Gaglione Brothers - And Three Rules

*** A revisit to Gaglione Bros, can be found here.

Mahalo to Jack and Howie, who both mentioned Gaglione Brothers. Almost a decade ago I had a conference in Philly, so of course I had to try a cheesesteak. A friend of mine took me to two famous stands, Pat's and Geno's both with a huge line and you had to kinda know "the rules", that is, how to order your steak, or you really got a hard time. Well I had this Cheese Whiz thing twice, nice, hot, and gooey, with the faintest hint of beef. And I thought, "what's the big deal"? But a funny thing happened; about two days later, I'm still in Philly, and for some strange reason I'm craving a cheesesteak. Now I've only had this once in my entire life, why the heck am I craving it? I ended up getting a cheesesteak in downtown Philly; wasn't much good, and it pretty much killed that craving. Until a day later, when I had a cheesesteak in Reading Terminal Market, this time with provolone, and I found my "cheesesteak. I'm convinced that there's somethin' in the cheesesteak; some insidious ingredient that after a short gestation causes an extreme craving for another cheese steak sandwich. Fast forward almost a decade later, and a visit to Gaglione Brothers:

This little shop with 5 indoor tables and sports memorabilia, local celebrity pic's, and family photo's decorating the walls, and an ever playing television, is located in a pretty secluded section of the Midway Towne Plaza in Point Loma. I had a bit of a problem finding this little storefront initially, but finally made my way there.

There's a scattering of humor in the menu - for instance the "Sophia Loren" sandwich, is known as a "Hot Italian". So I ordered a 12 inch Mushroom Cheese Steak ($8.65), which was made to order and ready in about 10 minutes:

This was a gloppy, messy, gooey sandwich, with a hint of "beefiness". Nice and moist, and the mushrooms added a nice texture. It was filling as heck and left me ready for a nap. As I left the restaurant I thought "this is okay, but not something that I'd really want on a regular basis".  HOWEVER, about a week later, I'm driving along; and a thought enters my head. "Wouldn't a cheese steak sandwich be really nice right about now"? And there it was again, that nagging craving for a cheese steak! Now I'm really sure there's something to my belief in "cheese steak addiction". So I drove down to Point Loma and placed my take-out order.

There were three problems with this sandwich; one was totally my fault, another was in the preparation, and the last was scenario based. The first problem; I ordered only a Mushroom Steak ($7.95), so there was no cheese, man I screwed up! Geeez, how can a cheese steak be a cheese steak, without the cheese. So no gooey, gloppy, goodness. And some of the taste was compromised. The second problem; the steak was too finely chopped. It resembled hamburger, not a cheese steak, and was dry and grainy to which I added spicy brown mustard to resolve. Which leads to number three; I ordered take-out. You see, I didn't just order the sandwich, I ordered Garlic Fries ($1.95) as well.

There was a good amount of garlic and herbs on the fries, but not enough salt. But because I'd done this take out (15 minutes to home), the fries had gotten a bit limp. I'm sure they would be fine if I ate them in the restaurant.

So the three rules? It's a cheese steak, so don't forget the cheese! Hope that they don't mince the meat too finely. And eat them at the restaurant. Can someone tell me what makes these so addicting?

Gaglione Brothers

3944 West Point Loma Blvd
San Diego, CA 92110

(619)758-0646
Open 11am to 9pm Daily

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Comments

[Reid]

Hi Kirk,

I have fond memories of eating Philly cheesesteaks years ago. There is a place that opened up here recently, but I have yet to try it. I guess maybe I feel like I should wait to visit Philly again. It's been too long.

[clare eats]

ooh they look good, but kinda HUGE!
I had no idea what they were, I will be carefully of their addictive qualities though.... but I would like to ask what is a chicken fried steak?

[milgwimper]

Kirk,

I have tried to kill this cheesesteak craving for while now, and what do I find when I open your blog this morning? Cheesesteak! AHHHHH...*pulls hair and runs down the street screaming* "Cheesesteaks gotta have a cheesesteak!"

[elmomonster]

Kirk,

I don't think I've ever had a cheesesteak before...or maybe I had one in the past and it wasn't memorable.

Thanks for the tips though...I'll have to try one in my neck of the woods...there seems to be a few that have gotten a lot of press lately.

[Kirk]

Hi Reid - Philly is a bit far for a Cheese Steak run though, isn't it?

Hi Clare - They have an 8" sandwich for your more petite eating sensibilities. I think Chicken Fried Steak and Country Fried steak are one in the same - basically a steak cutlet prepared like fried chicken - first dipped in a milk and egg mixture, than dredged in flour, than fried. I'm sure Jo probably has a better idea.

