Post by bebopperOn Fri, 03 Sep 2004 16:22:23 GMT, "Exile on Market Street"
Post by Exile on Market StreetI can--and did--bike down there easily.
It is a good cheesesteak. But for my money, Tony Luke's tops it easily.
(They usually win honors for their roast pork sandwich, but their
the mag has retired a bunch of perennial Best Of... winners.)
I noticed Cosmi's did not have a whole lot of "Best of Philly
2004" PR crap posted all over. In fact, I saw none. That blows some
fo the "conspiracy theory" about the Best of Philly Mag clout.
I haven't had a cheesesteak from Tony Lukes in a while. I had
a roast pork from Jr.'s downtown last week, and it was OK.Very
garlicky, but a little dry. I liked John's a whole lot more..
I've taken to buying a nasty-ass pork roast now and again (not
a loin, but a shoulder or butt with the bone in) and cooking it down
slowly in chicken stock laced with garlic, red pepper flakes and some
poultry seasoning for a half a day (or until the meat falls off the
bone.) Mostly it needs a little sage, which is what is in most
poultry seasoning.. it was just handy..
It lasts in the fridge pretty well (I've never had to freeze
it 'cause it doesn't last THAT long ...)
Get some rolls from Carangi or Conshy bakery, and you;re in
heaven....
- bebopper
Here comes the original Phillymag article. The difference between Cosmi's
and Tony Luke's cheese steak is only 0.5 point on a scale from 1 to 5 -
Cosmi is rated 5 and Tony Luke's 4.5. The ratings is based on only the
writer's one man foray into finding the best cheesesteaks.
http://www.phillymag.com/ArticleDisplay.php?id=426
One Man, 50 Cheesesteaks
by Richard Rys
From the August 2004 issue.
In a quest to find the best, our man devoured more than four dozen
cheesesteaks in 34 days. The winner? Find it below. The loser? His
digestive tract.
Among the scores of Best of Philly winners, perhaps the most coveted title
is "Best Cheesesteak." For better or worse, the cheesesteak is inexorably
linked to the identity of this city. Like Rocky, it's a source of civic
pride (though it would make for a lousy statue in front of the Spectrum).
Like Billy Penn atop City Hall, it looms large above our lives, regardless
of one's religion, ethnicity, or body-fat percentage. And like Tastykakes
and soft pretzels, once you've had the real thing, you pity the rest of
the nation for what it's missing. This year, for the first time in this
magazine's history, it was decided that we would send some poor slob on
the ultimate cheesesteak safari. One man, 34 days, 50 cheesesteaks.
The poor slob? Me, of course.
The rules are simple: Over the next several weeks, I'll visit 50
cheesesteak places in Philly and the suburbs -- spots recommended by
friends, relatives and co-workers, and random choices inspired by the
phone book. At each joint, I'll order a cheesesteak with American cheese
and nothing else. This leaves only the three essential elements to any
good steak -- meat (judged on taste and quality), cheese (judged on amount
and thorough distribution throughout the sandwich), and the roll
(freshness, consistency, proper meat-to-bread ratio). A great steak
shouldn't have to hide behind onions or condiments. Think Heidi Klum
without the lacy bra and thong would look like Joan Rivers? So goes the
cheesesteak.
What follows are some high (and low) points from my cheesesteak diary. For
my complete rankings, along with this year's Best of Philly winner, see
below. If you don't agree with my opinions, well, go out and knock back 50
yourself, and we'll talk while we're prepping for our triple bypasses.
Day One
Tony Jr.'s, 118 South 18th Street. It all starts with the roll, which
shouldn't be so thick that it overwhelms the meat, and should be soft, yet
firm enough to withstand sogginess. The bread at Tony Jr.'s is on the thin
side, but works fine. There's an ample amount of cheese. (Should be enough
that you don't need to order extra unless you have some kind of dairy
fetish.) The meat, however -- cut up in large chunks -- is the real
problem here, since it tastes like corrugated cardboard. Curious, I open
up the sandwich for a visual inspection. Fatty. Gray. Not so appetizing.
