Sophie’s Steaks in Morton, Pennsylvania
‘Continuing To Find That Perfect Cheesesteak In Philadelphia!’
We are heading into round seven and the last round of MyPhillyAlive’s 2020 Philadelphia Cheesesteak Tour, as we search for the perfect Philly Cheesesteak! Does it exist? Could it be sitting on the other side of the river in New Jersey? Inquiring minds and foodies a like want to know!
We have created the ultimate cheesesteak tour, in which many of us will be trying 61 different cheesesteaks in the Philadelphia region in like seven total days! The areas included would be establishments from South Philly, Old City, Center City, Northeast Philadelphia, some of the Philadelphia suburbs such as Bala Cynwyd, Levittown, Colmar, Lansdale, Delco and a handful of places in South Jersey. And those who will be concerned for my arteries, no worries, we will be splitting up the cheesesteaks into thirds most times. But it will still be a lot to eat!
Our goal is to identify a “Final 10” of cheesesteaks, then have 6 to 8 judges choose the Tour Champion. The winner will receive a special plaque as the MyPhillyAlive 2020 Best of Cheesesteaks in the Philadelphia region.
This special cheesesteak tour will also have a fundraiser component, in which we’ll be raising money two different ways and the proceeds will go to two different local Philadelphia veterans organizations. The Veterans Multi-Service Center at 213-217 N 4 th St and the VA Vet Center at 801 Arch Street.
We’ll be raising money through the proceeds of our t-shirts made specifically for this cheesesteak tour. We’ll also be collecting money from some of these cheesesteak establishments and from anyone who would like to donate as well. (Stay tuned to a link to the site for ordering t-shirts and donations. Please check back at the very end of January, as we want to have the winner included on the t-shirt.) We truly want to thank those establishments, during these trying times, who have so graciously donated money to the cause.
As of now, these 29 establishments have donated: Gleason’s Bar, Goomba’s Pizzaria, Cafe Carmela, Curly’s Comfort Food, Joe’s Steaks + Soda, Altomonte’s Italian Market and Deli, Steak Em Up, Campo’s Philly Cheesesteaks, Woodrow’s Sandwich Shop, Sonny’s Famous Steaks, Cleaver’s Philly, Jim’s South Street Steaks, Geno’s Steaks, Gooey Looies, Donkey’s Place, Molly Malloy’s, Spot Gourmet Burgers, Giuliana’s Deli, Via Marconi Pizza Pub, Mi Pal’s Deli, John’s Roast Pork, The Original Tony Lukes, Oh Brother Philly, Nick’s Bar and Grille, Meatheadz Cheesesteaks, Shank’s Original, Peter and Son’s Sandwiches, Tonelli’s Pizza Pub, The Original Thunderbird, Sofie’s Steaks and Delco Steaks! We have now raised $2,050! So thank you to all who have donated in helping our veterans!
We have gotten involved with several cheesesteak groups whose members share cheesesteaks and other foods from all over the Delaware Valley aka the Greater Philadelphia area. One of it’s members, Steve Rossi, has his own rating system that has been incorporated into the group and into our journey. I myself, tweaked the lower portion just a tad. After breaking it all down, I would say 7.5 is average.
The Rossi Scale Rating System (tweaked)
You can follow us along our Cheesesteak adventures and post your own as well at our Philadelphia Cheesesteak Tour group on Facebook.
Leo’s Steaks in Folcroft, Pennsylvania
Cheesesteak Tour #1
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Sunday, November 8 started at 11 am (11 Cheesesteak locations)
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Jimmy G’s Steaks 695 N. Broad St, Larry’s Steaks 920 W. Girard Ave, Joe’s Steaks + Soda 600 Torresdale Ave, Steve’s Prince of Steaks 7200 Bustleton Ave, Cafe Carmela 2859 Holme Ave, Steve’s Prince of Steaks 2711 Comly Ave, Curly’s Comfort Food 1140 Bristol Oxford Valley Road in Levittown, Gleason’s Bar 6700 Mill Creek Road in Levittown, Altomonte’s Italian Market & Deli 85 N. York Rd in Warminster, Dino’s Pizza610 West Street Road in Warminster, and Goomba’s Pizzaria 739 Bethlehem Pike in Colmar.
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Saturday, November 21 started at 10:15 am (17 cheesesteak locations)
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SQ Philip’s Steaks 2234 W. Passyunk Ave, Steak Em Up 2600 S. 11th St near 11th & Broad on West Shank St – Oregon Steaks 2654 S. 10th St (9th & Oregon next to Cookie’s Tavern) – Gooey Looies 231 McClellan St – Cosmi’s Deli 1501 S. 8th St – Pat’s King of Steaks 1237 E. Passyunk Ave (9th & Wharton) – Geno’s Steaks 1219 S. 9th St – Angelo’s Pizzeria 736 S. 9th St (9th & Fitzwater) – Woodrow’s Sandwich Shop 630 South St – Ishkabibble’s II 517 South St – Jim’s South Street Steaks 400 South St – Sonny’s Famous Steaks 228 Market St – Campo’s Philly Cheesesteaks 214 Market St – Cleaver’s Philly 108 S. 18th St (18th & Chestnut) – Mama’s Pizzeria 426 Belmont Ave – Dalessandro’s Steaks 600 Wendover St – Chubby’s Steaks 5826 Henry Ave.
