I do love a toasted roll. There was a place in Phoenixville 25 years ago, can’t remember the name, that toasted the roll with a little bit of butter and garlic before the put the cheesesteak in.
A toasted roll is called a grinder. That’s a different sandwich.
Perhaps, but not to the flufyans I know. In Philadelphia (where live the flufyans), a grinder is a sandwich baked in the pizza oven. There are various kinds - essentially any cold sandwich on a hoagie roll can be ‘grinderized’. However, I’ve never heard of a cheesesteak grinder. Pizza steaks - cheesesteaks w/ pizza sauce baked - are common.
Yes, Kevin…people should stick to posting on what they actually “know”.
A “grinder” (you can research it on the web) is essentially yet another name for a sub, hero, hoagie, “Italian”, torpedo and other variations. Grinder is the regional term used in New England, though “sub” is seemingly more prevalent up there these days.
In New England, they have a “tradition”…at some places…of putting the whole sandwich, lettuce, tomato, onion , everything in the pizza oven to heat it all the way through and melt the cheese. They used to call it an “oven grinder”; maybe they still do, but some places don’t distinguish on the menu: they ask if you want it baked. (Some places outside of New England will do that , too, and call it a “grinder” or “oven grinder”. (I think there’s a chain of such restaurants somewhere.)
Toasting the roll is just that; it doesn’t change the type or name of the sandwich.
Though I would not be presumptuous to say this is the “best” or even the “best” at Mama’s, I almost always have ordered a “cheesesteak hoagie with fried onions (not raw), toasted roll and oil (I usually ask for “extra fried onions”).” That sandwich is up there-- for me-- with Katz’s (NYC) pastrami and maybe the hot pork sandwich at Philadelphia’s John’s or DiNic’s (Reading Terminal Market) as my “top” world sandwiches (though a simple “jambon beurre” in France is also hard to beat.)
Long time lurker here. We’ve been to Philadelphia three times since last August as our daughter is now a freshman in medical school there. Coming from St. Louis we find the Philly food scene quite exciting although that may say more about St. Louis than Philly. For what it’s worth from this midwesterner, restaurants that we’ve enjoyed include Fork, Le Cheri, Osteria, Le Virtu and Petruce et al. We had a nice brunch at Talula’s Garden in October. The Barnes was terrific. My daughter loved the Mutter although we haven’t been yet. We’ve enjoyed all of our visits there.
Jim
Welcome, Jim. It’s not just exciting by comparison to St. Louis; it is indeed a really exciting food city with more BYOB possibilities than one cellar can handle, though it doesn’t sound like you’ve hit any so far.
And, haute cuisine is, IMO, not even its strong point.
Dalessandros. Best Cheesesteak hands down.
As someone who grew up in the area, Dalessandros is hands down the best cheesesteak in Philly. I’ve probably only eaten there 1000 times in my day. I was back in Philly visiting my parents in October and went there directly from the airport.
Careful Eric - if you use the word best without a disclaimer of some sort, it can set off a torrent of sanctimoniousness and an over abundance of extraneous quotation marks.
LOL. I say best because there is no doubt about it Sarah!
There are some other contenders, but it stands alone IMO. Bring on the debate!
FWIW- Pats and Ginos are awful and merely tourist traps.
Eric,
It’s hard to argue with someone who has the credibility of having “only eaten there 1000 times” in your day. ![[wow.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/7/7d450e9830889c8943b674446a21b7254cad657e.gif "wow"){kind=small}
(You sound like you feel gypped. )) ![[snort.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/b/bdc3944606213c4dca6c1169cf0a166c8bc4f8c9.gif "snort.gif"){kind=small}
You obviously made your mind up well before the the 900th visit. (Did you get the same thing every time? That’s a lot of gallons of Cheese Wiz Did you, by chance, live above the place, on Henry Ave? Did you try the Chubby’s steaks across the street the same number of times too? (I think it is better, though I don’t really like either of them.)
