Los Gallos (personal fave), Tres Jalapenos, El Rancho Viejo, Puyero (though it's Venezuelan, still awesome), El Sarape, basically any Mexican joint on 9th Street (Tortilleria San Roman for fresh tortillas), Guisados Don Roman.
But if I'm picking two it's Los Gallos and then Rancho Viejo. Just sucks because the best part is the BYO aspect. Los Gallos, el pastor tacos if you can't make up your mind.
A little different style but mole poblano and blue corn are also good. Love los gallos and el rancho. Tamalex for tamales. The truck on Washington.
Tres jalapeños has been my delivery go to for a decade plus now
I haven’t had a ton of Mexican since I’ve moved here but I did have Blue Corn one day and it was awesome. I got Al Pastor tacos with pineapple and I might say they’re the best tacos I’ve ever had.
My hot take anymore on South Philly and cheesesteaks, roast pork, pizza, stromboli, etc etc is that it's great and all. but Mexican has overtaken Italian for the best cultural cuisine down here.
My hot take anymore on South Philly and cheesesteaks, roast pork, pizza, stromboli, etc etc is that it's great and all. but Mexican has overtaken Italian for the best cultural cuisine down here.
Vietnamese is right up there too
Was gonna say, but was trying to not go off too far. Definitely.
See I haven’t even tried either of those places but I’ve heard great things. We get Apricot Stone pretty often and we’ve also had Pita Chip recently which I might have liked even more but it’s a little farther away. But it seems like every time we talk to anyone about the local food scene they mention a different Mediterranean place that I’ve never heard of and I google it to find awesome reviews.
Tony Luke's Founder and Son Dodged Taxes for a Decade, Feds Allege
The U.S. Attorney in Philly said the owners kept some employees wages on the books and paid the rest in cash off the books.
By Joe Brandt • Published July 24, 2020
The founder of venerable South Philadelphia cheesesteak spot Tony Luke's and his son were federally indicted this week on tax fraud charges, with prosecutors saying they hid about $8 million from the IRS over a period of at least 10 years.
Anthony Lucidonio Sr. ("Tony Luke Sr.") and Nicholas Lucidonio are charged with conspiracy and aiding/assisting false employment tax returns, according to the indictment in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia.
The 23-count indictment alleges that the business had two separate sets of records detailing the businesses' sales at their popular shop at Front Street and Oregon Avenue in South Philadelphia. One record was missing a portion of cash receipts from the cheesesteak shops, keeping that pool of money away from income taxes.
Tony Luke's Founder, Son Accused of Dodging Taxes
The founder of iconic South Philly cheesesteak spot Tony Luke's and his son have been federally indicted on tax fraud charges, with prosecutors saying they hid about $8 million from the IRS over a period a decade.
Federal prosecutors say the Lucidonios gave the incomplete records to an accountant who filed their tax returns, and kept the complete records elsewhere. The practice continued from 2006 until 2016, the document says.
But in 2015, they became worried that a franchising dispute with someone identified only as "Individual A" would lead to the tax scheme becoming public knowledge. So they asked an accountant to amend their corporate tax returns for 2013 and 2014, reporting the full sales. But on those amended returns, the Lucidonios added false expenses to receive fraudulent write-offs, the indictment says.
In a statement, defense attorneys for the pair say they dispute the charges and look forward to defending themselves in court.
"Tony and Nicky have fully cooperated with the government’s investigation since its outset," says the statement from Ian M. Comisky and Walter Weir Jr.
"The Original Tony Luke’s will continue to serve its faithful clientele and provide gainful employment to its employees and their families."
Payroll
The father and son were also accused of payroll tax fraud. Several employees were given a paycheck that was taxed, but did not represent their full wage. The rest of the wage was paid off the books in cash.
The Lucidonios in the indictment only own the Tony Luke's South Philly location. Anthony Lucidonio Jr. (also known as Tony Luke Jr.) owns the franchise company that has locations at the Philadelphia International Airport, King of Prussia and elsewhere.
“Tony Luke’s is an iconic Philadelphia brand, but that is not what matters in the eyes of the law," U.S. Attorney William McSwain said in a news release. "These are serious allegations and it should go without saying that everyone has an obligation to follow the law. This alleged scheme victimized honest taxpayers in two ways: first, by hiding more than $8 million in revenue from the IRS and second, by avoiding payroll taxes.”
