Say Cheese......steaks. A comparison of cheesesteaks in San Diego - Gaglione Bros., Alex's Brown Bag, Eddie's Philadelphia Steaks, Hoagies, and Burgers, Pop's Jersey Style Cheese Steaks, Olde City Grill, Giorgino's, and The Philadelphia Sandwich Company

***You can find some additional Cheesesteak Shops in this post. And part 3 can be found here.

Whew.... talk about some major calories..... so maybe we should start at the beginning. At the end of last year, I was having my usual, at my... usual. That would be an 8" Mushroom Cheesesteak at Gaglione Bros in Point Loma.

I was sitting, enjoying a typical San Diego winter day...... 70 and sunny, eating on the patio, and feeling empathy with this guy.

Whom I believe belongs to one of the managers or owners of the place. Can you imagine, being a carnivore, and having to endure the glorious smell of animal flesh charring??? It must be pure torture, so I hope he/she gets some nice "samples" once in a while. The lab looked down at me, and with a tilt of the head seemed to tell me "you think you like this so much, why don't you do a post comparing cheesesteaks?" Now before you think that I'm headed toward wrapping "mi cabeza" in aluminum foil to prevent Aliens from outer space.... or other food bloggers from reading my thoughts, and am headed with a "ho ho hee hee ha ha to the funny farm." (Though I heard life there is beautiful all the time) Perhaps the lab didn't speak to me, maybe the idea just popped into my head.... but I thought it was a pretty good idea.

 

Thinking this over a bit, I decided to try to order my usual, and let's be clear, this ain't a "Philly Cheesesteak" comparison... it's basically a Mushroom Steak comparison. It's not that I haven't had the "real thing" though. Over a decade ago, the major vendor of the company I was with was headquartered in Philly. I managed to attend conferences there twice. I had made a few friends, and one of them took me down to the intersection of 9th Street and Passyunk, home of the cheesesteak icons, Pat's who claims to have invented the Philly Cheesesteak in 1933, and Geno's. My favorite cheesesteak of the trip was not from either iconic shop, but from a shop in the Reading Terminal Market called Rick's Original Philly Steaks. Unfortunately, Rick's Steaks' lease was not renewed, which caused quite a flap, and Rick left the market, but has opened elsewhere. By the way, "Rick" is the Grandson of "Pat" Pasquale Olivieri. It is the grandson of Harry Pasquale, Pat's brother who owns Pat's. And then there was the lawsuit... man, the stories themselves are more juicy than the steaks at either Pat's or Geno's. Let's not go into the Cheesesteak I had in another place in Downtown Philly, yuck. Oh, and I actually enjoyed the Roast Pork sandwich from DiNic's more than any of the cheesesteaks.... go figure.

Next question would probably be, "where's the Whiz?" Strangely enough, the faux cheese "whiz" was not invented until 1953. Before that, it was probably American cheeseor provolone. And personally, I'm not a big fan of Whiz.... and prefer the mild milkiness and texture of melted provolone. So onward to the cheesesteaks.....

The Best Cheesesteak I had: Olde City Grill

I first read about Olde City Grill's Cheesesteaks in Captain Jack's post......

 
The first thing that struck me about Olde City was how the place looked really sports bar-ish, or just plain Pacific Beach bar-ish.

 
For some reason I didn't find this very promising with regards to a cheesesteak. But, knowing Captain Jack, whose large heart is only exceeded by his appetite, this place had to be good. You can build your own steak, but I chose the 6" "Aristocrat ($6.99). It's a mushroom steak with sharp provolone and onions.... and oh, the beef is supposed to be "American" Kobe, which is, I suppose Wagyu? Anyway on to the steak:

The roll was a true Amoroso, which has truly become a "marketing" thing. You see, Amoroso now sells their bread through such "boutique" purveyors as SYSCO and US Foods.... so much like how a somewhat unscrupulous Itamae can charge a Gaijin a super high price for sushi telling them the fish "came from Japan" (I've seen this done....in fact twice from a specific Itamae) when indeed that most "farm raised" Hamachi and other fish comes from Japan, it's exactly what all the other upper-mid, and high end sushi bars are selling. Back to the cheesesteak... at first I was a bit hesitant about all the "brown bits" on the sandwich, but I gotta say, it was delicious. The beef actually melted in, or was it just plain melted my mouth. I also didn't notice any cheese at first, until I bit into the sandwich and almost melted my tongue off. I do think that a bit more cheese wouldn't hurt this sandwich, and the roll could be a tad better toasted/heated, but you can't beat the earthy flavors of mushrooms, the beef, and onions that have been grilled to the "sweet zone". Captain Jack mentioned that perhaps the sandwich was not quite as messy as a true Philly, but this oozed onto my hands, causing the loss of several layers of derma..... This 6" was enough for me......

