Lest you think I only eat at up-scale places: A few years ago, a friend from Philadelphia asked where one could get "a good cheesesteak." This is always a loaded question from a Philadelphian, so an investigation was necessary. Another friend quickly joined the search; we all worked together, so we'd take lunches at different cheesesteak purveyors. Somewhere along the line, I started taking notes. The coworkers have now moved on, and I'd almost forgotten about The Cheesesteaks File, until now.
So what's a cheesesteak? More fully known as a Philly Cheesesteak, it's sauteed beef strips, usually flavored, with melted cheese (or cheez), on a long bun. Sauteed onions and peppers are typical. Some come with lettuce and tomato, which I usually skip. Mushrooms are my favorite addition. Some of the listings aren't cheesesteaks at all according to this definition; deal with it. ;)
These rankings are approximate. Some are based on visits from two or more years ago; some are very recent. A few places have closed, but I'm leaving them in: some deserve to be remembered, while some deserve to be reviled. Our price guide is very rough; some cheesesteaks came with fries, a drink, or both. Some places got multiple visits, some not.
Anything in the middle grouping is probably worth a shot. And the ones at the top are definitely good in the opinion of these eaters. But Devil take the Hindmost.
Now, The Cheesesteaks File:
Rank/Location Size Flavor Price Comments
=== {Yes!} ===
American Hero large good+ low Salty. With a
(near North better bun, this
Duke Mall) could be the best
Italian Pizzeria large good low Lots o' options
Willowdaile Mall
Bully's average good+ average American cheese
(RIP) (I should
probably say
orange cheez)
== {Maybe...} ==
Satisfaction average good average They don't call
it a cheesesteak,
but it's close
enough for me
Joe & Jo's large average average+ Nice veggies that
Downtown weren't quite done;
(RIP) mushy bun; fries
inconsistent, but
yummy at their best
Philly Cheese average good low Cumin-flavored fluid
Steaks added during cooking;
New Hope Commons lots o' options
Kallisti average good average Bun too bready;
(RIP) otherwise great
Bull City Grill average average average Cute person at
register; homey
feel to place
Down Under Pub average average average Varies a lot
in quality
Steak Escape small good cheap Mushy bun. Got
Northgate Mall to love that
mall ambiance
Great Steak & average average average Entire mall no
Fry Company longer around
South Square Mall
(RIP)
= {yuck} =
Waffle House average average average A "Texas Cheese-
Hillsborough Rd. steak" on Texas
toastBullock's average fair average At least they
tried
I Love NY Pizza small poor cheap Not a cheesesteak:
Ninth Street a slice of "Cheese-
(RIP, thankfully) steak pizza." Bad-
tasting meat
McDonald's (I'm average poor cheap Bad: unrecognizable
not kidding) meat w/burned
Hillsborough Road flavor; mayo
A cheesesteak last week at the Down Under Pub was much better than previous ones there -- I'll have to bump them up in the list.
Posted by: Joe | 28 September 2004 at 00:12
... but it is I who am in the cradle of cheesesteakery. And have I taken advantage of my position? Without a doubt. From that contemporary standard of cheese steak excellence Germantown Style Pizza, to the humongous meatfest that is the Giovani's regular cheese steak (extra cheese and fried onions $7.50 - ouch!). My only regret is that I can no longer go to the elysium of working class that was Bob's on Main Street in Manayunk, but vile gentrification that has taken hold there has caused Bob's (where the decor still glorified the '72 Eagles, and you ordered your sandwiches from the scarified owner or his progeny) through a cut-out hole in a plywood barrier, behind which they were fried up one at a time (18" cheese steak hoagie (LT&O) $2.45 - Yeah Baby!!)) to be supplanted by some pointed shoe boutique.
Posted by: Vince | 28 September 2004 at 17:22
Sorry about the crappy formatting on this. If I get time, I'll go through and fix it all so it doesn't use preformatting for the file I imported.
Posted by: Joe | 13 June 2005 at 23:09
Gods -- there's a Wikipedia entry on cheese steaks.
Posted by: Joe | 19 February 2006 at 15:02