Hi Milly - "Die Craving, Die!!!" Did that help? No, well maybe you're just going to have to get a cheese steak. Do you have any idea what makes this so "cravable"?

Hi Elmo - It's interesting; I really didn't think much about the sandwich, but a couple of days later something went off in my head and I had to get another. Go figure! I really think you have to eat the sandwich right away, it'll get to be a real soggy mess after a while.

[Jack]

Kirk-I had the same reaction that you did. When I first went here, I thought "this is pretty good, not to die for but good...I might be back here again sometime ". It wasn't at the top of my list of places to return to but good enough to warrant a return. Now, every so often though I get that cheessteak urge and I find myself heading down for a sandwich. I have also been told that the homemade turkey sandwich is pretty good as well.

[milgwimper]

Kirk,

I have no idea what makes the craving. I mean it isn't life altering, yet all of the sudden the craving hits! It must be the chemical mixture between the melted cheese, beef, and bread. It creates a narcotic effect, thus the addiction? Hmmm there should be scientific study done on this subject! ;P :D

[Kirk]

Howszit Jack - Strange isn't it? Is that turkey sandwich the one that has sutffing in it? I thought it was odd, bread in bread, but I love good turkey, so I guess I'll try it - if I can get away from ordering the cheese steak.

Hi Mills - Well makes me feel better. At least I know that I'm not the only one who get's this weird urge. Can you image a post-doc thesis????

[dailygluttony]

It's simple. They put crack in cheesesteaks. Or whatever it is they put in those cuttlefish crackers.

Addictive food is puzzling, isn't it?

[Jo]

Yep, big difference between the two. I'm gonna go do a post on it right now...

[Kirk]

Hi Pam - If they put "crack" into the cheese steak - it must be the slow acting kind. I don't get a craving until several days - or weeks later!

Thanks Jo - That would be helpful!

[milgwimper]

Kirk and Pam,

It must be slow acting, but I still think its a narcotic. I mean you get addicted, and then you indulge, and then you want to sleep, lethargic, hard to concentrate etc... I mean it is all the symptoms of taking opiates, morphine etc...You know you feel no pain afterwards! LOL *WINK*

[James]

Now that looks good! I never had a proper philly cheesesteak before... but it does look addicting.

[milgwimper]

Kirk,

Gee I sound like I know what narcotics do first hand huh...Really I just play one on T.V.

[Crover]

Kirk, have you ever seen the Holly Eat's site? He has some interesting reports on cheesesteaks in Philly. I've never had a cheesesteak in San Diego that satisfys like the real deal from Philly, I think that east coast attitude & the vibe of the Philly shops add a crucial element of the experience that can't be found here. It's like getting a fish taco in Philadelphia, just wrong!

http://hollyeats.com/Philadelphia.htm

[howie]

Hey, I'm glad you made it out there. Another friend of mine went there and said she was disappointed and had a dry sandwich. Maybe they need to work on their consistency, but I honestly haven't had a bad sandwich there (and I go there a lot).

I drive past Gaglione Bros probably 3-4 times a week. So that cheesesteak craving hits me about...3-4 times a week.

By the way, I tried the cheesesteaks at Gotham City Pizza, which had been mentioned at Chowhound, and I thought they were just OK. I like the bread they use, but the cheesesteak wasn't gooey enough and, for some reason, it didn't have a big beefy flavor. I still love Gotham's pizza though.

[Kirk]

Hi Milly - So you're the local "narcotic" expert are you??? LOL!

Hi James - You know Gaglione Bros go out of their way to state that they're not serving a Philly Cheesesteak - but if not, what are they serving?

Hi Crover - Thanks for stopping by and commenting, and also for the link. It's Pat's that I was taken to - I had a Steak "wit" and cheez wiz on it. And you're sure right about the attitude - it was pretty funny. Boy there's some pressure to order right!

Hi Howie - Thanks for the rec! The last sandwich I had wasn;t that great, but it was partly my fault. How the heck to you order a cheesesteak without cheese!!! I think you oughta' set 'em straight on Chowhound about them cheesesteaks!

[Reid]

Hi Kirk,

Well, you know it is a bit far from here, but I used to only eat cheesesteaks in Philly when I lived in New York. The train ride was only 2 hours each way. =)

[Kirk]

Hi Reid - Two hours for a cheesesteak! Man you work hard for your food.

[clare eats]

wow reid
I will never doubt your dedication again!