Cheesesteak From Cafe Carmela By Melissa Donahue
‘Finding That Perfect Cheesesteak In Philadelphia!’
Does that perfect cheesesteak in Philadelphia exist? Could it probably be sitting on the other side of the river in New Jersey?
We have created the ultimate cheesesteak tour, in which many of us will be trying up to 42 different cheesesteaks in the Philadelphia region in like three days! The areas included would be establishments from South Philly, to Center City, to Northeast Philadelphia, to some of the Philadelphia suburbs such as Bala Cynwyd, Levittown, Colmar 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. But it will still be a lot to eat!
Our goal is to identify a “Final 4” of cheesesteaks, then have 4 to 6 judges choose the Tour Champion.
This special cheesesteak tour will also have a fundraiser component in which the proceeds from our t-shirt sales 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 also be collecting money 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 after 6 pm on Saturday, November 7)
We were invited by the Cheesesteak Gurus to participate with this wonderful and tasty event! So not only will I be leading a group of cheesesteak enthusiasts to take on this challenge, but there will be other members of this group who will set out in helping with naming the best cheesesteak in Philadelphia. One of it’s members, Steve Rossi, has his own rating system that has been incorporated into the group and into our journey.
The Rossi Scale Rating System
Philip’s Steaks from Tom Cross
The Cheesesteak Gurus group, select members at a hidden location, voted on locations that are to be a part of this major cheesesteak tour, to rate these cheesesteaks, so we can come up with a winner. Here is the list they came up with:
Philips Steaks, Oregon Steaks, John’s Roast Pork, Pat’s King of Steaks, Geno’s Steaks, Cosmi’s Deli, Angelo’s Pizzeria, Woodrow’s Sandwich Shop, Jim’s South Street Steaks, Sonny’s Famous Steaks, Cleaver’s Philadelphia, Jimmy G’s Steaks, Cafe Carmela, Dattilos Delicatessen, Steve’s Prince of Steaks, Guido’s Steaks, Gleason’s Bar, Altomonte’s Italian Market and Delicatessen (Warminster), Dalessandro’s Steaks, Chubby’s Steaks, Larry’s, Mama’s Pizzeria, Pudges, Rays, Giuliano’s (Glenside), Fanti (Maple Glenn), Giuliano’s (Lansdale), Goombas Pizzaria (Colmar), Freshworks (Port Richmond), Chicks (Cherry Hill), White House Subs (AC).
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Cheesesteak Tour #1
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Sunday, November 8 starting at 11 am (11 Cheesesteak locations)
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Jimmy G’s Steaks 695 N. Broad St – 8 miles to Larry’s – 5 minutes – Leave 11:30 am, Larry’s Steaks 920 W. Girard Ave – Arrive 11:35 am – Leave 12:05 pm – 6.8 to Joe’s Steaks – 15 minutes, Joe’s Steaks + Soda (not) 600 Torresdale Ave – Arrive 12:20 pm – Leave 12:50 pm – 2.4 miles to Steve’s Prince of Steaks – 10 minutes, Steve’s Prince of Steaks 7200 Bustleton Ave – Arrive 1 pm – Leave 1:30 pm – 2.5 miles to Cafe Carmela – 10 minutes, Cafe Carmela 2859 Holme Ave – Arrive 1:40 pm – Leave 2:10 pm – 4.8 miles to Steve’s Prince of Steaks – 15 minutes, Steve’s Prince of Steaks 2711 Comly Ave – Arrive 2:25 pm – Leave 2:55 pm – 10 miles to Curly’s – 15 minutes, Curly’s at the Nest (not) 1492 Woodbourne Rd (inside Knights of Columbus building) in Levittown – Arrive 3:10 pm – Leave 3:40 pm – 2.4 miles to Gleason’s Bar – 5 minutes, Gleason’s Bar ** 6700 Mill Creek Road in Levittown – Arrive 3:45 pm – Leave 4:15 pm – 21 miles to Altomonte Italian – 26 minutes, Altomonte’s Italian Market & Deli 85 N. York Rd in Warminster – Arrive 4:40 pm – Leave 5:10 pm – 1 mile to Dino’s – 5 minutes , Dino’s Pizza (not) 610 West Street Road in Warminster – Arrive 5:15 pm – Leave 5:45 pm – 11 miles to Goombas – 20 minutes, and Goomba’s Pizzaria 739 Bethlehem Pike in Colmar – Arrive 6:05 pm – Leave 6:35 pm.
