philly cheese steaks in chicago?

Anybody know of a good place to get Philly Cheese Steaks without having to leave the north side of Chicago?

jmprimus wrote:Anybody know of a good place to get Philly Cheese Steaks without having to leave the north side of Chicago?

The closest thing you are going to find in Chicago is Philly's Best, which has several locations, most of which are on the North side. Here's a linkto a thread about this very subject. Search is your friend.

I believe the consensus (myself included) is that the discussion pretty much begins and ends with Philly's Best.

http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=659&highlight=cheesesteak

The answer lies HERE ... or maybe HERE. Or possibly HERE?

Short answer, as the others point out above, is Philly's Best. Whether it's authentic or not I cannot say for sure, never having had a cheesesteak in Philadelphia or even nearby (although the bread certainly couldn't be right). Nevertheless, I have eaten and enjoyed my share of Philly's Best cheesesteaks, to the point where they know me by name at the Logan Square branch.

I'm not sure if this an actual philly cheesesteak, but its a pretty good cheesesteak. I've always enjoyed their version of the cheesesteak here. Very friendly owners too.

Chicago Cheesesteak
7759 S Cicero Ave
http://chicago.menupages.com/restaurant ... =20&home=Y

Susie's Drive-In on Montrose has Philly cheesesteaks on their menu also. They might not be traditional cheesesteaks but I think their version is nothing but artery cloggin' goodness. Susie's version mixes in sour cream and a few other ingredients to make it their own but it's good nonetheless....especially after a night of drinking. Throw in some fries and a Caribe milkshake and call it a night.

I liked Philly's Best until a couple of years ago. I'd only gone once or twice in a few years, but it seemed decent. Then, I went to Philadelphia. I ate them at about 4-5 places over a two week period, comparing the tops places. Oh, my. Deliciousness.

A few months after I came back, I went back to Philly's Best. Unless it was a terribly off night, I couldn't ever suggest going there if you want something similar to what you get in Philadelphia. I am not a Cheese Whiz fan - even in Philadelphia. So, I ordered provolone. But, it came with cheese whiz, TOO! Of course, I'd walked several blocks home at 11 at night before I realized this. I tried to get that goop out, but couldn't. It was extraordinarily greasy, too. I gave up and dumped it in the trash.

If you like whizzy stuff on them, and lots of greasiness, try it. As others have said, it is the closest in our fair city. If you don't want it, be careful about specifying it. I obviously didn't do it right .

But, that brings up an interesting question for me...why is it so hard to make a good sandwich here? This seems like an automatic money-maker if you could get it close.

ViewsAskew wrote:I am not a Cheese Whiz fan - even in Philadelphia. So, I ordered provolone. But, it came with cheese whiz, TOO! Of course, I'd walked several blocks home at 11 at night before I realized this. I tried to get that goop out, but couldn't. It was extraordinarily greasy, too. I gave up and dumped it in the trash.

I've gotten cheese steaks from Philly's Best innumerable times and have never had an issue with errantly applied Cheese Wiz. There was obviously a misteak (he he) on your order. This is not their usual MO.

Philly's Best puts out a better product than Pat's or Geno's, imho (tho I've heard there are much better cheesesteaks to be had in Philly).

I'm a big fan of the Pepperoni Grinder on garlic bread at Philly's Best. I usually regret it a bit later but it's such a great sandwich.

To be quite honest, my Philly born and bred boyfriend says that Philly's Best is the closest he's had here, and that's still with the caveat that it's not the same as it is back home. I think it may be one of those regional specialties that might not be the same when out of the region.

As for other stands being better than Geno's or Pat's, I would disagree - but that's my personal opinion. But IMO, to say that Philly's Best, which emulates the stands in Philly, is better than what they do out there...it's like saying they do a better Chicago style deep dish elsewhere than the prominent places here. But for what it's worth, if there are other stands you're thinking of DY, Tony Luke's has gotten significant props from Food Network and I know Philly natives enjoy it.

No, neither Pat's nor Geno's is close to the best cheesesteak in Philadelphia and, yes, Philly's Best is inferior in every way to even those. Tony Luke's makes a good steak, but the roast pork is where it's at.

