Not that I’m suffering from either. Being from Philadelphia, I get asked all the time about Philly cheesesteak sandwiches, and where to go back home and here in Chicago. And it doesn’t hurt to veer off the sports track every once in a while and talk about competition of a different sort. So, since barbeque season is pretty much over with the onset of winter near, I figured it was time to compare cheesesteak joints in my neck of the woods.
The Phlly Cheesesteak...Good Stuff
Typically the first question from anyone who has been to Philly is “what are those two cheesesteak places and which is better?” What this tourist question refers to is the two well known cheesesteak meccas, Pat’s King of Steaks and Geno’s, both on 9th & Passyunk Ave in South Philadelphia. I’ll answer the second part of that question some other time.
For now, it’s Chicago, a world class city that rivals London and New York, smells better than Houston, has more real meat and potatoes than LA. Plus, there’s a whole lot more to do than Midwestern driving-only cities like St Louis. So here’s the ledge…
The Authentic: Philly’s Best on Belmont
The jewel in the crown for Philly Steaks is of course Philly’s Best; a spot that used to fly in Amoroso rolls daily about a decade ago, before going with a local Chicago purveyor, Gonella. Gonella’s rolls are crusty, not half bad and close enough.
I once dragged a lifelong Chicagoan friend after midnight, breaking him in to Philly verbal judo while watching the owner vocally harangue some teens who were messing up tables with condiments after ordering only a drink. Skilled at the judo and attitude, the owner made the kids feel bad enough to pick up their mess and leave (after a short argument of course), and I told Brad, “Welcome to Philadelphia. Let’s order.”
Like the family owners who moved out here from West Philly two decades ago, everything you could want here is authentic as you can get. Cheesesteak orders must be specified with or without onions, and with your pick of Provolone, Whiz, White American, Mozzarella or Cheddar if you must; and your meat comes out flat and layered just like at Geno’s and suburban Philly chains like Lee’s. Likewise, if it’s a meatball sandwich you want or something vegetarian, they have that too. Locals like their “East Coast Style” pizza, which I think is nothing special, really.
Along with a selection of everything from Tastykakes to pepper & egg sandwiches for Lent, Philly’s Best has signs that tell you to be ready when you order and that if you are not a customer that the restroom is “The Lake, 5 blocks east”. There are pics of the owner poised with celebrities like Jackie Mason, Hillary Clinton and local news people, and to top it off, all of the employees must wear a mandatory Philadelphia Phillies caps and a red shirt. Like I said, authentic.
The Approach & Attitude: Clarke’s on Lincoln
Clarke’s is nowadays a standard diner with everything you could ever want on cheeky menu adorned with side commentary, and is open 24 hours with a few locations on the North Side. Everything they make is cheap and excellent.
Great ad, but you'll need to go to Cali for this one.
The first time I went to Clarke’s was in 1995, and I went with a friend from Ohio who was kind of a know-it-all / pain in the ass type of guy. He tried to pull some ‘tude on the staff at Clarke’s and got it shoved right back in his face.
My lunch mate (unfortunate me) decided to ask for the Fruit Plate, hold the grapes and then changed his order, strangely, to a Bowl of Grapes. In the midst of arguing his flimsy “customer is always right” shtick he was told by our impatient waiter, probably a DePaul student, that Clarke’s wasn’t a five-star restaurant. But that he could choose from the myriad choices on the menu or get out. He settled on a club sandwich.
Since East Coast style frictions were stirred up just during the order, flustered, I picked their cheesesteak, wondering if it matched the mood. Like Pat’s King of Steaks, it came out with the steak chopped up, signaling that the short order chef knew what he was doing. It came out plugged with my decadent favorite, White American cheese, which was hard to get in Chicago back then believe it or not.
Good standard-build cheesesteak, authentic quality, pretty much like home but with no frills and no variance. And a little attitude to go with it.
Ironically, Clarke’s website says “We have a large menu to choose from-and you're able to order whatever you want whenever you want.”
Heavy on the Pepper: Hoagie Hut in Lincoln Park
Ever since my later college days in Ohio, I’ve been haunted by the “Philly Cheese Steak Hoagie” I once ordered at Oxford’s now defunct Attractions Bar & Grill (good riddance) which best known for 25¢ beers and should have stuck to that.
“Hoagie” in the Midwest can be a fielder’s choice of any meat on any bread, and on that one occasion the “Philly Cheese Steak Hoagie” was a grease-ridden bun length hamburger with more bread filler then meat. It was even more terrible than I could have imagined, and I was insulted that Attractions was brazen enough to think they could even fool the townies with such a half-hearted, unstudied, garbage rendition of a cheesesteak. You’d probably get a better cheesesteak at the Ho Chi Minh City Airport.
So when I first scoped out “Hoagie Hut” I was skeptical that a Midwestern establishment could nail a hoagie or anything close. But have no fear here. Hoagie Hut is a top notch sandwich spot that does it all right.
A couple of other foodies picked up on something that I did too, that Hoagie Hut uses “a lot of black pepper” and probably white pepper too, according to many who dropped feedback. Not only did this assure me that my taste buds haven’t gone soft on me, but I have to say the Hut’s extra kick adds a little dimension to their cheesesteak which, like Clarke’s, is basic but spot on.
Pat's at 9th and Passyunk. "Who's the King, baby?"
No Cigar, Still Decent: The Daily, Lincoln Square
Lucky for me I wasn’t alone on this one. I’ve been to the Daily Bar a number of times and will continue to go back, but it wasn’t until I had a visitor from PA, an old high school friend, that the Daily had put a cheesesteak on their menu.
On the tail end of several beers and about two hours of conversation and catching up on the last 20 years, it was time for dinner and we both took the leap in ordering a the “Philly” which comes standard with Pepper Jack cheese. To me, deli Jack cheese is just White American with an extra joust of flavor, and a little extra red pepper in anything (for my tastes works). Notably, my pal Eric who is a strident purist on all things Philly thought their steaks were pretty good.
It could have been the 75 degree Spring weather or the beers that night, but The Daily seemed to hit a bright note on their own take of the cheesesteak, taking a risk that is taken too kindly among cheesesteak connoisseurs. And it didn’t hurt that the steak was basically chopped prime rib.
That said, The Daily (which is not named after Mayor Daley, by the way) has a great selection of beers and is an excellent place to watch sports, having no affiliation other than Chicago sports in general.
So if you're at The Daily and if you don’t like cheesesteaks or calculated risk, have a Bud Light and the Daily Meatloaf.
Andy Frye writes about sports and life MySportsComplex.blogspot.com, and also tweets several times daily @MySportsComplex on Twitter, mostly about sports but sometimes food too.
Rock over Philly, Rock on Chicago.
Andy, In my 13 years since graduating college and entering the workforce, I've never met a coworker who has grammar that is as good or better than me. That was a cheesesteak you had yesterday, right? Isn't there a joint in Evanston? We should grab one sometime soon.
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