Philly Cheesesteaks in the Chi?

Hi, Anyone know of good places to get a philly cheesesteak in Chicagoland? City or burbs is fine, so long as it's a "real" cheesesteak. Fresh Italian rolls, white not yellow American cheese, grilled onions, no lettuce, no tomatoes, etc. Thanks.

Philly's Best, whose appearance has changed greatly in the last few years, used to offer what seems like a pretty authentic version - crispy bread, grilled onions, mystery steak and American cheese.

I've never had a cheesesteak in philly, and they aren't well-regarded on this forum, but Philly's Best cheesesteaks and grinders were some of my favorite bottom of the grease barrel junk food options.

Eastern Style Pizza on Touhy also has a version similar to the one at Philly's Best. Avoid their pizza.

Chicago also has many "Steak and Lemonade" operations deployed in various neighborhoods outside of the yuppie belt. Gut-destroying Cheeseteaks are a staple. Say hello to the Habibis working at any one of them if you go.

Philly's Best (one of many locations)
907 West Belmont Avenue
Chicago, IL
(773) 525-7900

Eastern Style Pizza
2911 West Touhy Avenue
Chicago, IL 60645-2937
(773) 761-4070

As a former Philadelphian I found Philly's Best a far cry from its name. Ironically, I think Jersey Mike's "Philly" to actually not be that bad. In a pinch it suffices, though certainly not the real thing - though obviously a real cheese steak doesn't have green peppers.


http://jerseymikes.com/

Various locations

Habibi wrote:Philly's Best, whose appearance has changed greatly in the last few years, used to offer what seems like a pretty authentic version - crispy bread, grilled onions, mystery steak and American cheese.

I've never had a cheesesteak in philly, and they aren't well-regarded on this forum, but Philly's Best cheesesteaks and grinders were some of my favorite bottom of the grease barrel junk food options.

Eastern Style Pizza on Touhy also has a version similar to the one at Philly's Best. Avoid their pizza.

Chicago also has many "Steak and Lemonade" operations deployed in various neighborhoods outside of the yuppie belt. Gut-destroying Cheeseteaks are a staple. Say hello to the Habibis working at any one of them if you go.

Philly's Best (one of many locations)
907 West Belmont Avenue
Chicago, IL
(773) 525-7900

Eastern Style Pizza
2911 West Touhy Avenue
Chicago, IL 60645-2937
(773) 761-4070

Eastern Style and Philly's Best are owned by two generations of the same family (or at least they were at one time).

Wow, what can I say, I have had both Pat's and Geno's steaks, having lived there for a few years, and both are pale compared to Portillo's or Al"s or Johnnies, or whatever. Be glad you're in Chicago and can find the Italian beef, and not the Philly cheese steaks. The meat is VERY tough. We are very lucky to live here. Let the Philly Cheesesteaks stay in Philly.
\

The Italian Beef sandwich is similar to the roast beef sandwich one can get in Philly at places such as John's or Nick's. The cheesesteak is an entirely different sandwich and shouldn't be compared to the Italian Beef.

I've always enjoyed the Philly Cheesesteaks I've had at the places I mention above. Like I said, never had 'em in Philly, but at its best, the Cheesesteak can be a wonderful hunk of junk food love. On one particular occassion last year, about 3 days deep into a bachelor party I threw for a friend of mine from college, a Cheesesteak from Eastern Style Pizza on Touhy saved my life by staving off an impending Death Star-like hangover and lining my stomach so that I could party for another night.

Later that night we had brain curry and nihari from Sabri. That might have helped as well. Regenerate a few brain cells?

I've always really liked the cheesesteak at Susie's on Montrose. Is it "authentic?" Beats me, but it's damned good.

The idea of an authentic cheesesteak is somewhat puzzling to me. Having been to Philly, probably 40 times in the past 15 years, I've tried all the classics as well as a few off the beaten path steaks (my favorite was the Onion Pie, anybody remember that place?). The one thing that is common to all those cheesesteaks? - almost nothing. Even Pat's and Geno's right across the street from one another - totally different sangwichs'. Tony Lukes - something else entirely. So what makes a cheesesteak authentic?

I am with Habibi on the enjoying Philly's best cheesesteaks side of the fence. Are they greasy? Yes, but not terrible (compared to similar fast food of course). Are they delicious? I should say so. Are they filling? Most definitely, normal people probably will be full with just the small sandwich. I usually go with the cheese whiz option with onions. Also notable here are the tastykakes imported from the east coast. Since I work in Evanston I usually hit up the Evanston location, but the Belmont one is just as good.

Snicky wrote: Let the Philly Cheesesteaks stay in Philly.
\

agreed, I made a special trip just to try a 'true' Philadelphia cheesesteak. I went to Pat's, Geno's & John's. The fact that cheesesteaks come with Cheez Whiz, made it a very bad sandwich.