Day one, and already I've learned a valuable lesson: Never, ever look at
the inside of a cheesesteak.
Rating (out of five clogged arteries, with five being a steak worth a
heart attack): 2
Day Two
Lazaro's, 1743 South Street. According to its ads, Lazaro's cheesesteaks
are not only the biggest (18 inches long), but "famous." I appreciate a
little celebrity with my sustenance, so I call and order a half, which is
still a solid nine inches of sweet, sweet pain. Soft roll, maybe a bit too
much so -- halfway through, it's flattened out. The steak is diced nicely,
but I detect a subtle, unidentifiable spice that I don't enjoy. Skip the
onion rings here, which are saltier than a boatload of longshoremen. Note
to self -- from now on, no sides. Stay on message.
Rating: 3
Day Three
Jim & Tim's, the lunch truck at 19th and Market. It's been less than a
week, and sloth is already setting in -- this cart is across the street
from the office. Neither of the two gentlemen who prepare my lunch looks
like a Jim or a Tim, but ethnicity is no issue here: Cheesesteaks know no
prejudice. (Perhaps that's a lesson for us all.) A little light on meat,
and the roll deflates like the Eagles' Super Bowl hopes each January. For
three bucks, it ain't half bad. But this is the big leagues, fellas, and
you're like the Riversharks playing the Yankees. Beef up in the off-season.
Rating: 2.5
Day Four
Geno's Steaks, 1219 South 9th Street. Joined by my cousin, who was born
and raised in the Northeast and is a seasoned cheesesteak enthusiast, I
head for Mecca -- the corner of 9th and Passyunk. We step up to the
legendary Geno's and order two American wit'out. Decent amount of cheese.
Good roll -- a little on the thin side, but good. The meat is another
story. Sliced into long, thick strips, it's riddled with pockets and veins
of fat. Upon closer inspection, it also contains a rainbow of colors from
brown to gray. Oddly enough, the taste isn't bad, proving that this is not
a beauty contest (and that the only proper way to eat any cheesesteak is
with your eyes closed).
Rating: 2.5
Pat's King of Steaks, 1237 East Passyunk Avenue. We head across the street
with contraband in hand (sodas from Geno's, a faux pas punishable by
death). Perhaps that's why the cheese distribution on my sandwich makes me
think Stevie Wonder is working dairy duty on the grill line. It's spotty,
leaving some regions bare. Like Geno's, a good roll. Also like the
competition, a frightening amount of fat lurking in the meat.
Rating: 2
Day Nine
Pie In The Sky, 102 East Lancaster Ave-nue, Wayne. Like they know from
cheese-steaks in Wayne, right? News flash -- they make a good one out in
these parts. The roll is an oddly pleasing thing, thin but not flat, soft
but not limp. Tasty meat. Artfully blended cheese that doesn't drip, but
shrouds the chopped steak like a warm, gooey blanket. Paranoia sets in
when I realize I've trashed two South Philly icons and am admiring some
uppity Main Line joint. As I drive away, I suspect I'm being tailed by a
guy in a Lincoln with an Italian horn hanging from his rearview mirror.
Rating: 4
Day 11
Wurst House, 4301 Baltimore Avenue. If this were chopped up any finer, it
would be a steak shake. Yet still, somehow, there are gristly veins
floating around in the mix. Maybe it's this subpar entry, maybe it's the
formidable bowel movements, but suddenly I'm dreading tomorrow's
lunchtime. Like a rock star whose passion for music is crushed by life on
the road, I've begun to hate the thing I love. If only I had a tour bus.
Or groupies.
Rating: 2
Day 12
Jim's Steaks, 400 South Street. The roll looks like it just wandered in
off the set of a Sally Struthers infomercial, the meat is only moderately
chopped, and the cheese is barely melted. Yet the damn thing is
inexplicably good. It's a mystery. Perhaps they spiked my birch beer. How
could such primitive construction produce such a marvel? The Stonehenge of
cheesesteaks.