I’m sure Sarah is happy to have someone of your vast experience seconding her pronouncements. It sanctifies such coronations, with no need even for “quotation” marks. That you like their steaks even better than seeing your parents…and stop there first is certainly “actions speak louder than words” in a action. I hope your mom wasn’t cooking up something special to surprise you?
p.s. How old are you and when was your “day” ? That’s an awful lot of cheesesteaks for someone who left town. But, if youre a senior citizen…maybe not. What other places did you try and reject for the crown? (Serious question.)
Next time maybe go to Mama’s right from the airport…then to D’Alessandro’s…and tell mom to freeze the banguet to take back to LA.
Clearly I haven’t eaten there 1000 times but it was my cheesesteak of choice. I am not a fan of the “authentic” whiz as I enjoy provolone rather than processed crap.
I did go to Chubbys a couple times (when the line was too long or it was Sunday) and its not bad, although Dalessandros is under new ownership as of a couple of years ago and now open 7 days a week.
I grew up in Lafayette Hill about 20 min or so away but would always make the drive to Roxborough when I got the urge.
I would say the top two for me aside from Dalessandros are: Tony Lukes & Jim’s
***When I need a little piece of home, I have my parents buy and freeze them and send overnight. That’s dedication!
Before going to Philly five years ago with my daughter when she interviewed at UPenn for grad school, I asked my friend, let’s call him Stephen, for food recommendations. Stephen is a Philly native and currently owns one of the hottest restaurants in Los Angeles. He wrote me a long email, none of which was in all-caps, except for these parts, which he wrote in different paragraphs:
DO NOT GO TO PAT’S OR GENO’S!
.
.
.
.
(Warning: DO NOT GO TO PAT’S OR GENO’S STEAKS! Strictly for tourists and knuckleheads, unless you are drunk or it’s 2 am).
Carry on. ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
Couldn’t agree more. Pats and Genos are for people with fanny packs and for pictures. Nothing good about either.
But even when you are drunk at 2 AM, there is great Mexican to be had.
Wow, I should have asked some less polarizing like who makes the best pizza in NYC…
Gino’s, and pariticularly Pat’s are all about theater. (Gino’s is essentially a nearby copy of Pat’s that came around 40 years after Pat’s started; I’ve rarely gone there.) They are icons and have been for nearly 50 years or more. Most of the other chessesteak places are not that. So, it’s easy to pick on Pat’s and Gino’s, as people go there much less for the food than for the theater. (I think that’s true of DiFara’s in Brooklyn, too, to give Mike something to argue about.) The food at Pat’s has always been more than acceptable (theater only gets you so far)…and combined with the scene, the bright lights, the partiers and tourists and inebriated of all generations, it makes for a perpetual mardi gras mood (much like Cafe du Monde in NOLA). But…though it might not fit into an argument for “best” food…I’ve never felt anything but satisfaction there…and wish I could go there more.
Once one starts saying something is “best” based on the food…we are into something different, IMO. Pat’s tried years ago to franchise…even to NY (though a family feud complicated their efforts) and AC. It didn’t translate; none of them do, and I think Tony Luke’s efforts will, likewise, fail. Too many iconic places, whether good or bad, don’t translate well to
branches, partiucularly when the food is secondary to the theater. (Primantis in Pittsburg; Skyline Chili in Cinnnci; Regina’s pizza in Boston; the orignal Nathans on Coney Island, which first expanded to Times Square; and even DiFara’s which failed with a branch on Canal St. in Manhattan 5 years ago…serving the same pies…are examples that come to mind.) Some make it, usually because the food is the draw. When the theater/iconic context is key, they usually don’t though.
Icons are just that. And, should be thought of with different criteria, IMO.
To me, icons are always worth of visit. (Though I thought the best part of Primanti’s is the coleslaw. ) Understanding what they are and what they don’t aspire to be is important. They are part of a city/town’s essential culture; the opposite of anonymous, fungible places like all the high-heat, “wood” burniing (many are actually gas fired) quick=cook pizza places that have proliferated in every American city in the last decade or so. Roots.