John's roast pork sandwich with aged provolone & broccoli rabe, was a terrific sandwich. www.johnsroastpork.com

you want to go to Monti's in Lincoln Square for the best Philly cheesesteak in the city. I'm from eastern PA, lived in Philly for a few years, so I've a got some firm opinions on the cheesesteak topic (Ishkabibble's for the win). Monti's, instead of cheese wiz, has created their own house made cheddar cheese sauce that is excellent. Monti's also has a pretty good chicken cheesesteak (GOOD renditions of which are hard to come by, even in Philly), which I prefer with white american cheese and lots of onions and peppers.

If you're willing to travel a ways north, there's a place in Vernon Hills that sells good cheesesteaks.

They claim to have all their steak shipped directly from Philly. I used to have lunch there quite often when I was working in Lincolnshire.

You can get cheesesteaks in pretty much any style you like, and to top it off, they also sell tastykakes.

701 N Milwauke Ave., Suite 104
Vernon Hills, IL 60061
(847) 816 4000
http://philly-express.com/

Sweet Willie wrote:

Snicky wrote: Let the Philly Cheesesteaks stay in Philly.
\

agreed, I made a special trip just to try a 'true' Philadelphia cheesesteak. I went to Pat's, Geno's & John's. The fact that cheesesteaks come with Cheez Whiz, made it a very bad sandwich.

You know you don't have to get it with Whiz, and, in fact, many locals don't and look down on it as much as others do. Some steak shops don't even carry Whiz. In a 2008 Philly.com poll, Cheez Whiz finished third behind American and Provolone for favorite cheese on a cheesesteak.

Personally, I do like Cheez Whiz on my steak sandwiches, but I am just as likely to order provolone. I think cheesesteaks are wonderful sandwiches.


But this:

John's roast pork sandwich with aged provolone & broccoli rabe, was a terrific sandwich. http://www.johnsroastpork.com

is the real winner in Philadelphia. I make these at home from time to time (or something resembling them), and I love them more than roast beef sandwiches or Italian beefs.

Had a darn good cheesesteak today at Jimmy's Famous Burgers in Dolton that I saw on last week's episode of "Chicago's Best". Good beef flavor on a soft roll that held up perfectly. Make sure to check what you want on it,as on their menu
lettuce,tomato,and mayonnaise seem to be default toppings. Skin-on fries were a little limp but had a nice potato flavor. Definitely will return.
Chicago's Best TV at Jimmy's Famous Burgers

Jimmy's Famous Burgers
599 E Sibley Blvd
Dolton, IL 60419
(708) 849-2222

Sauganaut wrote:I've always really liked the cheesesteak at Susie's on Montrose. Is it "authentic?" Beats me, but it's damned good.

My favorite as well. When it's good, it's really good!

Monti's on Lawrence and Talman. Actually it's on Talman just north of Lawrence.
The best I've had in Chicago !!

jay2021 wrote:Monti's on Lawrence and Talman. Actually it's on Talman just north of Lawrence.
The best I've had in Chicago !!

Just south, methinks. And yes, it's quite good--it's gotten plenty of board love.

I've been--it's tasty, but certainly not cheap. Worth the price once in a while for what is no doubt the best rendition in Chicago (and superior to many Philly examples, though I am no expert). Haven't had their roast pork yet, but I intend to remedy that soon.

Looks like Philly's Best has 4 locations in the Chicago area.

I had not had one of their sandwiches in years & was closeby their Evanston location today, so stopped in.

My 'philly' cheesesteak with mushroom, onions on garlic bread roll was quite delicious but very greasy, much more grease than I recall from years ago.

FWIW, I didn't think the Philly at Monti's w/their homemade cheese sauce was anything special.

Sweet Willie wrote:The fact that cheesesteaks come with Cheez Whiz, made it a very bad sandwich.

As a former Philadelphian, I can say this statement is about as true as "Chicago hot dogs are terrible because they don't have ketchup on them."

I like Philly's Best, more for a greasy snack and because it was the closest thing I could find to a cheesesteak in the area for a long time (and of course to satisfy my occasional craving for Tastykake Butterscotch Krimpets) . . . but when Monti's opened, that all changed for me. The steak they are using is just so much better, as is the care that goes into the making of every sandwich, makes it better than the vast majority (if not all) of the cheesesteaks I've had in Philly -- certainly better than the most well-known spots. Originally I was frustrated with the fact that they don't offer Whiz, but they have really got the proportion of ingredients down now and I wouldn't change a thing. And they too offer Tastykake products . . . happy to live less than a 5-minute walk from them (also an occasional sounding board for my complaints about the Phillies - they understand ).

Another vote for Monti's here, they do great work IMO. I used to be a huge fan of Philly's Best, but it seems the quality has been hit or miss since they moved to the "new" location a few doors down on Belmont. The prices have gone up and the quantity of meat has gone down drastically. Recently I ordered for the first time in over a year and was very disappointed in how skimpy the sandwich was.

FWIW, Philly's Best has started importing Amoroso's bread from Philadelphia, and I do think it is a signficant improvement over the Gonnella rolls they were using before. That might explain some of the price hike. However, I'm also somewhat stunned by the cost of a cheesesteak from Philly's Best these days; it was around $6 when I first ordered from them six or seven years ago, and now it's $11.

