• Watch Out for Scammers!

    We've now added a color code for all accounts. Orange accounts are new members, Blue are full members, and Green are Supporters. If you get a message about a sale from an orange account, make sure you pay attention before sending any money!

Might Be An East Coast Thing-But Where Did You Find The Best Cheese Steak

Pizza is like sex.

Good pizza blows your mind.

Shitty pizza is still pretty damn good.
I’ve eaten great pizza in NY back in the day, but about the best old NY style pie I’ve had was on a joint in Boca Raton. Course half the population there seems to be NY’ers of Italian descent haha
 
The Paella at Columbia in Ybor is the best. I never go anywhere or have anything else when I'm down there.
 
  • Love
Reactions: Baron23
My house:


CIMG1196.JPG


Start wit Tri-tip

NO......cheese whiz is NOT cheese.
 
^^^^^^^You need to post that recipe in the nom nom thread!!!!!

What's the difference between a wok and a paella pan?
 
I'm not going to claim to be an expert on cheese steak sandwiches but my preference is for Jersey Mike's cheese steak sandwiches. Their restaurants can be found coast-to-coast.

My favorite (but not traditional) is the #44 Buffalo Chicken Cheese Steak. Everything tastes good with Frank's Red Hot Sauce.

My apologies if it seems that I'm hijacking this thread with non traditional sandwiches.

44-buffalo-chicken-cheesesteak-reg.png

Pure garbage.



Of course, I may be biased as the one here causes me to shit through a screen door. Tried it 3 times because I'm dumb and coworkers kept telling me it would be better this time. Bland food and rotten guts every single time.




Mexican place in Williston ND. They do shaved rib-eye, toss it on the grill with cheese, add caramelized onions, home made Carolina smokey bbq sauce, and fresh peppers. All on top of good bread in a serving size that feeds 2.


Only thing I miss about that place that was the border to hell, is the Mexican food (fish tacos one place, steak suppresa at another, and burritos and cheese steaks at another).
 
Like, "the Bagel Cafe"? Of course, been there many times. Had a girlfriend in school who worked there.
Yup. That’s the place. I dated a girl in college who’s family owns a farm there in Rockport so I frequented the bagel shops and the docks for fresh lobsters and fish many times lol.
 
  • Like
Reactions: AMGtuned
When I was younger growing up in Philly 88-92 we always had these pizza joints around that made bomb ass Philly Cheese steaks. Most of them went unconventional and did a pizza steak, which was a Philly Cheese steak with marinara sauce and provolone cheese. They did the same thing with fries too. But the best Philly Cheese steak I have ever had was this one place in Harrisburg PA of all places. They didn't use the Ambrosio bread that 90% of Philly uses. That's the hardest thing to replicate if you are not from Philly.
 
  • Like
Reactions: sled_mack
I’ve had Pat’s and Geno’s. The good food trucks are better in Philly. My personal fav and maybe cause it was across the street from the University is the Pickle Barrel in Bozeman Mt. Still make a point of going there for lunch every time i am in Bozangles
 
Tony Lukes
Nick's Roast Beef
John's Roast Pork

Pat's and Geno's are low rent, tourist garbage.

And if you like wings and thighs, Cheerleaders on Front.
 
Raven is quite right. Pats and Genos are now tourist places.
Jims on 4th is decent but a bit bland.
jims in NE is terrible
Tony Lukes does a good roast pork but their chicken cutlet is awesome
The Best steak hands down is an absolute shithole over the river in Camden. Write this down
Donkey's steaks. you will thank me later
they close early because you do not want to be driving around Camden at night if you don't where you are or really even if you know where you are trust me..... you want to get the fuck out of Camden as fast as possible once the sun sets. Think escape from NY the movie with hookers. That said during the day, it is perfectly fine and is a huge hangout for the police, so its pretty safe. You will smell like grilled onions when you leave but that isn't really that bad.
Never order a cheesesteak with swiss or mushrooms or bell peppers. You will be immediately outted as an out of towner and promptly robbed. The cherry peppers in the 5 gal bucket with a slotted spoon are good to go. as are the pickles in similar fashion.

