The MEGA Philadelphia Cheese-Steak Thread! - post all of your cheese-steak questions here! (Hatboro: living in, price)

[Steinish]

Originally Posted by kyb01

My nonsense!? I'm a quiet and non-confrontation old lady! Lol

It's crazy that I have not been there because it would take me about 10 minutes to walk over.

There you go ... Try one and let us know what you think.

[Psykomonkee]

I've tried Pat's. I've tried Geno's.
Both were okay.

Since then, I've been told by numerous people from Philly that neither are the best Philly in Philly.
Some told me the name of a place, but I forgot what it was.
I know of Tony Luke's but I feel like it is not Tony Luke's that they mentioned.

Most of them refer to some place in South Philly.

Will be going to Philly soon and I'd like to try it, but I don't remember the place and the people that told me, I don't have contact with anymore.
The new people in my life that I know from Philly don't know what place I could be talking about. They keep saying "maybe Tony Luke's?"
I feel like it wasn't that place, but maybe I'm wrong.

So Philly... Please tell me........

Where do I need to go for the best Cheesesteak when I visit?

[inmyownwords15]

my personal favorite is Dalessandros.

another good steak that is just outside the city proper can be found at Leo's in Folcroft. Everyone will have their own favorite and you'll probably get some rec's that are outside of the city too.

[BPP1999]

Originally Posted by inmyownwords15

my personal favorite is Dalessandros.

another good steak that is just outside the city proper can be found at Leo's in Folcroft. Everyone will have their own favorite and you'll probably get some rec's that are outside of the city too.

I like Chubby's which is across the street from Dalessandros, plus Chubby's has fries.

[newmarlig]

Ask ten people and you will get 10 different answers. But Pats and Geno's are for tourists or if you are drunk at 3 AM.

Many people consider the roast pork sandwich with provolone and broccoli rabe at John's or Dinics to be the real Philly sandwich.

[selhars]

You're an outsider, so please don't take this personally.....
But here we go again with this cheesesteak question.

Philly has a cheesesteak place practically on every corner. There are hundreds of neighborhood places and many -- if not most -- are good. Genos and Pats are for tourists. Sure some locals go there. But when I've got my choice of good places right in the neighborhood. As a Philadelphian, I'd rather know where NOT to go.

For me there are enough very good places, that I can't tell you where I had the "best" cheesesteak in my life. I can say I went to a South Philly place that got a lot of TV and local hype over the last 10 years -- and had the WORST cheesesteak in my life. I bet there are other great local spots right in that neighborhood where I could get better. But they haven't been on TV.

[MarketStEl]

I think the place you're thinking of is John's Roast Pork, at Snyder and Weccacoe avenues near the riverfront and Snyder Plaza. It's been cited as having not only the best roast pork Italian sandwich* in the city but also the best cheesesteak. It's certainly the only sandwich shop of its kind in the city to have won a James Beard Award. But beware: It closes early, at 7 p.m., and is closed completely on Sundays and Mondays. If you want to experience the sublime here, you have to go down during the day.

But I'd also second the poster who suggested that talking about the "best cheesesteak" in Philadelphia may be an exercise in futility, for there are great cheesesteak shops all over. (Dalessandro's, another frequent mention in this category, is in Roxborough. I ride the 65 bus often enough; one of those times, I should get off of it at Henry Avenue and walk the block up to it.)

Jim's Steaks (original location: 60th and Vine streets; most convenient to Center City: 4th and South; I don't know whether they're still open at Roosevelt Mall) is another place that's popular with the tourists and gets high marks. There are those who consider it overrated, however; I'm not one of them.

Another place you hear mentioned with this bunch more often now is Joe's Steaks & Soda, which has two locations: on Torresdale Avenue in the 6000 block, somewhere between Holmesburg and Tacony, and a new (opened about 9 months ago) location at Frankford and Girard avenues in Fishtown. This place got added to the cheesesteak pantheon, oddly enough, when people from outside the Northeast began patronizing it after the locals criticized its owner (the son of its founder) for changing its name. (The guy who opened it apparently had the nickname "C***k" because his friends thought he had slanty eyes. So C***k's it was from 1949 until four years ago, when the son renamed it for himself because he agreed with those who thought the original name offensive. Edited to add: So does the auto-censor on this discussion board, and so do I. You can learn the original name by visiting its website, linked above.) Joe's deserves its reputation.

*There are those who argue that the roast pork Italian rather than the cheesesteak should have pride of place as the signature sandwich of this city. It's certainly a more interesting and tastier creation. If there were as many places here that served them as there are those that serve cheesesteaks, I might even agree with this crowd. But I should also mention DiNic's in the Reading Terminal Market as serving an outstanding version of this sandwich.

[selhars]

Market, I don't know if you were referring to my post or another. But John's Roast Pork is NOT the place where I was highly disappointed. I've never eaten there, but my brother loves it.

[2002 Subaru]

The cheesesteak I had from John's Roast Pork was terrible.


Ishkabibble's, Joe's, Steve's Prince of Steaks, Geno's, Jim's and Little Pete's on State Road are all tied for the best.
Except for some agitating transplants, nobody who matters considers the roast pork sandwich to be the real Philly sandwich.

[Pilot1]

I like Dalessandro's, the best, but have also had some good steaks from Jim's on South Street. Pat's, and Geno's never impressed me. Nick's Roast Beef at 20th, and Jackson has the best Roast Pork sandwiches.