“And when the defendants thought their scheme might be discovered, they allegedly cooked the books even further to cover their tracks,” he added.
I haven't had a philly chesesteak in awhile now :sad:
8/28/98- Camden, NJ
10/31/09- Philly
5/21/10- NYC
9/2/12- Philly, PA
7/19/13- Wrigley
10/19/13- Brooklyn, NY
10/21/13- Philly, PA
10/22/13- Philly, PA
10/27/13- Baltimore, MD
4/28/16- Philly, PA
4/29/16- Philly, PA
5/1/16- NYC
5/2/16- NYC
9/2/18- Boston, MA
9/4/18- Boston, MA
9/14/22- Camden, NJ
9/7/24- Philly, PA
9/9/24- Philly, PA
Tres Mts.- 3/23/11- Philly. PA
Eddie Vedder- 6/25/11- Philly, PA
RNDM- 3/9/16- Philly, PA
Tried “The Heater” from Campo’s today. Steak, jalapeños, hot sauce, and jalapeño cheddar. Really tasty and way better than I remember their regular cheesesteak being. My girlfriend loves the Flyers one that comes with cream cheese and tomatoes so now I know what I’ll be getting when she’s craving that from now on.
Tony Luke's Founder and Son Dodged Taxes for a Decade, Feds Allege
The U.S. Attorney in Philly said the owners kept some employees wages on the books and paid the rest in cash off the books.
By Joe Brandt • Published July 24, 2020
The founder of venerable South Philadelphia cheesesteak spot Tony Luke's and his son were federally indicted this week on tax fraud charges, with prosecutors saying they hid about $8 million from the IRS over a period of at least 10 years.
Anthony Lucidonio Sr. ("Tony Luke Sr.") and Nicholas Lucidonio are charged with conspiracy and aiding/assisting false employment tax returns, according to the indictment in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia.
The 23-count indictment alleges that the business had two separate sets of records detailing the businesses' sales at their popular shop at Front Street and Oregon Avenue in South Philadelphia. One record was missing a portion of cash receipts from the cheesesteak shops, keeping that pool of money away from income taxes.
Tony Luke's Founder, Son Accused of Dodging Taxes
The founder of iconic South Philly cheesesteak spot Tony Luke's and his son have been federally indicted on tax fraud charges, with prosecutors saying they hid about $8 million from the IRS over a period a decade.
Federal prosecutors say the Lucidonios gave the incomplete records to an accountant who filed their tax returns, and kept the complete records elsewhere. The practice continued from 2006 until 2016, the document says.
But in 2015, they became worried that a franchising dispute with someone identified only as "Individual A" would lead to the tax scheme becoming public knowledge. So they asked an accountant to amend their corporate tax returns for 2013 and 2014, reporting the full sales. But on those amended returns, the Lucidonios added false expenses to receive fraudulent write-offs, the indictment says.
In a statement, defense attorneys for the pair say they dispute the charges and look forward to defending themselves in court.
"Tony and Nicky have fully cooperated with the government’s investigation since its outset," says the statement from Ian M. Comisky and Walter Weir Jr.
"The Original Tony Luke’s will continue to serve its faithful clientele and provide gainful employment to its employees and their families."
Payroll
The father and son were also accused of payroll tax fraud. Several employees were given a paycheck that was taxed, but did not represent their full wage. The rest of the wage was paid off the books in cash.
The Lucidonios in the indictment only own the Tony Luke's South Philly location. Anthony Lucidonio Jr. (also known as Tony Luke Jr.) owns the franchise company that has locations at the Philadelphia International Airport, King of Prussia and elsewhere.
“Tony Luke’s is an iconic Philadelphia brand, but that is not what matters in the eyes of the law," U.S. Attorney William McSwain said in a news release. "These are serious allegations and it should go without saying that everyone has an obligation to follow the law. This alleged scheme victimized honest taxpayers in two ways: first, by hiding more than $8 million in revenue from the IRS and second, by avoiding payroll taxes.”