Next time your in Philly
Tony Lukes
or Donkeys for the adventurous
Chickie and petes is a great time with wonderful muscles in red sauce. Just be sure to ask for hard crusted bread to dip in the tomato sauce. Even Chickies has become "touristy" and i wouldn't waste my money on the crabs or seafood other than the muscles. the roast beef and pork are good as well as the wings and chickies crab fries (Fries with old bay and side of melted white american) these are friggin delicous.
Jersey pizza is very good but the best is
Peoples Pizza in Cherryhill NJ, not far from Philly and next to Camden. Worth the drive. The owners are crazy Italians and always have goddamned soccer on. They also won;t hesitate to throw your ass out for no reason. LOL I love that place.
The other place is down in Wildwood NJ on the Boardwalk. Macs Pizza. just perfect shore pizza. I know Ocean city people will say manco and macs but Macs in wildwood is delicious.
For Hoagies
Carmens in Bellmawr again right over the Walt Whitman Bridge like 5 minutes from Philly
Huge sandwich, not cheap but quality meats and cheeses lots of it on fresh baked south jersy rolls right up the street where you can go get your own hoagie/steak rolls as the come out of the over and hit the conveyor belt.
Everybody always raved about whitehouse subs in AC. Fucking terrible.
Since moving To TN I do lament sometimes about the lack of the above mentioned Items. I will be trying the cheesesteak place quiet mike mentioned off 24.
 
As a side note Joeys Pizza in Nashville is pretty great. I do not think its real thin crust NY pizza but damn good. Especially if you like garlic. The rest of their italian offerings looked great as well and the place is always packed and the daughter running the showing is hilarious and easy on the eyes. But she moves. honestly, i don't know how she can do that everyday without blowing an entire bag of cocaine up her nose before work. LOL. Yes, she is that crazy.
 
@srtsam it seems you really know Philly. I went through there once on a motorcycle trip back from Canada to Florida to see a friend. This is back in 2008 I think but he owned a place called Jack Frost. Little place on the side of the road but I remember he had some good food. Ended up shutdown and moving to Florida cause he said it turned into a shithole up there. Do you know that place or ever go there?
 
For the guys in Tampa that like Cubans. Gas station on the corner of Klosterman rd and alt19 in palm harbor is pretty legit. Right next door to a pizza place called the plum tomato, also legit. Get the mulberry pizza it’s awesome.
 
Man.... this is depressing for me since i can't have bread/sub rolls, etc. anymore due to A1C/Blood Sugar. I have had Pat's (Pat Oliveri invented the Cheese Steak after all), and a few other things. There was a great man that made a "Cheeseburger Sub" on the island I spent my summers (litterally on a 11" sub roll). I want to try a Dinic's Roast Pork in the Reading Terminal Market. But the thing I always loved was NJ Style Pizza. NJ Style is a little larger/thicker than NY Pizza and usually contains larger portion sizes of cheese, etc.

But I can't do that anymore (Pizza dough has a really high Glycemic load/response). What I've had to do is make "Pizza Bowls," instead. I saw one of my local Pizza chains offer it and I then figured out how to make them myself. There are these lined cardboard trays that withstand oven temperatures of 400˚F for an hour. I take a tray, and throw all the ingredients I'd normally put on the dough in that tray (cheese, sauce, meats, etc.), and then I bake it at 375˚F for 20 minutes.

51BpgBnSMBL._SL1030_.jpg




It works! And a much lower glycemic response! (y)
 
Last edited:
Love a Cuban too and get them in Ybor City in Tampa. Then a nice hand rolled cigar :cool:

When I started reading this thread, I also though about a good Cuban. I have had good cheese steaks sandwiches, but apparently not the "real deal" before. The Cuban is my favorite, though. There are a ton of different varieties, although I prefer the traditional. The ingredients are important, but that bread.....real Cuban style bread makes the sandwich. Not many Cuban bakeries anymore and very few sandwich shops use the correct bread. Ybor City provides the real deal.


I do a lot of work in Tampa and St. Pete and have had sandwiches from a lot of the Tampa places. Still one of the best Cubans I ever had is from a small sandwich shop right off I-75 at the "Big Daddy Don Garlits" Museum exit in Ocala. It was next to a gas station and I think it was called Mary's Cuban Kitchen or Mary's Sandwich Shop or something. Flipping amazing.

