thing."

MEAT: This sandwich had some of the thickest and longest slices of steak of any of the sandwiches I've seen. Not quite as long as the strips at Steve's but definitely thicker. I would have liked the meat to have been seasoned a little bit better, and I thought that it was a little chewier than normal. This could have, however, been because of how thick the slices were. The meat was also a lot less greasy than the meat at other places. While this may be a plus for some, I wasn't the hugest fan.

CHEESE: The whiz was good, though the sandwich was a little light on cheese overall. I would have liked just a tad more to make the sandwich a little gooier. I think a little more gooieness might have helped to make up for the lack of greasiness.

VERDICT: Pretty darn tasty. This was by far the most hearty sandwich I've reviewed. Be prepared for a big honking sandwich when you sit down, because you'll have your work cut out for you with one of these. While very good overall, what ultimately keeps it out of the top of my list is that it could have used to be a little less tough (thick crusty bread and thick slices of meat) and a little bit gooier (Lack of grease and too little cheese).

CURRENT TALLY:

1. John's Roast Pork
2. Steaks on South
3. Tony Luke's
4. Steve's
5. Chinks
6. Grilladelphia
7. Campo's
8. Pat's
9. Donkey's
10. Gul's
11. Jim's
12. Geno's
13. Cosmi's
14. Dalessandro's
15. Suburban Diner
16. Larry's
17. Chubby's
18. Steak Queen
19. 99
20. Abner's

Gul's Lunch Truck University City

2009-04-02T11:26:00.000-07:00

At the corner of 36th and Market Street sits this tiny little lunch truck with a huge line. While not perfect, Gul's was the best cheese steak I've ever had from a truck, and far better than any other sandwich in the University City/West Philly area.

BREAD: A pretty solid roll. Not the most flavorful, but I've had far worse. Nice and chewy.

MEAT: Well seasoned smaller sized slices of steak. The only major downside of this sandwich was that it was a little overcooked.

CHEESE: Fairly generic American under the meat, so not a great melt through. Good cheese that got better once the sandwich had some time to sit and ooze together.

VERDICT: I'll be going back. While not a perfect sandwich, I don't think you can do much better in the University City/West Philly area. My only major complaint is the meat being a little overcooked, but the sandwich was still pretty darn tasty.

CURRENT TALLY:

1. John's Roast Pork
2. Steaks on South
3. Tony Luke's
4. Steve's
5. Chinks
6. Grilladelphia
7. Campo's
8. Pat's
9. Donkey's
10. Gul's
11. Jim's
12. Geno's
13. Cosmi's
14. Dalessandro's
15. Suburban Diner
16. Larry's
17. Chubby's
18. Steak Queen
19. 99
20. Abner's

Cosmi's Deli

2009-04-01T13:15:00.000-07:00

One of the hardest to rank spots yet, Cosmi's is a famous little shop in South Philly. Philadelphia Magazine ranks it highly, naming it the best cheesesteak in Philly in 2008. Maxim magazine ranked it 2nd right behind John's. The big problem with Cosmi's is that they have two very different kinds of bread that are of two very different levels of quality. Sadly, I chose poorly, and my review will reflect their "standard" roll. I should have been more careful in ordering and ordered what I was told was a delicious seeded roll. Take this review with a grain of salt, because I think Cosmi's can do significantly better.

BREAD: The standard roll was a bit mushy for my tastes. It served its purpose and held everything together nicely, but didn't add much to the sandwich. Not nearly as tasty as an Amoroso roll. The entire time I ate this sandwich, I was jealous of those who had gone for the slightly more expensive, but significantly tastier seeded roll.

MEAT: Tenderly cooked smaller sized slices of steak. Pretty decent flavor. A little more pepper-y than normal. Not quite as salty as most other places.

CHEESE: Whiz melted through adequately. Pretty comparable to most of the other major cheesesteak joints in terms of cheesiness. I thought the whiz here seemed a little tangier than normal, but not in a good way.