Also, I'm going to pretend that no one mentioned sour cream so I can sleep tonight.

greygardens wrote:t's like saying they do a better Chicago style deep dish elsewhere than the prominent places here.

I'd probably give Zachary's the nod over Gino's East

Not that I'm saying I'd pick Philly's Best over any of the notable philly joints.

greygardens wrote:But IMO, to say that Philly's Best, which emulates the stands in Philly, is better than what they do out there...it's like saying they do a better Chicago style deep dish elsewhere than the prominent places here.

I hear what you're saying. But I've had buffalo wings outside of New York far superior to the wings served at the Anchor Bar. The meals I've had at Sushi Yasuda in NYC have surpassed many of the excellent sushi omakases I've had in Tokyo. And, as much as it pains me to admit this, I think Zachary's (in Berkeley, of all places) does a better deep dish than Uno's or Gino's East.

I found the meat at Pat's and Geno's dry, tough, gristly, and entirely devoid of flavor. Philly's Best cheesesteaks may not be as authentic as those found at Pat's and Geno's, but they taste much better, imo. However, the disenchantment with my Pat's/Geno's experience may have been amplified by the fact that I drove from NYC to Philly just to sample cheesesteaks--definitely not worth the drive.

EDIT: Gleam, glad to have someone else concede this.

Jim's on south street (4th and South if memory serves)was always my go to place for a cheese steak in the ten years I spent living in the city of brotherly love. They served a much more chopped steak than the thicker pieces that both Pat's and Geno's serve, and I believe that this chopped style is more widely seen in Philly than the thicker pieces at Pat's and Geno's.

Both Pat's and Geno's make a delicious meal which travels better than the more chopped up texture of Jim's, but it is my opinion that a steak like Jim's (and like Philly's Best) is more typical of the steak experience one will get at the majority of places in Philadelphia which sell steaks. However, Philly's Best does not use Amoroso brand rolls (at least they didn't when I last ate there two months ago), which is the brand which the great majority of steak places in Philadelphia use.

By way of fair warning, Philly's Best is far better what eaten there or "al trunko". The longer is stays wrapped up and cmpressed in paper the greasier and gloopier it gets no matter what the choice of cheese is. I am not sure if the Logan Square location has dining in but I do know that the Belmont and Clark St. location does.

Couple of points: Tony Luke's didn't exist on the Food Network, NYT or most other print until (1) TL opened a Manhattan outpost, (2) TL opened a (terrible) stand in Center City, and (3) TL opened a stand in the new stadium. Indeed, pork Italian is the way to go. Personally, I think the South Street places are worth visiting if that's the best you can do, and for historical purposes. (The locals might not know any better, beacuse they actually live in King of Prussia, not Philly, sort of the way most locals here don't know where most of the better beef stands are.) None are great current examples of the genre, according to friends and family in Philly. I'm not a huge fan either. PS, a friend just returned from Philly where she had the infamous Kobe cheesesteak at Barclay Prime. A mistake, apparently.


Philly's Best is a decent rendition. The fillings are correct, but, as with all sandwiches wrenched from their home, the bread is not the same. I don't mind the Gonella/Turano substitute here, as the sturdy grease-sponge designed for beefs holds up better than a crumby (in a good way) Amoroso roll. And, I'm pretty sure Philly's Best used to bring Amoroso's in frozen/partially baked. (PS, TL makes their own rolls.)

I've had decent Chicago style pizza outside of Chicago (though made by transplanted Chicago pizza folks), and decent NY style pizza in Chicago (made by a bartender). Anything's possible.

as a former south philadelphian I offer my unsolicited cheesesteak preference: Ishkabibbles (found on South St and also slightly north of the Geno's-Pat's nexus). Of course all is outclassed by Tony Luke's Roast Pork with aged provolone. drool.

to the OP I suggest putting aside the quest for a decent philly cheesesteak in chicago. Save it as a special treat for when you visit friends and family back east. That's what I do.

I advise the OP to learn to love the cheeseteak's close cousin, the Italian Beef - not as a substitute but as a fantastic sandwich in its own right. I think I may now love the IB almost as much as I do the cheesesteak. Cheers.