I'll also try to time my trips to stop by Mi Apa in Alachua. They have very good Cubans too....and those plantain chips I love.


dang....I'm hungry now.
 
  • Love
Reactions: Baron23
For the guys in Tampa that like Cubans. Gas station on the corner of Klosterman rd and alt19 in palm harbor is pretty legit. Right next door to a pizza place called the plum tomato, also legit. Get the mulberry pizza it’s awesome.
I can promise you that I will try this next time I'm in town.
 
Lol. I’d like to try that place donkeys in Camden, but my days of going into Philly/Camden are over. I’d have to get a proxy to get me a sandwich from there. Good tip on not getting mushrooms or bells lmfao!! 🤣

I’ll have to tell the wife to look into tri-tip cuts of meat We make our own these days.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jim Out
When I started reading this thread, I also though about a good Cuban. I have had good cheese steaks sandwiches, but apparently not the "real deal" before. The Cuban is my favorite, though. There are a ton of different varieties, although I prefer the traditional. The ingredients are important, but that bread.....real Cuban style bread makes the sandwich. Not many Cuban bakeries anymore and very few sandwich shops use the correct bread. Ybor City provides the real deal.


I do a lot of work in Tampa and St. Pete and have had sandwiches from a lot of the Tampa places. Still one of the best Cubans I ever had is from a small sandwich shop right off I-75 at the "Big Daddy Don Garlits" Museum exit in Ocala. It was next to a gas station and I think it was called Mary's Cuban Kitchen or Mary's Sandwich Shop or something. Flipping amazing.

I'll also try to time my trips to stop by Mi Apa in Alachua. They have very good Cubans too....and those plantain chips I love.


dang....I'm hungry now.
You nailed it! That Mary’s is right next to gas station at that exit. Closest to the highway. Awesome Cubans! Good Cuban coffees also. We get off at that exit to go to santos to ride mountain bikes and get food from there every single time. Never miss it. Definitely try that place I mentioned. It’s literally in the gas station. Guy sells out every day. Think it’s 250 Cubans a day, it’s insane. When I was a kid there was a shack directly across the street from ST Pete Clearwater airport on Roosevelt dr, no one spoke English but it’s been gone for ever. Think they went broke when they screwed everything up with the road construction back in the day.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jethro3898
@srtsam it seems you really know Philly. I went through there once on a motorcycle trip back from Canada to Florida to see a friend. This is back in 2008 I think but he owned a place called Jack Frost. Little place on the side of the road but I remember he had some good food. Ended up shutdown and moving to Florida cause he said it turned into a shithole up there. Do you know that place or ever go there?
Sorry, not that i can recall. Usually, once you find "your" place its where you eat til they close or you move away. LOL. There is the exception of when it changes ownership. Carmens went through this a few years back, new owner thought he could get cheaper meat or put less on the sandwich while charging the same. The place nose dived. They quickly went back to the old way and the sandwiches never tasted better. I will definitely be trying the cuban sandwich place in Tampa though. I do love a good cuban.
 
West coast -Steak Adelphia in Portland
Philly / Narberth- Real Pizza

As for Paella.....my place
View attachment 7775285View attachment 7775288
Man, i love me a good paella.. In south Florida many many years ago, we went to a dinner party and the host was Portuguese. I still remember to this day the Paella his wife made. I think i jizzed alittle in my pants with each bite i took. Not because of his wife, though she was gorgeous, but the food. It was ridiculously good.
 
The Paella at Columbia in Ybor is the best. I never go anywhere or have anything else when I'm down there.

I've had it at the Columbia on St. Pete Beach Boardwalk (see below). I think also the Columbia in Sarasota. Yum!

iu
 
There’s a place in the Denver area called Taste of Philly that’s pretty good, but I don’t care that much about them. My wife’s parents grew up in Philly and they both said this place was really close to an authentic Philly sandwich
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jefe's Dope
Paella recipe is now in the Nom Nom thread.
This recipe is damned easy and taught to me by a chef from Barcelona over a zoom meeting at the beginning of the Covidity. Pella is peasant food, cooked in the field by citrus farmers from where my ancestors on my dad's side are from...Catalonia.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jim Out
I've had it at the Columbia on St. Pete Beach Boardwalk (see below). I think also the Columbia in Sarasota. Yum!

iu

Too cool. I love the St. Pete area.
I always thought the previous Pier was kind of cool looking and I never understood why they wanted to replace it (unless it was structurally unsound)....but hey....if they've got the money, we've got the time.