VERDICT: Liked it, but didn't love it. Not bad enough that I'm not interested in going back and sampling it on a crusty seeded roll, but not good enough that I'd recommend it based on the "standard" cheesesteak. An adequate, but not exceptional cheesesteak.

CURRENT TALLY:

1. John's Roast Pork
2. Steaks on South
3. Tony Luke's
4. Steve's
5. Chinks
6. Grilladelphia
7. Campo's
8. Pat's
9. Donkey's
10. Gul's
11. Jim's
12. Geno's
13. Cosmi's
14. Dalessandro's
15. Suburban Diner
16. Larry's
17. Chubby's
18. Steak Queen
19. 99
20. Abner's

Steaks on South

2009-03-09T08:22:00.000-07:00

Just down the block from Jim's on South Street is Steaks on South, a little shop that looks like the worst kind of tourist trap. Surely a place like this with a fake plastic-y looking interior and kids who look like they were still in high school working the register couldn't have a sandwich worth inclusion on this list right? WRONG! This was a surprisingly great cheesesteak.

BREAD: This was almost your almost typical Amoroso roll, but with a really yummy twist. Instead of being a little toasted and crisp, this was a little chewy, but not in a mushy kind of way. The bread had a great flavor to it, and while it wasn't a complete departure from a more traditional cheesesteak roll, it was a nice change of pace.

MEAT: Tenderly cooked medium sized slices of steak. Great flavor and a little more salty than normal.

CHEESE: Whiz piled on top perfectly proportional to the meat inside. A little bit of mess, but not nearly as messy as Steve's. Great ratio.

VERDICT: Loved it. I actually liked Steaks on South better than its more famous neighbor down the block- Jim's. Interesting choice of roll, better cooked meat, and a better meat to whiz ratio makes Steaks on South the winner on South Street.

CURRENT TALLY:
CURRENT TALLY:

1. John's Roast Pork
2. Steaks on South
3. Tony Luke's
4. Steve's
5. Chinks
6. Grilladelphia
7. Campo's
8. Pat's
9. Donkey's
10. Gul's
11. Jim's
12. Geno's
13. Cosmi's
14. Dalessandro's
15. Suburban Diner
16. Larry's
17. Chubby's
18. Steak Queen
19. 99
20. Abner's

Larry's

2009-03-06T10:37:00.000-08:00

Larry's is a little shop right next door to the bookstore at St. Joseph's University. I had never heard of it, but I was in the neighborhood and my "steak-dar" went off when I saw the storefront. This was a pretty miserable sandwich. I've found out after the fact that it's the St. Joe's equivalent of Abner's at Penn.

BREAD: FAIL! This was the second worst roll I've ever had the displeasure of having a cheesesteak on. Mushy in the worst way possible. It held together, but just barely. Flavorless and gross. This was a really poor foundation to build a sandwich on. Good bread makes a great sandwich outstanding (See John's Roast Pork), but bad bread makes a bad sandwich that much worse (See Abner's). This one definitely falls into the latter category.

MEAT: Barely there. I really wondered "Where's the Beef?" with this one. The little bit of meat that was there was a little bland and got completely overpowered by the cheese.

CHEESE: The only good part of this sandwich. Because of the crappy mushy bread, this was actually an amazingly gooey sandwich, but not in the "Abner's Sandwich fell apart as I tried to eat it kind of way." Your typical whiz was piled high on this one, to the point of completely overpowering the rest of the sandwich.

VERDICT: Skip this one. Unless you're at St. Joe's and can't get to some place better, you owe yourself a trip to one of the city's far tastier cheesesteak shops.
CURRENT TALLY:

1. John's Roast Pork
2. Steaks on South
3. Tony Luke's
4. Steve's
5. Chinks
6. Grilladelphia
7. Campo's
8. Pat's
9. Donkey's
10. Gul's
11. Jim's
12. Geno's
13. Cosmi's
14. Dalessandro's
15. Suburban Diner
16. Larry's
17. Chubby's
18. Steak Queen
19. 99
20. Abner's

Chink's

2009-03-04T16:21:00.000-08:00

Chink's is famous for being second place on a lot of lists of peoples favorite cheesesteaks. It's not second on mine, though it does make a pretty respectable showing.