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Saturday, December 5th started at 11:00 am (6 cheesesteak locations)
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Donkey’s Place 1223 Haddon Ave in Camden, By George in Reading Terminal Market, Spataro’s Cheesesteaks in Reading Terminal Market, Carmen’s Famous Italian Hoagie in Reading Terminal Market, Molly Malloy’s in Reading Terminal Market, Spot Gourmet Burgers 2821 W.Girard Ave in Brewerytown.
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Thursday, December 10th started at 1:00 pm (4 cheesesteak locations)
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Giuliano’s Deli 429 N. Chestnut St in Lansdale, PA, Ray’s Pizza & Steaks 850 S Valley Forge Rd in Lansdale, Pudge’s Sandwich Shop aka Original Pudge’s of Blue Bell 1555 Sumneytown Pike in Lansdale, PA aka Towamencin, PA, Marconi’s Pizza Pub 190 Forty Foot Rd in Hatfield PA.
Maybe check out: DiNic’s – Mongomeryville.
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Saturday, December 19th started at 9:30 am (12 cheesesteak locations)
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The Original Tony Luke’s 39 E. Oregon Ave, John’s Roast Pork 14 Synder Ave, Shank’s Original 901 S. Christopher Columbus Blvd, Carmen’s Deli 42 E. Browning Rd in Bellmawr NJ, Peter and Son’s Sandwiches in Glassboro, White House 2301 Arctic Ave in Atlantic City, Mad Dog Morgan’s 1 Convention Blvd in Atlantic City 2314 Pacific Ave, Tony Boloney’s 300 Oriental Ave in Atlantic City, Gaetano’s 1 S. Burnt Mill Rd in Voorhees, Chick’s Deli 906 Township Lane in Cherry Hill, Meatheadz Cheesesteaks 2653 Brunswick Pike in Lawrence Township, Nick’s Roast Beef 4501 Woodhaven Rd.
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Wednesday, December 23 started at 1:30 pm (2 cheesesteak locations)
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Oh Brother Philly 206 Market St and Nick’s Bar and Grille 16 S. 2nd St, both in Old City, Philadelphia.
Saturday, January 9 started at 12: 30 pm (9 cheesesteak locations)
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FYI – If you do want to join us for the full tour on January 9 or meet up with us at a few of the spots above, please check back the day before and the morning of, just in case some we change some of the dates or add/drop a location. You can also email MyPhillyAlive@gmail.com for a list and or text Jeff Belonger at (609) 440-5133 for updates, especially to see where we are at that moment on Saturday.
Doc’s Deli in Lansdowne, Pennsylvania – From FB Page
Calling all cheesesteak and foodie lovers! You can join us on any of these tours and or at any of the specific locations mentioned above. As you can see for Cheesesteak Tour #7, we have the arrival and departure times mentioned, so you can meet us at any given location and time. If you want to see if we are on time as scheduled, you can send me a quick text at (609) 440-5133. If texting, please state cheesesteak tour and ask for our location. Thanks, Jeff!
We will also have radio show host, Kevin Wilson, from Dining on a Dime, follow us along all seven tours. He will be doing interviews of owners, the staff and even from customers. We’ll also be doing a one-hour review segment after the winner is picked, recapping our whole tour and much more. We’ll give you the date and time later, so you can listen in and possibly call in. There is always the taped review after the fact. ~ Dining On A Dime On Facebook ~ Dining On A Dime On Twitter ~ Dining On A Dime On Instagram ~
If you meet us out on Saturday, January 9th and you want to donate in person, you can either write a check out to Veterans Multi-Service Center or Philadelphia Vet Center and in the memo section, please write Vet Center 210 – “Center City.” Just ask for Jeff Belonger to give the check to.
Lastly, as mentioned above, we will be selling a special cheesesteak t-shirt with all of the names listed above on the t-shirt. These will be ready in the middle of February 2021, so we can have the winner on them and we’ll have the link to order them, as well to donate money. All proceeds, minus the cost of the shirt, will go to the two Veterans organizations that are mentioned above. (Stay tuned to a link to the site for ordering t-shirts and donations.)
Please email us at MyPhillyAlive@MyPhillyAlive.com for the list of the full tour, with each stop, the mileage and times (travel time by car). Keep in mind, we’ll roughly be spending 25 to 30 minutes at each location.
I have already ranked Freshworks in Port Richmond myself. I gave their cheesesteak a 7.5 rating. You can read my review here. ~ Freshworks Review ~
I have also ranked Mi Pal’s Deli in South Philly. Not only did I try their regular cheesesteak, but I had one that was made on garlic bread and I had pepperoni added on it. I gave that one a 8.2 and their regular a 7.7. ~ Mi Pal’s Deli ~
Please tell us your favorite cheesesteak places throughout Philadelphia and New Jersey in the comments below or on our Facebook post at MyPhillyAlive’s Cheesesteak Tour.
From the author Jeff Belonger: Here is my opinion on the many cheesesteak articles out there naming the top places in Philadelphia. I find many to be regurgitated from other articles, and even those who wrote the articles, probably only visited a few of the places they mentioned. Then you have those who are biased to their areas, loyal to friends who might own a cheesesteak establishment, and some who never leave their areas, yet can boast the best cheesesteak places. My goal is to present an unbiased rating based on the meat, bread and cheese.
You can follow our Cheesesteak adventures and add your own in the Philadelphia Cheesesteak Tour group on Facebook.
Happy Cheesesteak Hunting!
MyPhillyAlive Foodie Articles
- Best Pizzas in Philadelphia
- Best Cheesesteaks in Philadelphia & New Jersey (coming late January 2021)
- Winner of the MyPhillyAlive’s Philadelphia Cheesesteak Tour 2020
- Best Burgers in Philadelphia (coming mid February 2021)
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