My company did a fair amount of the structural steel work for the new St. Pete Pier....specifically the sunshade structures at the approach and the large pylons holding up that Eschelman net sculpture thing. We were going to do the pier head, but our shop was booked up when they needed that steel onsite. We even made it on the cover of Modern Steel Construction (the steel industry geek magazine) this past month for the sunshades at the Pier Approach. Even though I liked the "old" pier, the new one is really a neat experience. Hopefully the city gets a lot of recognition for it....'cause they spent a fortune on it.

01a.jpg


Sorry to derail the thread.
 
Pittsburg /= Philly...

But Primanti Bro's does make a damn fine sandwich... odd the first time you get it with french fries, cole slaw and tomato on it, but its good. There is one in downtown Indianapolis now too thats just as good.
add on in State College and one in Camp Hill...
 
I love the St. Pete area.
Brother.....if we only knew. Not all THAT long ago (yeah, I'm old but I'm not talking ancient history) you could buy St Pete real estae for pocket change as it was like the elephant graveyard with old pensioners...and not wealthy ones either.

Now, wow.....and I too do like St Pete very much.

My cousin's son runs Daddy Cool in St Pete....eclectic music store specializing in remastered vinyl records and the like. The son also used to promote concerts there and I was at one at the State Theater.

Just a very cool place now....but unless you have megabucks, it may not be accessible anymore.
 
Man.... this is depressing for me since i can't have bread/sub rolls, etc. anymore due to A1C/Blood Sugar. I have had Pat's (Pat Oliveri invented the Cheese Steak after all), and a few other things. There was a great man that made a "Cheeseburger Sub" on the island I spent my summers (litterally on a 11" sub roll). I want to try a Dinic's Roast Pork in the Reading Terminal Market. But the thing I always loved was NJ Style Pizza. NJ Style is a little larger/thicker than NY Pizza and usually contains larger portion sizes of cheese, etc.

But I can't do that anymore (Pizza dough has a really high Glycemic load/response). What I've had to do is make "Pizza Bowls," instead. I saw one of my local Pizza chains offer it and I then figured out how to make them myself. There are these lined cardboard trays that withstand oven temperatures of 400˚F for an hour. I take a tray, and throw all the ingredients I'd normally put on the dough in that tray (cheese, sauce, meats, etc.), and then I bake it at 375˚F for 20 minutes.

51BpgBnSMBL._SL1030_.jpg




It works! And a much lower glycemic response! (y)
Got any pics of what that looks like?

I'm sure there's lots of others on here who need alternative good eats.

My wife makes a darn fine pizza on naan bread and I would think a tortilla or other alternatives to cure the pizza jones would help out lots of folks including the carnivore diet people or those with food allergies.

Had a dear friend, guitar player, Radio DJ, computer nerd builder and son of Wycliffe Bible Translators die from diabetes complications, I really miss Phil.

It's tough to live life and still enjoy the little things, our food supply in this country isn't what it used to be.
 
Last edited:
Donkey's Place in Camden is worth the risk of being carjacked or the victim of random street violence.
They go against the grain of Philly long rolls and make their masterpiece on a ginormous round seeded roll. This thing will be testing the strength of your colon within a few hours.
If you go and there is any chance of it getting dark by the time you leave, bring a pistol who's caliber begins with a "4" or a 'gauge.
20200806_141239 (2).jpg
 
There’s a place in the Denver area called Taste of Philly that’s pretty good, but I don’t care that much about them. My wife’s parents grew up in Philly and they both said this place was really close to an authentic Philly sandwich
This is true. They import all the goods from Philly. Bread, Tasty Cakes, etc. But, it really depends who's running the griddle. I've had good ones and some bad ones. Jersey Mike's makes a decent cheese steak in the metro area.