Rating: 3.5
Day 13
Cobblestone Grill of Elfreth's Alley, main concourse behind section 309,
Citizens Bank Park. One wonders if Phils general manager Ed Wade sat in a
luxury box, looked down upon the working stiffs in cheap seats below, and
declared, "Let them eat shit." Crusty, impenetrable roll. Meat that tastes
like it's from the flanks of a rat who escaped the Vet implosion.
Rating: 0
Day 14
Smith & Wollensky, 210 West Rittenhouse Square. Before I bit into this
steak fit for a king -- chopped filet mignon and a $15 price tag -- I
never thought you could pack too much gooey dairy goodness into one
sandwich. I'm wrong. The tasty beef and healthy roll are no match for an
ocean of yellow American.
Rating: 2
Day 17
Steve's Prince of Steaks, 7200 Bustleton Avenue. Quite an unusual
presentation -- long slabs of meat laid out on top of each other on a
particularly lengthy roll. But it has an odd aftertaste, like some sort of
cleaning agent has crossed its path. The cheese is melted to liquid form,
and shoots off the roll onto my hands. And my face. And my lap. Bib
required.
Rating: 2
Max's Steaks, 3653 Germantown Avenue. I've started to notice that fewer
and fewer cooks take a split second to slice their sandwiches in half. A
request: If it's too small to be cut into halves, start making them
bigger. And if it's already big, do a guy a solid and take a knife to it.
Props to Max's for splitting up this bear. The steak's a little dry, and
the cheese isn't thoroughly integrated. But it's got a certain tang that's
either unique to Max's meat or just left over from whatever got grilled up
beforehand. Enjoyable, but after three steaks in one day, I can feel my
reflexes slowing down. Thankfully, in the state of Pennsylvania there's no
cholesterol limit for operating a motor vehicle.
Rating: 3
Day 18
Cosmi's Deli, 1501 South 8th Street. Just around the corner from Pat's and
Geno's sits the real king of steaks. These guys do it right. Fresh roll
with a choice of plain or seeded (I opt for the former), meat chopped with
a samurai's precision, melted cheese embracing each piece like Mama giving
Raj a bear hug on What's Happening? A piece of beef gets lodged between my
molars, and I don't want it to leave. That's a damn good sandwich.
Rating: 5
Day 19
Fresh Works, 407 Baltimore Pike, Morton. Sure, it's a chain, but they've
got this cheesesteak thing down pat. The bread has a personality and taste
all its own -- baked fresh each day, with a hint of sourdough or something
fancy-schmancy like that. My only critique is that it's a little flat --
could use some more meat in there to fill out the roll. Like a
power-lifter benching 600 pounds when you know he's got 700 in him. Max it
out, baby.
Rating: 3.5
LaSpada's, 1002 MacDade Boulevard, Milmont Park. A strange bird, this one.
Inside, the meat is soaked with cheese. Outside, a little dry. The roll is
mushy along the spine, devastated by a combo of gooey American and good
ol' grill grease. Not in good shape, but still likable. The John Goodman
of cheesesteaks.
Rating: 2.5
Leo's, 1403 Chester Pike, Folcroft. On looks alone, this steak should kick
ass -- well packed, fresh roll. But the cheese isn't properly integrated.
Meat, not so delicious. Great to stare at, but once you get to know it,
it's kinda strange. A lot like Angelina Jolie.
Rating: 2
Day 23
Meglio, 25 Swamp Road, Newtown. I'm well past the halfway point of my
50-steak quest, and while regular trips to the gym have kept my love
handles under control, I fear my organs are conspiring against me. Yet,
strangely, as sick as I am of cheese-
steaks, after about 24 hours of rest, I'm ready for more greasy
punishment. Like many of its brethren, Meglio's version suffers from
Spinal American Abnormality Disease (or SAAD) -- a paralyzing affliction
identified by plenty of cheese along the spine of the sandwich, with
outside edges as barren as Sea Isle City in February.
