I've been to Philly and have ate at several of the legendary cheesesteak joints there and yes, they're amazing and anyone from Philly and South Jersey will argue with you tirelessly over how you can't get a good one anywhere else ...but I think it's possible. You just have to search harder.
With that said, this thread is about the best cheesesteaks in the area. Which one do you think is best? Philly's finest long held that title for me but there's not one near downtown and sometimes I find their meat to be a bit bland.
I just tried this place out today when I was on a job interview at JU and found it to be quite delicious:
http://www.wingdepotjax.com/ (if anyone knows of any health code violations, just don't tell me)
Thursday is philly cheesesteak day for 4.99. It was great, but try another side besides the fries, they weren't anything special.
The meat had actual flavor! that's the biggest problem when someone claims to make a philly, the meat always seems to be severely bland, but this one had flavor along with the right blend of cheese, onions and mushrooms, i held the peppers.
Brooklyn Pizza on San Jose has a pretty good cheesesteak, although it's not in your typical "philly" fashion. I used to swear by Kickback's "Jax Cheesesteak" but when they expanded their menu, something about it changed that I couldn't put my finger on.
Suggestions are welcome! There's gotta be some hole in the wall places around here that know how to cook one up.
I get mine at Publix...
Wouldn't doubt it, all their other subs are delicious. I'll give it a shot!
i'm actually from Philly and my family has had a rough time finding a good (for lack of a better word) cheesesteak! but there are some saving graces. Jerry's grille on atlantic blvd has a pretty good one with large cuts of steak. Perhaps the best is a place called Philly's Finest! the guys get their rolls from Philly and the meat is perfectly sliced. Philadelphia paraphanalia all over the restaurant makes it feel like home. If you're in the mood for a surprisingly good cheesesteak and you're at the Regency or Avenues mall (yes you read correctly) stop by Charley's Subs. Probably the best cheesesteak down here as close as possible to Steve's, Pat's, or Tony Luke's in Philly. By the way, don't mess it up, it's not a sub. Nix the mayo, lettuce, tomato and get it Philly style: onions/peppers/mushrooms and ketchup. THAT'S IT. the first time i asked for it that way at Charley's the guy looked at me like i had three heads lol
I'll try out Charley's subs as well.
I've been a fan of Philly's Finest for quite sometime. It seemed like they were going to expand, but they closed down their St Johns Bluff location which was a little closer for most of us townies.
I love getting it with the wiz and those waffle fries! The bread is awesome at PF, it's the meat that's my main focal point lately with the area cheesesteaks joints. I shouldn't have to add a ton of pepper, wiz and other condiments to make it have flavor. Also the onions, I like em diced up tightly, that's hard to find as well. OH yeah, do they even serve peppers on cheesesteaks in Philly? I don't remember getting them at Genos, Pats or the others on south street or South Jersey.
Most of it's probably in my head, but there's something about that perfect mix of cheese, meat, onions and spices that make me crave it! I really think the downtown area needs an authentic cheesesteak joint. And i mean just that, a cheesesteak joint, nothing else. It'd go over well especially considering the nightlife base is starting to build. And imagine it on game day!
hmmmmm......
Try Picasso's. It's a pizza place over in Mandarin off of San Jose. It's in the strip mall over by the Comedy Zone, over by Office Depot. It's owned by 3 Italian guys from New York. I go there sometimes just for the cheesecake. The pizza is good too :)
Try Pinegrove Deli, yummmmmm
Quote from: comncense on October 17, 2008, 08:58:00 AM
Try Picasso's. It's a pizza place over in Mandarin off of San Jose. It's in the strip mall over by the Comedy Zone, over by Office Depot. It's owned by 3 Italian guys from New York. I go there sometimes just for the cheesecake. The pizza is good too :)
I love me some Picasso's!! Haven't eaten there in a few weeks though. Say, maybe I'll stop in today?
Gotta go with Philly's Finest.
Hurricane Bar & Grill (HWY 17 near Roosevelt & Fleming Island) is mostly a wing place, but they put the steak &/or chicken Philly on the menu with good reason.
hehe i shoulda put (besides philly's finest) in the original subject line. It is pretty hard to beat but, yeah they're at the beach. I'm basically a...reverse townie? If that makes sense. I never cross the ditch from the city side.
I'm trying to scout around in town to see what the city limits of Jacksonville have to offer.
So far we have:
Wing depot on Univ near JU
Charlie's sub at the avenues/regency malls
Brooklyn Pizza's cheese steak
Picasso's
and Hurricanes (gotta love those friggin parm fries too!)
I've suggested to the owner of Philly's Finest to open up one closer to downtown several time, but the St Johns Bluff location didn't last very long so that's probably not going to happen anytime soon.