JimInLoganSquare wrote:FWIW, Philly's Best has started importing Amoroso's bread from Philadelphia, and I do think it is a signficant improvement over the Gonnella rolls they were using before. That might explain some of the price hike. However, I'm also somewhat stunned by the cost of a cheesesteak from Philly's Best these days; it was around $6 when I first ordered from them six or seven years ago, and now it's $11.

I thought they had been importing those rolls for years? My first time there was probably in 2000, in recent memory I don't recall the rolls changing, but I could be wrong. The owner explained that his costs of the steak went up, so it was either sacrifice quality or hike the price. I find it hard to believe that beef shipped from Philly is somehow different than beef sourced locally, but I imagine he knows more than I do. $11 is a big pill to swallow considering how little meat was on my last sandwich. I'll try them again in another year and hope for better results. When done right, I enjoy their product.

I'm not sure when Philly's Best made the transition from Gonnella to Amoroso; it's possible there was some overlap/dual sourcing or that different locations have used different breads at different times. Ninety-nine percent of my experience with Philly's Best has been delivery from the Logan Square location. The one time I actually ate in at the Belmont location, however, I could see a stack of Gonnella boxes in the kitchen (that was around 2002 or 2003). They have always (in my memory) claimed to purchase their beef from a Philadelphia supplier; like you, I've never fully understood the reasoning behind that, but it sure would explain the pricing. It's also probably a wasted effort; the pleasure of Philly's Best's product is as a gooey, salty grease bomb, not as an artisanal product where the provenance of the ingredients should matter a whole bunch ... although I do prefer the Amoroso bread to Gonnella.

Max wrote:

JimInLoganSquare wrote:FWIW, Philly's Best has started importing Amoroso's bread from Philadelphia, and I do think it is a signficant improvement over the Gonnella rolls they were using before. That might explain some of the price hike. However, I'm also somewhat stunned by the cost of a cheesesteak from Philly's Best these days; it was around $6 when I first ordered from them six or seven years ago, and now it's $11.

I thought they had been importing those rolls for years? My first time there was probably in 2000, in recent memory I don't recall the rolls changing, but I could be wrong. The owner explained that his costs of the steak went up, so it was either sacrifice quality or hike the price. I find it hard to believe that beef shipped from Philly is somehow different than beef sourced locally, but I imagine he knows more than I do. $11 is a big pill to swallow considering how little meat was on my last sandwich. I'll try them again in another year and hope for better results. When done right, I enjoy their product.

For a short while they (Philly's Best) had an outpost in Oak Park on North Avenue.
I can only think of one sandwich I enjoyed less and that was a miserable Italian sub from Cousin's in Arlington Heights.
Both were an embarrassment.

All over the South Side there are places that sell what are called cheesesteak sandwiches. I have tried them twice from two different places. The second time was like doing a double-take at a bad accident or re-smelling something rotten out of the fridge because I couldn't believe how bad it smelled the first time. I am sure that there is a market for these "steak" sandwiches or else they wouldn't sell them, but I won't be trying any more. First off, they come covered with lettuce and slathered in mayo... need I continue?

d4v3 wrote:All over the South Side there are places that sell what are called cheesesteak sandwiches. I have tried them twice from two different places. The second time was like doing a double-take at a bad accident or re-smelling something rotten out of the fridge because I couldn't believe how bad it smelled the first time. I am sure that there is a market for these "steak" sandwiches or else they wouldn't sell them, but I won't be trying any more. First off, they come covered with lettuce and slathered in mayo... need I continue?

I've had good experiences at Jimmy's with their Philly,but I make sure to tell them to leave off the lettuce and mayo. It was featured on an episode of "Chicago's Best" a while back. They also have great burgers with fresh cut skin on fries.

Jimmy's Famous Burgers
599 E Sibley Blvd
Dolton, IL 60419
(708) 849-2222
http://www.jimmysburgerandwings.com/

Lettuce and mayo is Hogie style and is available at most steak spots in Philly.

d4v3 wrote:All over the South Side there are places that sell what are called cheesesteak sandwiches. I have tried them twice from two different places. The second time was like doing a double-take at a bad accident or re-smelling something rotten out of the fridge because you couldn't believe how bad it smelled the first time. I am sure that there is a market for these "steak" sandwiches or else they wouldn't sell them, but I won't be trying any more. First off, they come covered with lettuce and slathered in mayo... need I continue?

On the South Side they're almost always called Philly steaks, or simply steaks or Phillies. The term cheesesteak is rarely used. Unsurprisingly, the quality of the sandwiches varies considerably from shop to shop (but no Philly is the equal of the culinary masterpiece, the Jim Shoe). I don’t think mayonnaise is universally used. Of the handful of steaks I've had, none have come dressed with mayo (though I'm not surprised that some shops automatically squirt the stuff on). My steaks have always come with lettuce and tomato, though. Here's a typical Philly steak from Baba's, a small chain that probably did more than anyone to popularize "steak and lemonade" on the South Side and beyond. Baba's Steak & Lemonade spawned so many imitators that it's not always easy to tell a real Baba's from the fakes, but I think this photo shows the genuine article—a Chicago copy of a Philly cheesesteak.