Philly's Best Cheesesteak

Glen Macnow, an on-air personality for 610 WIP Sports Radio hosted an ultimate cheesesteak challenge in search of Philadelphia and surrounding areas BEST cheesesteak. The last three food hunts were on focused on burgers The winners : (Rossi‘s Bar and Grill), ribs (Fat Jack‘s), and pizza (Tacconelli‘s). Glen sampled top-grade cheesesteaks all over the Delaware Valley--40 cheesesteaks in 40 days (and 40 pounds heavier) while keeping fans updated on the rankings. To make the competition consistent and fair, he only sampled cheesesteaks with provolone cheese and onions.

This year, the competition was held at Paddywacks on South Street. Jon Runyan, Kathy Orr, Vince Papale, Ike Reese, George Perrier, Ray Didinger, and myself judged the competition. After exploring all the restaurants in the area, Glen narrowed the competition to the Top 5 best cheesesteaks including: John’s Roast Pork, Steve’s Prince of Steaks, Chink’s Steaks, Talk of the Town, and Grey Lodge Pub. We had to determine from his Top 5 which were the best cheesesteaks. Listeners called into the station to question and second his opinion so Glen allowed Slacks Hoagie Shack, Sonny’s Famous Steaks, Tony Luke’s, White House Sub Shop, and Dalessandro’s to redeem themselves by competing for listeners choice.

There was clear-cut favorites and I already knew that Steve’s Prince of Steaks was my favorite but I didn’t want to be partial. It was definitely good, but wasn’t nearly as good as when you actually take the track up to the Northeast. The steaks were made ahead of time, the cheese was cold and the meat was tough. Since each restaurant had to bring all their food to South Street from wherever they were located, his suffered greatly.

Our criteria was based on a 1-10 scale of how well the meat, cheese, bread, and overall appearance was executed. John’s Roast Pork on Synder Avenue, South Philadelphia won the competition (also Craig Laban and James Beard Foundation Award) but I preferred Chink’s Steaks, which came in third. I think Chink’s had a great sandwich. The roll was perfect, crispy on the outside and warm and soft on the inside. The provolone cheese was mild and the onions were browned and beautifully executed.

John’s foot long cheesesteak was good but the sesame seed roll was hard and seemed out of place, the sharp provolone cheese was stringy and the seasoned beef was messy and very difficult to eat.

There was approximately 400 people on live broadcast and we were all breaking each others balls. Joe Conklin, a Philadelphia comedian who is well known for his impersonations of local athletes and celebrities was mimicking all of our voices at the judging table. It was a great time and absolutely hilarious watching everyone down cheesesteaks…thankfully no one threw up. George Perrier left halfway through the judging to take a shit and by the end of the event Jon and I were in need of a toilet, pronto.

Comments

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Thanks for the reviews. I am personally partial to Tony Luke's.

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