There's also South Philly Cheese Steaks(Denver Metro). I don't recall loving this place.
 
  • Like
Reactions: The D
Raven is quite right. Pats and Genos are now tourist places.
Jims on 4th is decent but a bit bland.
jims in NE is terrible
Tony Lukes does a good roast pork but their chicken cutlet is awesome
The Best steak hands down is an absolute shithole over the river in Camden. Write this down
Donkey's steaks. you will thank me later
they close early because you do not want to be driving around Camden at night if you don't where you are or really even if you know where you are trust me..... you want to get the fuck out of Camden as fast as possible once the sun sets. Think escape from NY the movie with hookers. That said during the day, it is perfectly fine and is a huge hangout for the police, so its pretty safe. You will smell like grilled onions when you leave but that isn't really that bad.
Never order a cheesesteak with swiss or mushrooms or bell peppers. You will be immediately outted as an out of towner and promptly robbed. The cherry peppers in the 5 gal bucket with a slotted spoon are good to go. as are the pickles in similar fashion.

Next time your in Philly
Tony Lukes
or Donkeys for the adventurous
Chickie and petes is a great time with wonderful muscles in red sauce. Just be sure to ask for hard crusted bread to dip in the tomato sauce. Even Chickies has become "touristy" and i wouldn't waste my money on the crabs or seafood other than the muscles. the roast beef and pork are good as well as the wings and chickies crab fries (Fries with old bay and side of melted white american) these are friggin delicous.
Jersey pizza is very good but the best is
Peoples Pizza in Cherryhill NJ, not far from Philly and next to Camden. Worth the drive. The owners are crazy Italians and always have goddamned soccer on. They also won;t hesitate to throw your ass out for no reason. LOL I love that place.
The other place is down in Wildwood NJ on the Boardwalk. Macs Pizza. just perfect shore pizza. I know Ocean city people will say manco and macs but Macs in wildwood is delicious.
For Hoagies
Carmens in Bellmawr again right over the Walt Whitman Bridge like 5 minutes from Philly
Huge sandwich, not cheap but quality meats and cheeses lots of it on fresh baked south jersy rolls right up the street where you can go get your own hoagie/steak rolls as the come out of the over and hit the conveyor belt.
Everybody always raved about whitehouse subs in AC. Fucking terrible.
Since moving To TN I do lament sometimes about the lack of the above mentioned Items. I will be trying the cheesesteak place quiet mike mentioned off 24.

Reading this put a smile on my face. It has been a few years but we used to hit Donkey's on our way to drink beers at Connie Mac's in Pennsauken. I used to work in South Philly and Tony Luke's was a regular hop - parking on the median and all. I used lived at 25th and Locust, right on the Schuyk with a view of Franklin Field, then 2 years in Manayunk and under some bad advice, a move to Jersey. This old biker in Berlin used to wrench on my shovel and there was a cheesesteak spot right off White Horse Pike near WaWa that made Buffalo Chicken Cheesesteaks that made it worth the drive.

But for all that, not sure anything beats Reading Terminal. A few years ago, I was back in Philly with my wife and kids and they thought I was crazy dragging them into some building downtown to grab lunch. When we walked in my wife's head exploded. I lived in Philly for most of 20s and still love that place.
 
  • Like
Reactions: srtsam
This is true. They import all the goods from Philly. Bread, Tasty Cakes, etc. But, it really depends who's running the griddle. I've had good ones and some bad ones. Jersey Mike's makes a decent cheese steak in the metro area.

There's also South Philly Cheese Steaks(Denver Metro). I don't recall loving this place.
Did you ever have Cheesesteak Connection at Park Ave & Blake st-ish? I just checked and they closed down. I worked in that area for a little bit and ate there sometimes. I thought it was good but it may not be very good to a cheesesteak purist(I can’t believe I just typed that, lol).
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jefe's Dope
This is true. They import all the goods from Philly. Bread, Tasty Cakes, etc. But, it really depends who's running the griddle. I've had good ones and some bad ones. Jersey Mike's makes a decent cheese steak in the metro area.

There's also South Philly Cheese Steaks(Denver Metro). I don't recall loving this place.

