As promised (or threatened depending on your viewpoint) we did it again and this time we brought reinforcements. If you read the riveting account of our first cheesesteak crawl you’ll note that after visiting 8 famous locations we had only scratched the surface of the culinary delights that Philadelphia had to offer.
This time my invitation was able to entice six of my friends to join the adventure – again, visit eight spots in a six hour time frame rating and comparing the quality of their cheesesteak offerings. Preparation began by picking a route for the tour and spending the day before eating small portions of salads and low-fat meals.
During our last tour several of the big names (Pat’s, Geno’s, Steve’s) fell to the bottom of our ratings while some others (Sonny’s, Campo’s, Tony Luke’s) rose to the top. We were looking to have our palates challenged again with some new names and places we’d found with great reviews. We made our choices based on “best of” articles, local polls and online reviews along with accessibility to our circular route.
Following is a list of this trip’s judges and their favorite food (besides cheesesteak of course):
It’s easy to see from some of their food choices we’re located in the Chesapeake bay area of the country.
We met mid-morning at a centrally located I-95 rest stop and headed to our first destination with an 11 a.m. target time. Once again we would cut the subs into manageable portions so that each of us could get a fair assessment of the taste and quality of ingredients without blowing out our stomachs before we reached the final stop.
Following are the locations in order, ratings and some observations from each.
Given that this was our first stop we were all hungry. The sub sizes were huge, bread soft and we enjoyed the sampling as a good baseline for the remaining stops.
Key Observation (Chuck): (Huge subs, finely chopped steaks, a bit lacking in the quantity of onions and cheese thus ratings on the low side.
Bread: 6.44, Ratio: 6.71, Taste: 6.71, Experience: 6.29
Combined Rating: 6.54
This name has risen to the top in recent years and we found it on many of the “best of” lists including being a favorite haunt of Jimmy Kimmel’s. It became one of our favorites as well. This Roxbury neighborhood shop was a bit out of the way but well worth it.
Key Observation (Ryan): Very good cheese and meat balance from a ‘hole-in-the-wall’ establishment.
Bread: 7.00, Ratio: 7.29, Taste: 7.86, Experience: 7.71
Combined Rating: 7.46
The offerings at Joe’s sparked a lively debate among all participant’s. The steak is not chopped as finely and bread not very springy but the biggest problem was that we couldn’t agree on the balance or ratio of ingredients. Some wanted more meat but most agreed the flavors were good.
Key Observation (Sean): Unlike some others I enjoyed the less-chopped meat texture and crunchy onions.
Bread: 7.71, Ratio: 6.43, Taste: 7.00, Experience: 7.29
Combined Rating: 7.11
This place is a great alternative to the popular Jim’s Steaks down the block especially if you don’t want the 45 minute wait that we had to endure there last year. Watching the combined grilled steak and onions placed on the bun looked perfect until a surprisingly large glob or cheese whiz mate the sandwich an unbalanced mess when unwrapped.
Key Observation (Bill): Too much cheese whiz was messy and overwhelmed the other flavors.
Bread: 6.71, Ratio: 6.43, Taste: 6.57, Experience: 6.86
Combined Rating: 6.64
Along the water on Columbus resides this interesting little place away from the hustle and bustle of downtown crowds. We enjoyed the ‘cook-to-order’ steaks with onions and provolone offered up quickly in a food truck type atmosphere.
Key Observation (Jay): Seasoning was inconsistent making some bites bland while others too peppery.
Bread: 7.00, Ratio: 6.43, Taste: 6.71, Experience: 6.57
Combined Rating: 6.68
Another name that regularly pops up on the “best of” lists, Cosmi’s is a small corner deli with only two tables and an engaging staff. Oh, and they also offer up generous portions of cheesesteak deliciousness.
Key Observation (Jay): Steak is well seasoned and a friendly staff.
Bread: 6.86, Ratio: 6.86, Taste: 6.43, Experience: 7.29
Combined Rating: 6.86
Lots of in-your-face attitude here. After revealing that we were on a multi-stop cheesesteak tour they informed us that this was the only stop we needed to make. Although meat fatigue was beginning to set in we still enjoyed the hot cheesesteak offering and the Philly attitude that came with it.
Key Observation (Chuck): Nicely stuffed sandwich from a not so easy to find location tucked in an office park.
Bread: 7.00, Ratio: 7.29, Taste: 6.86 Experience: 6.57
Combined Rating: 6.93
Although a repeat from last year, with the new guys along and this being one of our favorites we decided to make this part of the second tour. As the last stop of the day we allowed each participant to doctor their sub in whatever toppings they wanted but still used the same grading scale as the others. Even with meat fatigue setting in this stop did not disappoint and much like last year garnered some of the highest scores. Although extremely popular, this place somehow turns out a consistently great product.
Key Observation (Sean): Well seasoned cheesesteak, my favorite all-around sandwich.
Bread: 8.71, Ratio: 8.43, Taste: 8.86, Experience: 8.00
Combined Rating: 8.50
It also seems that we’ve discovered a consistent winning formula in that the more the ingredients are combined on the cooktop (meat, cheese, onions) before dropping in that perfect chewy roll the better the final results. In the effort to save time, many places will layer the cheese on the roll and then drop the hot ingredients on top creating a layered effect that is not as satisfying.
What’s the perfect sandwich? If you could combine the bread and flavor of Tony Luke’s, the combined creation of Sonny’s and Campo’s from our last tour, the melty white American cheese of John’s roast Pork, D’allessandros and Gooey Looie’s with the Philly atmosphere of Pat’s, Geno’s, Cosmi’s or Ishkabibbles you would find yourself with the perfect cheesesteak experience.
Until next time, happy cheesesteak hunting…
