so really...best cheese steak in Philly is????

The Juggler

The '03 tour was so much fun. I think I saw them 7 times including out in Vegas. 4/28/03 at the Spectrum was one of the best days ever. Eagles resigned Dawkins, mid 70's and sunny, and PJ damn near tore that place down 6 years early later that night.

Best rendition of Black ever was played that night as well. And I will fight whoever disagrees with that. 

RiotZact

F Me In The Brain said:

RiotZact said:

F Me In The Brain said:

RiotZact said:

Jearlpam0925 said:

Ishkabibble's is good stuff. Would do it as an occasional walk from work for lunch, when that was a thing people did.

Wins the South Street steak battle by a mile in my eyes. 

For reals?  Huh, have to check it out.  Haven't been there.  Right across from Jim's is a tough spot, although if it doesn't have a line that would certainly make it easier.
My wife loves Jim's that is her favorite.

I’ve been to the actual location twice and it was very busy both times but not much of a line. The steak itself is every bit as good as Jim’s IMO but those cheese fries are really something else. They also have a drink called the “Gremlin” which is half lemonade and half grape juice. Add the 3 together and it’s a complete package. 

That drink sounds completely disgusting.

I would try it!    Perhaps it is a thing of beauty.

Will give it a go.  I like Jim's fine, but I don't think it is as good as my wife does.  Would happily try IckyBicky with some cheese fries and the purple drank.

I love that you keep working your way through what the city has to offer, for steaks.

I don't think I will ever see a big dent in the number of tries I make, given a few factors.

1)  I don't live or work in the city, so the lunch spots are not frequent/convenient.

2)  Philly has so many great food options it is tough to always think Steak when I am there.

3)  The Roast Pork is so far and above a better sammie, imo, that it makes it really tough when I go to a new spot to look past trying the Pork.  I like if I am wit someone who is down to do a 1/2 and 1/2 split with me so we can try both.

4)  There are SO many other great sammies in Philly that even if I look beyond the Pork at a new place I try, it is also challenging to look beyond some of the spectacular options on the menu and go to the Steak.

5)  Just too fucking many.  Must be hundreds of places that serve a decent-good-to great Steak in Philly and surrounding suburbs.

Keep going, though, you can shine a light on the Must Try spots for those of us who struggle with 1-5, above. 

Hey I get it, the struggle is real! Even though it probably seems to you guys like I have a lot of cheesesteaks, in actuality my girlfriend and I rarely branch out from the few places that are within a mile or so of our house. We humans tend to stick with what’s in our immediate proximity.

Oddly enough I tried most of my favorite cheesesteaks before I even moved to Philly. Like many PJ fans my uncle and I like to use shows as excuses to explore new places, and in 2016 for the shows in April we hit Pat’s, Geno’s, and Jim’s. Then 7 months later for the TOTD shows we hit Dalessandro’s, John’s Roast Pork, and Joe’s. Then whenever Let’s Play Two came out we traveled to Philly to see it in theaters and hit Gooey Louey’s, Ishkabibble’s, and Chubbie’s. 

This is going to sound very overly romantic/dramatic, but it was really those cheesesteak trips that made me fall in love with the city and want to move here. I was always drawn to Philly because as a kid I was obsessed with Rocky and Allen Iverson, but seeking out those cheesesteaks and exploring the neighborhoods that they were in really made me fall in love. In Tacony, near the school where I taught last year, there is a bridge that says “Philadelphia: City of Neighborhoods” and I really think that hits the nail on the head. I’m sure every Northeast city could claim that title, but from my experience Philly seems pretty exceptional as far as how you can walk 2 blocks in any direction and find yourself in a totally different feeling area than you were in before (for better or worse lol). 

A lot of my family/friends like to pick on me and say that I only moved to Philly for the food, and although the food is amazing, that’s really not what it was. It was the exploring that I did while looking for the food that really opened my eyes. 

Jearlpam0925

Well.....now I have to get a tissue...

I love that you love this city, that I love very, very much.

Cheers.

Cliffy6745

Hear, hear. 15 years in. Wouldn’t change a thing. Not enough cheesesteaks perhaps, especially not enough sober ones.

bbiggs

Sounds like Chicago.  A big city of small neighborhoods.  You have steak.  We have beef.  I’d like to visit someday. 

RiotZact

Jearlpam0925 said:

Well.....now I have to get a tissue...

I love that you love this city, that I love very, very much.

Cheers.

Cliffy6745 said:

Hear, hear. 15 years in. Wouldn’t change a thing. Not enough cheesesteaks perhaps, especially not enough sober ones.

About half way through typing that it started to feel a little weird, but it really is true. 

RiotZact

bbiggs said:

Sounds like Chicago.  A big city of small neighborhoods.  You have steak.  We have beef.  I’d like to visit someday. 

I’m certainly no world traveler, but I’ve spent a decent amount of time in Pittsburgh, DC, Baltimore, NYC, and Tampa. No other place gave me that feeling of “I must move here” like Philly did......until I went to the 2018 Wrigley shows. 