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Saturday, November 21 starting at 10:15 am (18 cheesesteak locations)
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Philip’s Steaks 2234 W. Passyunk, Steak Em Up (not) 2600 S. 11th St near 11th & Broad on West Shank St, Oregon Steaks 2654 S. 10th St (9th & Oregon next to Cookie’s Tavern), John’s Roast Pork (we might be skipping – closed as of now) 14 Synder Ave, Gooey Looies (not) 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 (not) 517 South St, Jim’s South Street Steaks 400 South St, Sonny’s Famous Steaks 228 Market St, Campo’s Philly Cheesesteaks (not) 214 Market St, Cleaver’s Philly 108 S. 18th St (18th & Chestnut), Dalessandro’s Steaks 600 Wendover St, Chubby’s Steaks 5826 Henry Ave, and Mama’s Pizzeria 426 Belmont Ave.
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Date and Time TBD (13 cheesesteak locations)
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Donkey’s Place (not) 1223 Haddon Ave in Camden, Carmen’s Deli (not) 42 E. Browning Rd in Bellmawr NJ, White House 2301 Arctic Ave in Atlantic City, Toney Boloney’s (not) 300 Oriental Ave in Atlantic City, Gaetano’s (not) 1 S. Burnt Mill Rd in Voorhees, Chick’s Deli 906 Township Lane in Cherry Hill, Yellow Submarine (not) 701 N Forklanding Rd in Maple Shade, Oh Brother (not) 206 Market St, Nick’s Bar and Grille (not) 16 S. 2nd St, Spataro’s (not) in Reading Terminal Market and By George (not) in Reading Terminal Market, Carmen’s Famous Italian Hoagie (not) in Reading Terminal Market, Molly Malloy’s (not) in Reading Terminal Market and John’s Roast Pork if we don’t hit them on tour #2.
*** FYI *** Those cheesesteak locations marked with (not) are not part of the Cheesesteaks Guru’s best of, but will be included in the MyPhillyAlive Best of Cheesesteaks in the Philadelphia region.
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. We have a special for those that want to join us. Some of the locations above will be giving those who join us that day or stop by on the specific days mentioned above ONLY. As long as you give them the code word, MyPhillyAlive, you will receive $1 dollar off your cheesesteak. Those with two red asterisks ** next to their name will be the ones giving you one dollar off your cheesesteak. We are waiting to hear back from all the locations and our article will be updated prior to Sunday, November 8.
We will also have radio show host, Kevin Wilson, from Dining on a Dime, follow us along all three tours. He will be doing interviews of owners, the staff and even from customers. We’ll also do a review segment live at the end of each tour. ~ Dining On A Dime On Facebook ~ Dining On A Dime On Twitter ~ Dining On A Dime On Instagram ~
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 a few weeks and we’ll have the link to order them and to also donate money. All proceeds, minus the cost of the shirt, will go to the two Veterans organizations that are mentioned above.
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 30 minutes at each location. So you can add the time it takes to travel to each location to get an approximate time when we would be arriving at each location. Example: Regarding tour #2, we’ll be starting at Philip’s at 10:30 am and then traveling to Steak Em Up next. It is about 1.5 miles to the next stop, taking approximately 10 minutes. So if we start at Philip’s at 10:30 am and we will be spending 30 minutes there, and that it will take 10 minutes to travel, that is 40 minutes. Which means we would arrive at the next stop, Steak Em Up at roughly 11:10 am.
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 ~
Goombas Pizzaria from Nicky Goomba
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: 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.
Happy Cheesesteak Hunting!
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MyPhillyAlive Foodie Articles
- Best Pizzas in Philadelphia
- Best Cheesesteaks in Philadelphia & New Jersey (coming December 2020)
- Best Burgers in Philadelphia (coming February 2021)
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