Who has the best cheesesteak in town?

[I-10east]

I dunno if they are the best or whatever, but Firehouse Subs (steak sub), and Larry's Giant Subs(inferno sub) are real good.

[David]

Here's another one to add to the Cheesesteak list: Gator's dockside on Baymeadows.

They make a pretty delicious one, fresh mushrooms. The only catch is you have to ask them to cover it with American Cheese. Should seem standard, but if you don't ask it comes out virtually cheeseless. Eitherway, it's not bad!

[David]

I think this place may have claimed the title of "the best cheese steak in town". They just opened not too long ago. And of course, it's at the beach;

Bongiorno's Philly Steak
2294 Mayport Rd # 22
Atlantic Beach, FL 32233-6336
(904) 246-3278

Google Maps: Bongiorno's Philly Steak Shop

About the owners:

"My wife and I have spent 14 years in South Philly. We missed the Northeast food but loved the beach too much to go back, so we decided to bring the Northeast food to the beach. We use Amaroso Rolls (shipped in from Philly) and Chipped Ribeye (shipped in from South Jersey.) Our burgers are 1/2 lb of fresh (not frozen) ground beef on a Northeast Kaiser Roll (Amaroso) and our Italian Hoagies......fuhgeddaboudit"

The place was pretty steady for 2:30pm. It was full of lone diners (including myself) reading their folios, novels & newspapers while struggling to finish off the enormous portions on their plate. Usually when the ratio of lone diners to social diners is that lopsided, it tells ya they're doing something right.

I'm curious what all the transplants will say, they're not easily impressed. But hey, at least now there's another option besides Philly's Finest...give em a try!

[brapt]

Wow, I didn't realize we had even THIS many cheesesteak options, I'd practically given up.  Most of what I try are and as you've mentioned, too bland, the meat is too dry or they are just thrown together with no love and sloppy.

Thanks for the update!

[David]

No problem. It's a life-long task searching for certain foods in this town, but I think the variety will only improve as more people come to the area.

Not to steal thunder from the "Steph Says" column on here, but I did a mini-review on google maps of this joint:

"I made the drive from Riverside to Mayport just to try this place. I gotta say, these guys know how to do a cheesesteak right. 8 bucks gets you a massive amount of meat on a 12 inch Amaroso Roll. There's plenty of flavor to the meat too, with just the right amounts of American cheese & sauteed onions mixed in. It's not bland like most places in town that claim to serve authentic Philly cheese steaks but they usually end up tasting like a glorified steak-umm. This place is probably as close as you'll get in Jax. Philly's finest had better watch out, they've got some serious competition now!"

[blizz01]

Beauty & the Beef - Fleming Island - yet another 'burb contender.

[David]

No anti-burb sentiment here. I've yet to find a place in the core that does a Philly right.

The pool hall in Murray Hill comes close though.

[DavidWilliams]

I think this place may have claimed the title of "the best cheese steak in town". They just opened not too long ago. And of course, it's at the beach;

Bongiorno's Philly Steak
2294 Mayport Rd # 22
Atlantic Beach, FL 32233-6336
(904) 246-3278

Google Maps: Bongiorno's Philly Steak Shop

About the owners:

"My wife and I have spent 14 years in South Philly. We missed the Northeast food but loved the beach too much to go back, so we decided to bring the Northeast food to the beach. We use Amaroso Rolls (shipped in from Philly) and Chipped Ribeye (shipped in from South Jersey.) Our burgers are 1/2 lb of fresh (not frozen) ground beef on a Northeast Kaiser Roll (Amaroso) and our Italian Hoagies......fuhgeddaboudit"

The place was pretty steady for 2:30pm. It was full of lone diners (including myself) reading their folios, novels & newspapers while struggling to finish off the enormous portions on their plate. Usually when the ratio of lone diners to social diners is that lopsided, it tells ya they're doing something right.

I'm curious what all the transplants will say, they're not easily impressed. But hey, at least now there's another option besides Philly's Finest...give em a try!

Honest question...I am not from the Northeast. Does the fact that the bread is from Philly make a difference? Is there something in the water? I will not even get started on "meat" from south Jersey. 

[blizz01]

If they don't offer it with Cheese Whiz or an amoroso roll , then no dice. 

[David]

Honest question...I am not from the Northeast. Does the fact that the bread is from Philly make a difference? Is there something in the water? I will not even get started on "meat" from south Jersey. 

It's just about it being authentic. You know, for something as simple as bread meat and cheese it sure is hard for a lot of places to get it right. New Jersey and the Northeast as a whole know how to do their meats/sandwiches. It's like the south still hasn't discovered what seasoning is...and i'm from here. I've just spent way too much time in the Northeast.

It's like this, if you're going to serve bread meat and cheese, fine. call it something else. But if you're going to attach "Philly" to the name, do it right.

[braeburn]

I was born in Philadelphia and lived there for 1/2 of my childhood. I have yet to find a philly cheesesteak or a hoagie anywhere in Jacksonville that could even come close to what I remember growing up on.

The closest so far (as far as sandwiches go) is the Northstar Substation on Bay St., next to the Ivy, and I think they get their stuff from Chicago, not Philly!

[ChriswUfGator]

Drove all the way from Riverside out to the new place on Mayport Road today, and I can 100% confirm they do have an excellent cheesesteak. One of the few I've ever found around here that is a true cheesesteak, usually Jacksonville's idea of a CS sandwich is a bulk-purchased roll from costco with some sliced roast beef and halfway-melted sliced cheese on it. The real deal is supposed to be chopped or chipped beef, on a fresh roll or soft french bread, and the beef and cheese and peppers and juices are all grilled together.

This is the only place I've been to around here that does it the "right" way, like you get it in Boston or Philly. Unfortunately, it's almost a 40 mile round trip, so I doubt I'll be a frequent customer, but after reading this thread I started having a craving and so I figured I could at least try it out once.

[DavidWilliams]

It will be about the same distance for me. But, I will give it a try.

[David]

Yeah it's not close at all....so it'll be more of a rare treat. One of the main reasons I started this thread was to find a place that's closer to downtown, but aside from a few runners up, I haven't found anything this good near the core.

I know there's a ton of transplants from Jersey & Philly down here, someone open up a cheesesteak joint in Riverside or Downtown! 

[DetroitInJAX]

David, it's Saturday night and you're online talking about cheesesteaks? no way!

Oh and Chris, next time you make that trek from rside to mayport, lemme know... I'd like to try that place.