BREAD: A really top notch roll. A perfectly crisp Amoroso roll served as a near perfect foundation for this sandwich.

MEAT: This is the category that keeps Chink's out of the top spots on my list. Slightly larger than normal pieces of steak, though not anywhere near Steve's sized hunks. Almost perfectly cooked, but a touch bit dry in some parts.

CHEESE: This is a sandwich that would have been really well served by whiz. I think the whiz would have canceled out the bit of dryness in the meat that kept this sandwich from the top spots. As it stands, Chink's is again very very good in this area, though not quite perfect. The cheese on the sandwich was good and tasty, but a little bit higher cheese to meat ratio would have made this outstanding sandwich a near perfect sandwich.

VERDICT: Most of my criticisms of Chink's are minor nitpicks. This was a really great sandwich that was well worth the trip. Are there better to be had? Sure, but not many. Top that with their absolutely amazing milk shakes and you've got one heck of a cheesesteak experience.

CURRENT TALLY:

1. John's
2. Steve's
3. Chinks
4. Tony Luke's
5. Pat's
6. Jim's
7. Geno's
8. Dalessandro's
9. Chubby's
10. Abner's CURRENT TALLY:

1. John's Roast Pork
2. Steaks on South
3. Tony Luke's
4. Steve's
5. Chinks
6. Grilladelphia
7. Campo's
8. Pat's
9. Donkey's
10. Gul's
11. Jim's
12. Geno's
13. Cosmi's
14. Dalessandro's
15. Suburban Diner
16. Larry's
17. Chubby's
18. Steak Queen
19. 99
20. Abner's

Dalessandro’s and Chubby's

2009-02-25T13:35:00.000-08:00

The Pat's and Geno's of Roxborough. These places were supposed to be great, but were both pretty disappointing. Dalessandro's wins the heads up comparison, but only because we're speaking relatively. Neither of these sandwiches was great. Needless to say, I was disappointed with both of these stops. Given that there's nothing else out in Roxborough, there's really no reason to go out to either of these spots.

DALESSANDRO'S

BREAD: This was a serviceable roll. Not the best I've had, but far from the worst. Solid, sturdy, and crisp. A decent enough foundation, though it lacked as tasty of a flavor as some of the shops that are ranked higher on the list. While I didn't measure, I'm pretty sure this is the largest roll I've seen used for a cheesesteak so far.

MEAT: Like Jim's, Dalessandro's dices their meat very finely. Dalessandro's really piles the meat high on these sandwiches. When combined with the already large roll, this is not a sandwich to be taken lightly. I'm a big guy and an even bigger eater, but I'd still consider splitting this with a friend. The meat was cooked relatively well, though it was a tad dry and needed a little more flavor.

CHEESE: Here's where the sandwich falls apart. Very little cheese layered under the meat here. This meant that hardly any made it's way to the meat up top, which caused already dry meat to seem drier. This sandwich needed a much higher cheese to meat ratio and to have layered the cheese on top of the meat so it could work its way down.

VERDICT: Not a terrible steak sandwich, but not a very good cheesesteak. They practically left out the key ingredient- CHEESE!

CHUBBY'S

BREAD: Chubby's builds their sandwich on top of a really bland roll. A little less crisp than I would have liked and a lot less flavor than some of the better rolls on this list.

MEAT: Overcooked and bland medium sized slices of steak.

CHEESE: Something felt off about this whiz. It didn't quite have the same flavor as the whiz at most of the better shops in the city. The cheese didn't permeate the sandwich very well, leaving the bottom seem a little dry.