Quote from: David on October 17, 2008, 02:23:37 AM
OH yeah, do they even serve peppers on cheesesteaks in Philly? I don't remember getting them at Genos, Pats or the others on south street or South Jersey.
yeh they don't serve it with chopped green bell peppers, i was actually talking about the pickled banana/yellow peppers. those are the best
oh yeah, i never thought to try that. I'm a meat-a-sarus but that does sound pretty good. I'll try it out
A real Philly cheese steak would automatically come with fried onions, unless you tell them otherwise. Everything else would be added to it....and no, there's no subs...they're called hoagies. I'm also from Philly and grew up on them.
I dunno if they are the best or whatever, but Firehouse Subs (steak sub), and Larry's Giant Subs(inferno sub) are real good.
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!
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 (http://local.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=philly+steak+shop+atlantic+beach,+fl&sll=30.451041,-81.567993&sspn=1.086762,2.469177&ie=UTF8&ll=30.412558,-81.421738&spn=0.256999,0.617294&t=h&z=11&iwloc=B&cid=12595882076956728450)
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!
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!
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!"
Beauty & the Beef - Fleming Island - yet another 'burb contender.
(http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/4/8/1/7/5/ar124993718757184.JPG)
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.
Quote from: David on September 18, 2009, 03:52:29 PM
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 (http://local.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=philly+steak+shop+atlantic+beach,+fl&sll=30.451041,-81.567993&sspn=1.086762,2.469177&ie=UTF8&ll=30.412558,-81.421738&spn=0.256999,0.617294&t=h&z=11&iwloc=B&cid=12595882076956728450)
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. :-X
If they don't offer it with Cheese Whiz or an amoroso roll , then no dice.
Quote from: DavidWilliams on September 18, 2009, 06:38:55 PM
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. :-X
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.
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!
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.
It will be about the same distance for me. But, I will give it a try.
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!
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.
Quote from: DetroitInJAX on September 19, 2009, 08:49:30 PM
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.
It's early my man. Heading to the block party at O'Brothers soon.
I just drove by that on my way to subway..cant go out tonight as I have an early morning at work tomorrow.... There's some girl slinging fire on Lomax in front of the subway... weeeeeeeird
Quote from: DetroitInJAX on September 19, 2009, 08:49:30 PM
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.
Hey no prob, will do!
And David is spot-on, we need something like that in R'side. I think it'd be packed all the time.
I recently found this little place called Wing Depot. They have the Amoroso Rolls and the cheese whiz just like back home in Philly. They are amazing!!!!!! ;D
Welcome - where is it located?
Quote from: phllygurl0921 on January 29, 2010, 02:40:56 PM
I recently found this little place called Wing Depot. They have the Amoroso Rolls and the cheese whiz just like back home in Philly. They are amazing!!!!!! ;D
Quote from: blizz01 on January 29, 2010, 02:41:48 PM
Welcome - where is it located?
People, we going in circles. Wing Depot was posted in Post #1 on this thread. Start at the top and read down. ;D
P.S. Welcome to Jax, Phillygurl. ;)
Miami Subs had good cheesesteakes but they closed long time ago.
Old thread but I'll add my .02 cents.
I grew up in Norristown (about 20 miles outside of Center City Philadelphia). Back there, we had Pudge's in Blue Bell. Awesome steaks.
Down here, closest I could find was a chain called the Philly Connection. Apparently there used to be a lot of them around here but there were only 2 up until recently when the one on Beach and St. John's Bluff closed. Now there is just the one down in Orange Park. There is a place up at River City called AD Buffalo or something that actually has the words "Best Philly Cheesesteak N Town" (I have no idea why they felt the need to exclude the 'I' from the word "IN"). Well, they are about as far from the best as I've ever tried. You have one option for cheese, provolone. That's it. What a joke.
That being said, I've checked out Philly's Finest and it's really good. Their soft drinks taste funny though for some reason. Probably from a gun behind the bar. That always makes it taste funny. But now that Philly Connection has closed (it was right around the corner from my work) I'm on a mission to find the best one. I'll let you know what I find out.
Bongiorno's Philly Steak Shop out Mayport is permanently closed. Man this sucks, the best authentic cheesesteak in Duval (and damn good pizza) is now gone, thanks to the CCP virus! RIP Bongiorno's :'(
I thought Biongiornos was good but there are lots of better options in my opinion. Surfwiches, Sub Cultured, and Eddis In Sons (Recently transitioned from food truck to brick and mortar off Bowden) are all great choices.
Subcultured off Mayport Rd is good, as is the Korean Philly served at Khloes Kitchen food truck (usually set up shop at FSCJ Kent Campus).
Definitely recommend Eddis and Sons, who have parked their food truck and are now in a brick and mortar location off Bowden Rd in the same strip mall as Mr Taco and Shut Em Down (who serves some great fried chicken in their own right).
^That strip has always had some solid food options. I loved Hunt Club and Flip Flops back in the day. Watched most of the World Cup on my "lunch break" at Mr Taco.