Chicago wasn’t even our first choice, we wanted to go to Seattle  but the hotel prices were just insane. I could not have enjoyed the 3 days that we spent there more though. You know what it was that really sold me on it? Watching the city go by through the windows of the El. The rides to and from Wrigley to our hotel Downtown and the ride back to the airport just gave me that feeling of personality. 

The actual exploring that we did was really only Downtown and Wrigleyville, which was great but not especially unique compared to other cities. 

eeriepadave

Apparently it's national cheesesteak day

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsRiPQoa-Hs

Gern Blansten

I still can't believe anyone puts cheez wiz on those sandwiches

Jearlpam0925

Never been a big fan of Whiz on a cheesesteak. The only time is on a Heart Attack (Whiz, Provolone, American) mmmmm at three in the morning.

bbiggs

Didn’t feel like cooking tonight so Portillos it was. Such a damn good treat. Beef with mozz and giardiniera 

mcgruff10

That looks amazing!!

F Me In The Brain

bbiggs said:

Didn’t feel like cooking tonight so Portillos it was. Such a damn good treat. Beef with mozz and giardiniera 

I would fuck that up.  That seriously looks great.

Chicago pizza needs to go in the trash.  Beef, beef, and beef is where it needs to be.

RiotZact

F Me In The Brain said:

bbiggs said:

Didn’t feel like cooking tonight so Portillos it was. Such a damn good treat. Beef with mozz and giardiniera 

I would fuck that up.  That seriously looks great.

Chicago pizza needs to go in the trash.  Beef, beef, and beef is where it needs to be.

F Me In The Brain

Cause one is just ok and the other is awesome!

(We can have both!)

The Juggler

So I joined this facebook cheesesteak group and promptly left it a few days later since it was filled with nothing but absolute cliquey douchebags who all seemed to work in these cheesesteak places. 

But all of them seemed to think this place in Levittown called Curly's makes some of the best cheesesteaks in the area. Has any ever heard of it? I had not until seeing them talk about it. A couple of my friends have confirmed it's awesomness and I'm contemplating making a pilgrimage for dinner tonight. 

Also, these guys are big on the Cooper Sharp American cheese. I am more of a Provolone guy myself. American is good too. But the Cooper Sharp has a little more bite to it. Curly's uses that as their standard unless you request something else. 

F Me In The Brain

The Juggler said:

So I joined this facebook cheesesteak group and promptly left it a few days later since it was filled with nothing but absolute cliquey douchebags who all seemed to work in these cheesesteak places. 

But all of them seemed to think this place in Levittown called Curly's makes some of the best cheesesteaks in the area. Has any ever heard of it? I had not until seeing them talk about it. A couple of my friends have confirmed it's awesomness and I'm contemplating making a pilgrimage for dinner tonight. 

Also, these guys are big on the Cooper Sharp American cheese. I am more of a Provolone guy myself. American is good too. But the Cooper Sharp has a little more bite to it. Curly's uses that as their standard unless you request something else. 

I'm generally not a big American cheese fan myself....although since moving here it has gone up some levels.  I even like (love in the right circumstances) that nasty ass melted American cheese pot. 

Cooper sharp is pretty good. 

Had never heard of Curly's and have only ever driven through Levittown.

Let us know what you think / show us a pic!

RiotZact

The Juggler said:

So I joined this facebook cheesesteak group and promptly left it a few days later since it was filled with nothing but absolute cliquey douchebags who all seemed to work in these cheesesteak places. 

But all of them seemed to think this place in Levittown called Curly's makes some of the best cheesesteaks in the area. Has any ever heard of it? I had not until seeing them talk about it. A couple of my friends have confirmed it's awesomness and I'm contemplating making a pilgrimage for dinner tonight. 

Also, these guys are big on the Cooper Sharp American cheese. I am more of a Provolone guy myself. American is good too. But the Cooper Sharp has a little more bite to it. Curly's uses that as their standard unless you request something else. 

I’ve never been there or heard of it but I just did a quick Yelp search and the pictures look amazing. I would say definitely give it a go and let us know how it is!

I usually just view Cooper Sharp as a brand that makes American cheese. I’m sure if you just ate it plain right from the deli it has some differences, but when it’s melted all over a good steak I usually can’t tell the difference. I always go with American though, so I can’t really say if you should go with their recommendation or stick to your usual. 

Jearlpam0925

Yeah, I kinda think provolone is a waste on a cheesesteak. Sharp prov on roast pork/meatball parm/chicken cutlet for sure, but a cheeseteak needs the saltiness of something like American.

The Juggler

These douchebags would seriously not shut up about the Cooper Sharp American though. It apparently melts better than regular American... I think that was what they liked about it the most. 



Yeah I hear you with the saltiness, JP. I've drifted more towards American lately. Wouldn't call Prov a waste though.