VERDICT: Key word for this sandwich- BLAND! Absolutely nothing to write home about here. Dalessandro's is better, but mostly because this was just a generically bad sandwich.

CURRENT TALLY:

1. John's Roast Pork
2. Steaks on South
3. Tony Luke's
4. Steve's
5. Chinks
6. Grilladelphia
7. Campo's
8. Pat's
9. Donkey's
10. Gul's
11. Jim's
12. Geno's
13. Cosmi's
14. Dalessandro's
15. Suburban Diner
16. Larry's
17. Chubby's
18. Steak Queen
19. 99
20. Abner's

Steve's Prince of Steaks

2009-02-25T13:31:00.001-08:00

So Steve is apparently only the "Prince of Steaks", maybe that explains why his stand is so far outside the city. Distance be damned, Steve makes one heck of a sandwich.

BREAD: A perfectly crisp torpedo roll. While it's not an Amoroso, you couldn't ask for a better foundation for a sandwich.

STEAK: Steve takes very long strips of steak and cooks them to absolute perfection. This sandwich doesn't look like a lot of the other cheesesteaks on the list, but boy is it tasty. While you might be afraid of how the size of the pieces of steak would affect the taste of the sandwich, let me assure you that they do a top notch job of grilling them just right.

CHEESE: Perfect whiz, but a little too much. No matter how you at this sandwich, it made an absolute mess. While a little mess is to be expected from a decent Philly cheesesteak, we were up to our elbows in whiz after only a few bites.

VERDICT: Steve should steal the title "King of Steaks" from Rick, because this was a delectably good sandwich. Well worth the trip.

CURRENT TALLY:

1. John's Roast Pork
2. Steaks on South
3. Tony Luke's
4. Steve's
5. Chinks
6. Grilladelphia
7. Campo's
8. Pat's
9. Donkey's
10. Gul's
11. Jim's
12. Geno's
13. Cosmi's
14. Dalessandro's
15. Suburban Diner
16. Larry's
17. Chubby's
18. Steak Queen
19. 99
20. Abner's

Jim's

2009-02-25T13:24:00.001-08:00

Jim's is a South Street institution. Long before I started this journey, I heard tell of crazy stories involving late night hijinks at Jim's. Go hang out on South Street on the weekends or around dinner time, and you'll probably see people lined up around the block to get inside and grab one of these famous cheesesteaks. Was it a good sandwich? Yes. Was it a sandwich that deserved people lined up around the block to get it? No.

BREAD: Something about this roll felt a little too generic. Not quite as crisp or tasty as some of the better places on this list.

MEAT: Jim's dices its meat into very small pieces. While they make an admirable attempt at not overcooking it, some bits of the sandwich inevitably come up a little drier than you'd like. The meat was kind of messily tossed into the roll, and I would have preferred a little bit more effort at constructing the sandwich.

CHEESE: The Whiz was a little bland here, more of an orange goo than anything that tasted remotely like cheese. Not the worst, but not the best either.

VERDICT: If you're on South Street late at night, this is a great sandwich. If you're in your car looking for a cheesesteak, you can do better.

CURRENT TALLY:

1. John's Roast Pork
2. Steaks on South
3. Tony Luke's
4. Steve's
5. Chinks
6. Grilladelphia
7. Campo's
8. Pat's
9. Donkey's
10. Gul's
11. Jim's
12. Geno's
13. Cosmi's
14. Dalessandro's
15. Suburban Diner
16. Larry's
17. Chubby's
18. Steak Queen
19. 99
20. Abner's

John's Roast Pork UPDATED 3/18/09

2009-02-25T13:19:00.000-08:00

Hardly started, and we already have a clear front runner. Because of its whacky hours, I was skeptical of this winner of WIP's best in Philly contest. Boy was I surprised.