Rating: 3
Day 24
Swann Lounge at Four Seasons, 1 Logan Place. Let me preface this by saying
that my lunch at the elegant Four Seasons today is not the jacket-and-tie
affair you'd imagine Philly Mag would arrange, but rather a
khakis-and-polo-tee affront to everything the swanky Four Seasons stands
for. I figure this is appropriate, since the menu item in question -- a
cheesesteak spring roll -- is the culinary equivalent of flipping me and
cheesesteak purists everywhere the bird. It arrives on a porcelain boat
with a pool of ketchup and fries: four dainty little spring rolls (costing
$16), each the size of one bite's worth of a regular steak sandwich, each
wrapped in paper-thin fried crust. There's no way to eat these things
without your pinky finger popping out like you're sipping a cosmo. No
grease. And it's made by a friggin' four-star hotel. But you know, this is
good. Meat, cheese distribution -- perfect. Still -- no roll! How can this
compete? Why must the cheesesteak gods make such demands of me, after all
I've sacrificed thus far (most notably, free-flowing arteries)? Salvation
be damned -- I may fry forever on Satan's grill for this, but it's a
burden I must bear. I've snuck into the kitchen of the Man, and the Man
makes a great cheesesteak spring roll.
Rating: 4.5
Day 25
Big John's, 1800 Route 70 East, Cherry Hill. New rule -- steak should not
be so stringy that after consumption, one spends an entire car ride
unsuccessfully tongue-wrestling with a piece of meat lodged in one's jaw.
Rating: 2
Day 26
The Originals Italian Pizzeria, 833 West Trenton Avenue, Morrisville. The
thin roll hurts what could otherwise be a great sandwich. With some more
support, this could win the title. The Allen Iverson of cheesesteaks.
Rating: 3
Day 28
Tony Luke's, 39 East Oregon Avenue. This puppy's got some weight behind it
-- strips of meat stuffed into a hearty, rugged roll that was built for
handling a serious payload. Not overstuffed, yet not overwhelmed by the
roll. My only complaint is that for all its mass, it's a little light on
cheese. Slap another slice or two on here and you'd achieve South Philly
nirvana, but it's still the best of the flat-style sandwiches. A man's
meal, worthy of Steve McQueen.
Rating: 4.5
Day 29
Philly Steak and Hoagie Co., Philadelphia Marketplace, Philadelphia
International Airport between B and C terminals. Pity the traveler on a
layover at PHL whose only exposure to a Philly cheesesteak is this limp
impostor, a completely anonymous roll with about two naked inches on
either end. My order -- "American, without" -- somehow resulted in
confusion. "You want a cheese-steak?" replied the counter jockey. Half a
point off for cultural ignorance.
Rating: .5
Day 30
Italian Village, 821 West Lancaster Avenue, Downingtown. Something in the
particular flavor of this steak just isn't doing it for me. Have I become
jaded? Perhaps it's the recent screening of Super Size Me that's fresh in
my mind, and the filmmaker's weight gain, jellied liver and stunted sex
drive. Maybe it's the stench of meat lingering in my car. Or perhaps it's
just the bloating.
Rating: 3
Day 31
Giordanos, 633 East Cypress Street, Kennett Square. Points off for adding
a pinch of some bitey steaking spice to the meat -- it should stand on its
own, folks. If your bare steak doesn't make like a Fourth of July
fireworks finale, no amount of bells and whistles will save that charlatan
sandwich.
Rating: 3.5
Day 32
Lee's Hoagie House, 230 North Maple Avenue, Marlton. My only criticism is
the roll. It's a little undernourished, but it's fresh, and it gets the
job done. The rest is pure cheese-soaked perfection. Great
cheese-to-meat-to-bread ratio, not greasy or gristly. South Jersey showing
South Philly how it's done.
Rating: 4.5
Nardi's Deli, 201 Haddonfield-Berlin Road, West Berlin. Absolutely crammed
with meat. Tons of it. Do not lift without the aid of a spotter.