“And when the defendants thought their scheme might be discovered, they allegedly cooked the books even further to cover their tracks,” he added.
Crazy....this happens a lot though. Cash businesses will under report income and then when they want to sell the business it isn't valued as high because actual sales are understated.
Remember the Thomas Nine !! (10/02/2018) The Golden Age is 2 months away. And guess what….. you’re gonna love it! (teskeinc 11.19.24)
1998: Noblesville; 2003: Noblesville; 2009: EV Nashville, Chicago, Chicago 2010: St Louis, Columbus, Noblesville; 2011: EV Chicago, East Troy, East Troy 2013: London ON, Wrigley; 2014: Cincy, St Louis, Moline (NO CODE) 2016: Lexington, Wrigley #1; 2018: Wrigley, Wrigley, Boston, Boston 2020: Oakland, Oakland:2021: EV Ohana, Ohana, Ohana, Ohana 2022: Oakland, Oakland, Nashville, Louisville; 2023: Chicago, Chicago, Noblesville 2024: Noblesville, Wrigley, Wrigley, Ohana, Ohana
moochie’s....salt lake city....”straight outta philly”....but without the attitude.
If I had known then what I know now...
Vegas 93, Vegas 98, Vegas 00 (10 year show), Vegas 03, Vegas 06
VIC 07
EV LA1 08
Seattle1 09, Seattle2 09, Salt Lake 09, LA4 09
Columbus 10
EV LA 11
Vancouver 11
Missoula 12
Portland 13, Spokane 13
St. Paul 14, Denver 14
Despite Wob consistently posting absolutely disgusting looking sandwiches from this place, I did see Moochies on a DDD episode recently and it looks relatively legit, or about as legit as a Utah cheesesteak place can look.
Haha. That picture is indeed fucked up, Wobbie. I am happy to believe it is a great sammy spot but the composition in the latest one made me laugh out loud
Comments
But if I'm picking two it's Los Gallos and then Rancho Viejo. Just sucks because the best part is the BYO aspect. Los Gallos, el pastor tacos if you can't make up your mind.
Tony Luke's Founder and Son Dodged Taxes for a Decade, Feds Allege
The U.S. Attorney in Philly said the owners kept some employees wages on the books and paid the rest in cash off the books.
By Joe Brandt • Published July 24, 2020
10/31/09- Philly
5/21/10- NYC
9/2/12- Philly, PA
7/19/13- Wrigley
10/19/13- Brooklyn, NY
10/21/13- Philly, PA
10/22/13- Philly, PA
10/27/13- Baltimore, MD
4/28/16- Philly, PA
4/29/16- Philly, PA
5/1/16- NYC
5/2/16- NYC
9/2/18- Boston, MA
9/4/18- Boston, MA
9/14/22- Camden, NJ
9/7/24- Philly, PA
9/9/24- Philly, PA
Eddie Vedder- 6/25/11- Philly, PA
RNDM- 3/9/16- Philly, PA
Go Sonny's next time over Campo's.
The Golden Age is 2 months away. And guess what….. you’re gonna love it! (teskeinc 11.19.24)
1998: Noblesville; 2003: Noblesville; 2009: EV Nashville, Chicago, Chicago
2010: St Louis, Columbus, Noblesville; 2011: EV Chicago, East Troy, East Troy
2013: London ON, Wrigley; 2014: Cincy, St Louis, Moline (NO CODE)
2016: Lexington, Wrigley #1; 2018: Wrigley, Wrigley, Boston, Boston
2020: Oakland, Oakland: 2021: EV Ohana, Ohana, Ohana, Ohana
2022: Oakland, Oakland, Nashville, Louisville; 2023: Chicago, Chicago, Noblesville
2024: Noblesville, Wrigley, Wrigley, Ohana, Ohana
Vegas 93, Vegas 98, Vegas 00 (10 year show), Vegas 03, Vegas 06
VIC 07
EV LA1 08
Seattle1 09, Seattle2 09, Salt Lake 09, LA4 09
Columbus 10
EV LA 11
Vancouver 11
Missoula 12
Portland 13, Spokane 13
St. Paul 14, Denver 14
I'm not surprised to see us locals not like the looks of that so-called cheesesteak.