BREAD: John's starts with a completely atypical seeded roll and then pulls out half the bread from inside. "But a good Philly Cheesesteak starts with an Amoroso roll!" Right? WRONG! This bread surprised me at how well it handled all the ingredients all the while enhancing the flavor of the steak and cheese.

MEAT: Medium sized slices of steak cooked to perfection Perfectly seasoned and just the right amount of moist.

CHEESE: No whiz here, but boy was there cheese great. A great cheese to meat ratio made this one perfectly gooey.

UPDATE (3/18/09) Upon a second visit to John's I've found that there was a huge difference in quality between their American Cheese, which I loved on sandwich number one, and their provolone, which I didn't love on sandwich number two. The American had a great taste to it and perfectly melted into the meat. The Provolone melted perfectly too, but it was a little bland and dry for my tastes. While not bad with the Provolone, the cheese steak with American was the way to go here.

VERDICT: This was the absolute best cheesesteak I've had on this journey. This sandwich was so good that I didn't want it to end. Perfectly cooked, perfectly constructed, this place was just top notch.

* SPECIAL NOTE 1: The only downside- terrible hours. John's caters heavily to "blue collar" workers, and is only open from 7AM-3PM on weekdays. Do yourself a favor- take off for lunch and go to John's now.

* SPECIAL NOTE 2: The Roast Pork sandwich was outstanding too! Do yourself a favor and get the large. The small is on a kaiser roll that get's a little soggy from the juice from the pork, while the large is on the same great roll as the cheesesteak.

CURRENT TALLY:

1. John's Roast Pork
2. Steaks on South
3. Tony Luke's
4. Steve's
5. Chinks
6. Grilladelphia
7. Campo's
8. Pat's
9. Donkey's
10. Gul's
11. Jim's
12. Geno's
13. Cosmi's
14. Dalessandro's
15. Suburban Diner
16. Larry's
17. Chubby's
18. Steak Queen
19. 99
20. Abner's

Abner's

2009-02-25T13:10:00.000-08:00

Tucked away in University City is this popular college destination, located directly above UPenn's very own strip club- Club Atlantis. For college students looking for a fun place to hang out with friends, this might be your kind of place. For someone looking for a good sandwich, look elsewhere.

BREAD: Horrendously bad. This pile of mush they called bread barely survived three bites before absolutely falling apart. The bread got soggy really quickly from the moisture of the meat and the cheese and got grossly soggy.

MEAT: Overcooked and cheap tasting. I know Ed Rendell says cheap meat is the key to a good Philly Cheesesteak because it is fatty, but I don't think this is what he had in mind. Rubbery and bland are the only ways to describe the meat here.

CHEESE: Bland at best. All it really did was make the meat a little gooey, while providing no real taste of its own.

VERDICT: If Pat's is what you measure all good cheesesteaks by, then this is what you should measure all bad cheesesteaks by. Skip this one unless you're getting the sandwich for free after a Penn game.

CURRENT TALLY:

1. John's Roast Pork
2. Steaks on South
3. Tony Luke's
4. Steve's
5. Chinks
6. Grilladelphia
7. Campo's
8. Pat's
9. Donkey's
10. Gul's
11. Jim's
12. Geno's
13. Cosmi's
14. Dalessandro's
15. Suburban Diner
16. Larry's
17. Chubby's
18. Steak Queen
19. 99
20. Abner's

Tony Luke's

2009-02-25T13:04:00.000-08:00

Tony Luke's might be one of the strangest cheesesteak experiences I've had in my tour of Philadelphia. To better understand my confusion, you must first know that Tony Luke's operates both a stand and a restaurant directly across the street from one another. The cheesesteak at the restaurant is inexplicably bad. So bad in fact that I went twice to make sure that I wasn't missing something. The cheesesteak at the stand, however, is amazing, and will instead be the one I rank here.

BREAD: Nothing about the Tony Luke's experience really stands out as strange or all that different. He starts with a really great Amoroso roll crisped to perfection.

