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

View Larger Map

Comments

[Kirk]

Clare - Reid sure is dedicated to his "craft"!

[Jo]

C Clare? Another C! ;o)

[stef]

hey kirk, i'll post my favorite cheesesteak recipe when i get back! philly cheesesteak makers will tell you "it's all in the bread" -- but i only partly believe them LOL. i'll check out jo's post on country fried steak, but what i do know about them ain't pretty :D -- chopped steak, pounded thin, coated with egg and flour, then fried in lard. yikes.

[Kirk]

Clare & Jo - LOL!

Hi Stef - That right - "Real Philly Cheessteaks" and Jungle Jim's!
http://www.stefoodie.net/archives/foodie_paradise/index.html
Sometimes life just ain't fair!

[Jack]

Kirk-I tried the turkey sandwich, called "the turk", today at Gaglione's and it was good! Think post-Thanksgiving open-faced sandwich without gravy - moist turkey, cranberry sauce, mayo, and stuffing. The stuffing was very moist and brought some seasoning to the sandwich. It was served cold, although I think it would be really good served warm.

[Kirk]

Hey Jack - Great, I'll try them next time - maybe.....if I can get away without a cheesesteak! I agree, warm, and with some gravy!!! Thanks for the report!

[Green Turtle]

Have you tried the Philly Cheesesteak Company on Convoy St (across from Home Depot Expo)? Just wondering how that place compares to Gaglione's. They sometimes have 2-for-1 coupons in the SD Reader.

[Kirk]

Hi Green Turtle - Thanks for commenting. I suppose you mean the Philadelphia Sandwich Company. I was there about 2 years ago, and used the coupons from the Pennysaver - I didn't care much for it, very blah! I did like the fact that they had Tasty Cakes, though. Maybe I'll try again in the future and do a comparison, but I remember not being too impressed.

[Robert Armijo]

I had a philly cheesesteak in mission beach and now im back in arizona I am still dreaming about it!

[Kirk]

Hi Robert - Thanks for stopping by. I'm assuming the Cheesesteak was at Gaglione Bros? If not, let me know where - I'm always looknig for new places!!!