Rating: 4
Day 34
White House Sub Shop, 2301 Arctic Avenue, Atlantic City. Nothing wrong
with this sandwich, but nothing spectacular. The real draw here is eating
beneath photos of the Cos, Jerry Lewis and Sinatra (along with sweaty
towels from the Chairman of the Board's last A.C. gig, baby). I leave the
diner and, as if waking from a dream, realize I'm done. I promptly vow to
take a Gandhi-esque two-month cheesesteak sabbatical in hopes of achieving
peace in my digestive tract. Unless you're buying. In which case, I'll
take one wit'out.
Rating: 2.5 b
E-mail: ***@phillymag.com
The Cheesesteak Scorecard
We ate 'em, we rate 'em.
5 Clogged Arteries
Cosmi's Deli, 1501 South 8th Street. This year's Best Cheesesteak winner.
Spit out whatever you're chewing and grab one of these, pronto.
4.5 Clogged Arteries
Dakota Pizza Co., 333 East Lancaster Avenue, Wynnewood.
Lee's Hoagie House, 230 North Maple Avenue, Marlton.
Swann Lounge at Four Seasons, 1 Logan Place.
Tony Luke's, 39 East Oregon Avenue.
4 Clogged Arteries
Chick's, 906 Township Lane, Cherry Hill.
Chubby's, 5826 Henry Avenue.
Nardi's Deli, 201 Haddonfield-Berlin Road, West Berlin.
Pie in the Sky, 102 East Lancaster Avenue, Wayne.
3.5 Clogged Arteries
Dolce Carini, 1929 Chestnut Street.
Dalessandro's, 600 Wendover Avenue.
Fresh Works, 407 Baltimore Pike, Morton.
Giordanos, 633 East Cypress Street, Kennett Square.
Jim's Steaks, 400 South Street.
John's Roast Pork, Weccacoe and Snyder avenues.
The Peppermill, 813 North Chester Road, West Chester.
3 Clogged Arteries
Chink's Steaks, 6030 Torresdale Avenue.
Italian Kitchen, 521 East Baltimore Pike, Lansdowne.
Italian Village, 821 West Lancaster Avenue, Downingtown.
Lazaro's, 1743 South Street.
Max's Steaks, 3653 Germantown Avenue.
Meglio, 25 Swamp Road, Newtown.
Mama's, 426 Belmont Avenue, Bala Cynwyd.
The Originals Italian Pizzeria, 833 West Trenton Avenue, Morrisville.
Rick's Philly Steaks, Reading Terminal Market, 12th and Arch streets.
Sonny's, 228 Market Street.
2.5 Clogged Arteries
Columbia Park Cafe, Citizens Bank Park.
Garrett Hill, 910 Conestoga Road, Rosemont.
Geno's Steaks, 1219 South 9th Street.
Jim & Tim's, lunch truck at 19th and Market streets.
LaSpada's, 1002 MacDade Boulevard, Milmont Park.
Lou's, 414 East Main Street, Norristown.
Old Towne, 2301 Grays Ferry Avenue.
Slack's Hoagie Shack, 41 Snyder Avenue.
White House Sub Shop, 2301 Arctic Avenue, Atlantic City.
2 Clogged Arteries
Big John's, 1800 Route 70 East, Cherry Hill.
Leo's, 1403 Chester Pike, Folcroft.
Pat's King of Steaks, 1237 East Passyunk Avenue.
Sack O' Subs, 926 Asbury Avenue, Ocean City.
Smith & Wollensky, 210 West Rittenhouse Square
Steve's Prince of Steaks, 7200 Bustleton Avenue
Tony Jr.'s, 118 South 18th Street.
Wurst House, 4301 Baltimore Avenue
1.5 Clogged Arteries
Abner's, 3813 Chestnut Street.
Gianna's Grille, 507 South 6th Street.
Real Pizza, 18 West Avenue, Wayne.
Wachovia Center, lower concourse.
1 Clogged Artery
Crossroads, 1443 Main Street, Hellertown.
.5 Clogged Artery
Philly Steak and Hoagie Co., Philadelphia International Airport.
0 Clogged Arteries
Cobblestone Grill of Elfreth's Alley, Citizens Bank Park.
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