MEAT: The biggest difference between this stand and all the others on the list is variety. You can get pretty much anything you want on your cheesesteak- ranging from a your typical whiz and onions to more artful creations with cream cheese and sliced tomatoes. I stuck with a plain cheesesteak, and Tony Luke's does a great job with the meat. Well cooked, and well seasoned medium sized slices of steak, just like any good cheesesteak should have.

CHEESE: Again the variety blew me away. You want it, they got it here. I stuck with the whiz, which was great, but was amazed that I could even get cream cheese on my steak sandwich here.

VERDICT: The only problem with Tony Luke's is the wait. Even when there's not a game at the nearby stadiums, this place is packed and slow. That being said, it's well worth the wait.

CURRENT TALLY:

1. John's Roast Pork
2. Steaks on South
3. Tony Luke's
4. Steve's
5. Chinks
6. Grilladelphia
7. Campo's
8. Pat's
9. Donkey's
10. Gul's
11. Jim's
12. Geno's
13. Cosmi's
14. Dalessandro's
15. Suburban Diner
16. Larry's
17. Chubby's
18. Steak Queen
19. 99
20. Abner's

Pat's and Geno's

2009-02-25T12:54:00.000-08:00

It's impossible to talk about one of these historic cheesesteak institutions without talking about the other. They've become so linked in the public consciousness that the mention of one begs the mention of the other. These are, after all, the very public faces of cheesesteaks in Philadelphia and what helped to make the cheesesteak a Philadelphia institution. We did Pat's first, and then Geno's, and long story short- Geno's is good, but Pat's is awesome.

Pats's

BREAD: Pat's starts off with half of a near perfect Amoroso roll. While this sandwich is a little small for the price, you couldn't ask for a much better foundation to build a cheesesteak on.

MEAT: Perfectly cooked medium sized slices of steak. Just the right amount of moist and seasoned well.

CHEESE: Some of the best whiz I've ever tasted drizzled on top. A little too high of a cheese to meat ratio caused some spillage, but what fun is a cheesesteak if it's not a little messy.

VERDICT: This place get's a bad wrap because it's the original cheesesteak. Sure, it's probably the most expensive sandwich in the city, and there are better to be had, but this is still an amazingly good cheesesteak. Service is super fast, and the ordering scheme is really not all that bad or complicated. If you can't figure out how to say the name of the cheese you want and "wit" or "wit-out" then you probably shouldn't be left out unattended, let alone in South Philly ordering cheesesteaks.

GENO's

BREAD: Almost identical to Pat's in every way. The bread is a little less crisp than at Pat's, but the only way you'd ever know is if you went to both back to back.

MEAT: A little less flavorful and a little overcooked, but not signifigantly.

CHEESE: I'm sure they use the same whiz, but this tasted a little less cheesy for some reason. A slightly better cheese to meat ratio than Pat's meant this was a little less messy.

VERDICT: Geno's is a decent sandwich. If Pat's wasn't there for direct comparison then it might even be a great sandwich. It tastes nearly identical, but it's just not quite as good.

CURRENT TALLY:

1. John's Roast Pork
2. Steaks on South
3. Tony Luke's
4. Steve's
5. Chinks
6. Grilladelphia
7. Campo's
8. Pat's
9. Donkey's
10. Gul's
11. Jim's
12. Geno's
13. Cosmi's
14. Dalessandro's
15. Suburban Diner
16. Larry's
17. Chubby's
18. Steak Queen
19. 99
20. Abner's

This Blog's Purpose

2009-02-25T12:34:00.000-08:00

So a group of friends and I decided that before we left grad school we were going to make it a point to go to all of Philadelphia's famous cheesesteak places. I wanted to have a a place to recount our exploits, so I could remember where we've been, what we liked, and what we hated.

I'll break down every stand into 3 categories (bread, meat, and cheese). I'll also give you a final verdict and a running tally of the places we've been too.