It was the fall of 2018 and my thoughts had turned to comfort food and more specifically, one of the finest sandwiches invented by man – the cheesesteak sub. The combination of thin cut ribeye grilled in the combination of it’s own juices and that of fresh cut onions on the same grill surface is unmatched. Combine that with the perfect bread and your favorite cheese creates a combination that has made one of our oldest US cities famous.
My hometown of Frederick, MD is no slouch when it comes to great food. As the second largest city in Maryland, we’ve been able to attract some award winning chefs, the most famous being celebrity chef Bryan Voltaggio who opened Volt in 2008 to critical acclaim.
Note: Since this story Volt is now closed and Bryan has opened a new restaurant Thacher & Rye.
My idea of a great meal is a bit more down to earth and besides my never-ending search for perfect BBQ, I had always wanted to make the trek from Frederick to Philadelphia and sample the food that is synonymous with that city – the Cheesesteak.
Seeing an upcoming free Saturday I contacted a few friends and presented them with an opportunity to join me on a genuine Philly “cheesesteak crawl.”
Sadly for them, many of the invited guests had other plans (most were weak excuses at best), but two did agree to join me. Jay, a poker buddy, Eagles fan and Philadelphia native and Craig, an old friend from elementary school days from PG county, were both enthusiastic about the venture and we prepared for a day of culinary delight.
Planning ahead, we mapped out eight stops circling South Philly and Center City to include the highest rated and well known establishments. Pat’s, Geno’s, Tony Luke’s, Jim’s, Steve’s, John’s Roast Pork, Campo’s and Sonny’s. The goal was to hit all of them between noon and 5p.m. as to be able to make fair comparisons. Also planning ahead, I ate salads and small portions of low carb options the day before the onslaught of cheesy, oniony, meat & bread delights.
As we headed up I-95, we reviewed our plan for the day. As this was not a food eating challenge we would split the subs into thirds so that each of us would be able to sample all 8 locations. We would drink water to cleans our palates and judge each sub in 4 categories: a)meat-to-bread ratio, b) the bread texture and flavor, c) the taste of the entire sandwich and d) the overall location experience. I scored each of the eight stops independently on a 1-10 scale, with 1 being “inedible” to 10 reflecting “perfection.”
First stop:
Our first stop did not disappoint and in fact was so good that we feared the remaining stops would be lackluster in comparison. We ordered “provolone-with” and enjoyed bread with the perfect pull and softness that perfectly enhanced the flavors of the meat, cheese and onions.
First Observation: Bread
Ratio: 7
Bread: 10
Taste: 9
Experience: 8
Overall Rating: 8.5
This name is regularly in the top 3 spots for cheesesteak challenges in the city. It’s a corner joint on an intersection near commercial and industrial buildings. Although ‘pork’ is in the name, we didn’t have time to taste their supposedly delicious pork sandwich and opted for the “American-with” cheesesteak option. The white cheese melted perfectly into the meat and onions on a slightly crispier roll. The taste was a bit reminiscent of stroganoff and was quite good.
First Observation: Seeded roll
Ratio: 6
Bread: 8
Taste: 9
Experience: 7
Overall Rating: 7.5
Since these two are regularly mentioned together in the cheesesteak dog fight and in close proximity we decided to pit them against each other. Pat Oliveri started as a hot dog vendor and supposedly created the steak sandwich in 1930. At the corner of Passayunk and Ninth, Pat’s is a classic stop that puts out cheesesteaks like a well-oiled machine. We ordered the classic “whiz-with” and it was ready in less than a minute.
Pat’s First Observation: Touristy
Ratio: 5
Bread: 8
Taste: 6
Experience: 9
Geno’s is a neon landmark that doesn’t chop it’s meat quite as finely as others, certainly a preference thing. They supposedly scoop up onions and meat together on a loaded spatula and slather onto the roll the traditional Philly way. I did not actually get to see them prepare this sandwich as they handed it to Jay already wrapped “whiz-with”. The three of us were unanimous in our decision that this was most unappetizing. Maybe it was a bad day for the chef, but it was just not on par with the rest.
Geno’s First Observation: Greasy
Ratio: 3
Bread: 6
Taste: 3
Experience: 7
First Observation: Thin
Ratio: 2
Bread: 6
Taste: 6
Experience: 6
Overall Rating: 5
First Observation: Onions
Ratio: 8
Bread: 10
Taste: 7
Experience: 4
Overall Rating: 7.2
Since Campo’s is only a few doors down Market from the famous Sonny’s we decided to pit these two against each other. With no line I thought that Campo’s may not be a contender but was pleasantly surprised. This was no assembly-line process with each steak prepared from fresh. Choosing “whiz-with” we found this hearty sandwich to be almost better than every cheesesteak we had tried. What a wonderful late-afternoon surprise!
First Observation: Fresh
Ratio: 8
Bread: 8
Taste: 9
Experience: 6
Overall Rating: 7.8
Sonny’s was the last stop of the tour and after the great offering from Campo’s we again thought this may be a let down. We were wrong again and after a few bites I declared this as “the one.” This place somehow put it all together to create the best of all preferences combined into one great experience. There was nothing ‘layered’ about this sandwich as the chef combined it all on the grill, tossing skillfully and placing into the incredibly soft and chewy roll. Craig also chose it as the best of the day while Jay gave it second place behind Tony Luke’s.
First Observation: Complete
Ratio: 7
Bread: 10
Taste: 10
Experience: 9
Overall Rating: 9
We were fast approaching sub fatigue and still hadn’t been able to fit in Dalessandro’s, Donkey’s, Cosmi’s, Shank’s, Mama’s and many others on this trip.
This begs the question: “When can we do this again?” Who knows? Maybe after a couple of months rest it may be time to try 8 more famous joints and even bring a few more friends along.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed living vicariously through our exploit and maybe even try this yourself with a few of your own friends.