There was a place just like this in San Marcos in San Diego when I lived out there 2001- 2005 called Philly Franks... people moved from Philly and opened it up.. import Medford meats, Amoroso rolls, Herr's chips, turkey hilly iced tea, Luigi water ice and tasty cakes..

Used to go there to watch the Eagles games on Sunday at 9am...amazing. walls all covered under pictures and signatures of Philly natives that visited... just like Jim's 4th & South
 
Got any pics of what that looks like?

I'm sure there's lots of others on here who need alternative good eats.

My wife makes a darn fine pizza on naan bread and I would think a tortilla or other alternatives to cure the pizza jones would help out lots of folks including the carnivore diet people or those with food allergies.

Had a dear friend, guitar player, Radio DJ, computer nerd builder and son of Wycliffe Bible Translators die from diabetes complications, I really miss Phil.

It's tough to live life and still enjoy the little things, our food supply in this country isn't what it used to be.

Next time I make one I'll snap a pic and load it here.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jim Out
Did you ever have Cheesesteak Connection at Park Ave & Blake st-ish? I just checked and they closed down. I worked in that area for a little bit and ate there sometimes. I thought it was good but it may not be very good to a cheesesteak purist(I can’t believe I just typed that, lol).
I have not.
 
There was a place just like this in San Marcos in San Diego when I lived out there 2001- 2005 called Philly Franks... people moved from Philly and opened it up.. import Medford meats, Amoroso rolls, Herr's chips, turkey hilly iced tea, Luigi water ice and tasty cakes..

Used to go there to watch the Eagles games on Sunday at 9am...amazing. walls all covered under pictures and signatures of Philly natives that visited... just like Jim's 4th & South
My FIL is from Philly and we took him to the above mentioned Taste of Philly and he approved. Same atmosphere as you describe. I'm sure you'd feel right at home. :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: padom
Reading this put a smile on my face. It has been a few years but we used to hit Donkey's on our way to drink beers at Connie Mac's in Pennsauken. I used to work in South Philly and Tony Luke's was a regular hop - parking on the median and all. I used lived at 25th and Locust, right on the Schuyk with a view of Franklin Field, then 2 years in Manayunk and under some bad advice, a move to Jersey. This old biker in Berlin used to wrench on my shovel and there was a cheesesteak spot right off White Horse Pike near WaWa that made Buffalo Chicken Cheesesteaks that made it worth the drive.

But for all that, not sure anything beats Reading Terminal. A few years ago, I was back in Philly with my wife and kids and they thought I was crazy dragging them into some building downtown to grab lunch. When we walked in my wife's head exploded. I lived in Philly for most of 20s and still love that place.
Maybe one of the original Gaetanos. the one in Berlin NJ is highly regarded. I grew up in Gloucester city/ Brooklawn. Philly and camden were our playground. The best were the hookers in the old days off Admiral wilson Blvd. After Phillies, eagles or flyers games We were hammered and would go drive through all the motels along the strip and look at the girls that would be sitting the windows (much like amsterdam) except no where near as pretty as the euro chicks. Not that, i advocate drinking and driving but back then if you were reasonably ok and/ or close to home we usually were let off. Infact, since we grew up in Glooucester City we used to say "all we got to do is get to the Gloucester city limits and we were good." gloucester city was a tight knit hard working, hard drinking blue collar community. Now, well.... not so much, shame because growing up in a cityscape wasn't that bad but it did make me want to live out in the country. I knew deep down i needed to get out of NJ and take my family out of there. Now, its nice to visit, but damn im glad i live in Tn.
Anyway, one more place i miss even though its not cheesesteaks, is the PUB in Pennsauken. LOL for regular steaks it was awesome. The place literally looks like you walked into a Mobster movie and the place hasn't changed in my lifetime. They have somehting like 7 open charcoal pits along the kitchen wall and they do a mean yorkshire puff that sops up the au jus from the med rare prime rib quite nicely. The restraunt smells absolutely amazing. its not cheap, but i have to waddle out of there when im done. The salad and relish bar is still among the best i've ever been to. Plus you get a hot round loaf of bread delivered to your table upon arrival. Not sliced and we used to play a game to see who didn't mangle the bread as they sliced it. you'll know what i mean if you ever eat there.