Olde City Grill
967 Garnet Ave
San Diego, CA 92109

The King is Dead: Alex's Brown Bag

We've been ordering from what many of the "old guard" believe is the best Cheesesteak in San Diego, Alex's Brown Bag for years. We've cut down on our orders over the years, because even though they deliver, we've noticed some deterioration in portion size, and I've gotten more than a few dry steaks over the last two years. In fact, I've started ordering the Pizzaiola - a cheesesteak sandwich with pepperoni, but more importantly, marinara sauce (which we get on the side) which helps moisten everything. Heresy perhaps, but a guy's gotta do, what a guy's gotta do to avoid a dry cheesesteak. I did tell myself that the cheesesteak lost something (that would be moisture) in transport, and I had to eat at the shop to actually see, which is what I did.

Finding the brick and mortar Alex's can be a bit confusing......it is located in the well known Mr. A building on Banker's Hill.

Here I went with the "Philadelphia Cheesesteak"($7.75), which automatically comes with mushrooms, onions, bell peppers, and mozzarella. I'm sure you can get it with Whiz if you really wanted it.

The best part of the sandwich was that the Amoroso Roll was perfectly toasted, not too hard, not too soft. It could also be that the juices didn't saturate the bread because, well, frankly, it was pretty darn dry. The cheese was too mild for the sandwich, though it added a nice gooey stringy texture to everything.

It's sad to see King's lose their luster, though the sandwich still had a well flavored beefy "soul", for me this was like seeing a mid-seventies Elvis, fat, drug addicted, over-gorged on Peanut Butter-Banana-Bacon sandwiches trying to strut his stuff. It's hard to settle for less from the "King".

Alex's Brown Bag
2550 5TH Ave, Suite 171
San Diego, CA 92103

Long live the King: Pop's Jersey Style Steaks

I've often spoken to folks about the difference between the "best", and our "favorite". We have our favorites because of a combination of factors, and on the visits I did over the course of eight months, my visit to Pop's was my favorite.

And it's all because of family.... you see, on the day I visited "Junior" was running the counter, and seemed to know every customer. His brother(Tony) and "Pop" were manning the flat-top, "Mom" was in the back. I ordered my steak with mushrooms, and had a seat. Junior brought the food out to me, and asked me how I heard about Pop's... and of course, it was through another of Captain Jack's posts. Let me tell you CJ, if you still read this blog.... you're a celebrity here. Once I told him I knew you, Junior insisted on bring out Pop to talk to me. Which is how I found out that this family, the Guadagni's used to own Alex's Brown Bag!

As for the cheesesteak itself.....

There are fliers tacked up around the restaurant telling us they now use Amoroso's. I like the crust, but the bread portion was toasted a bit too hard for me. Pop had told me that he doesn't do gooey and messy steaks anymore because this is "California, and we should be healthy, and why not have the steak evolve.... like the burrito!" He produced old photos from his time at Alex's.... can you tell that I just loved this guy?

The beef here is the most highly seasoned, great pepper flavor. Pop's was worried because some folks think the steak is a bit too highly seasoned, and Pop's gets his beef shipped in from New Jersey.

Which leads me to a photo on CJ's post. I was wondering about the beef that Pop brings in, and CJ happens to have a photo of the box...... I had to laugh. Among the ingredients is Autolyzed Yeast and Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein..... great umami, which of course, we call something else. I'll still keep coming back because the beef does taste really good.... and of course there's the family!

Pop's Jersey Style Cheese Steaks
1730 Garnet Ave.
San Diego, CA 92109

My standby: Gaglione Brothers

There are a few changes since my original post in 2005.

There's a hot and sweet pepper bar which allows you to pep up your sandwich if you so desire.

I still usually get the  8" mushroom cheesesteak($6.95) with provolone. It's not out of this world, but satisfies my cravings. Prices have gone up a bit, but my capability to eat has gone down with regards to quantity.

It seems to me that the bread is not an Amoroso, but a reasonable facsimile. I could be wrong, but it doesn't have as much "bread" as a typical Amoroso. It is essentially moist, gooey, and beefy for me. The provolone cheese is always totally melted, and gives a faint milkiness to the entire sandwich.

And yet, feet to the fire.... it could be that the real reason I eat at Gaglione Brothers are the garlic fries..... I've never eaten here without ordering garlic fries.

The Missus actually asked to have garlic and parsley added to a sandwich here.... and they did it! Which made Her very happy......

Plus, you never know I'll run into that dog who telepathically "talks" to me!

Gaglione Brothers
3944 West Point Loma Blvd
San Diego, CA 92110

A worthy contender: Giorgino's

I had been waiting to check out Giorgino's for a while. After all they claim to make the "Best Cheesesteak in Town".

 
On my visit, I ordered the Mush Steak ($6.90), which came with White American Cheese, mushrooms, and onions.

To me, perhaps the best bang-for-the-buck. They use Amoroso rolls. But what really made this sandwich stand out was the pronounced garlic flavor, which I enjoyed. when the young man asked me how I liked my sandwich, I mentioned the wonderful flavor of garlic, and asked him if they use "garlic powder" which seemed to irritate him, and he replied snippily, "no... we use only fresh ingredients, it's fresh garlic." Ooops.... though it did make me wonder, if they use only fresh ingredients, it sure seemed like canned mushrooms.... but perhaps they were "fresh" canned mushrooms?

For me, the one "best" that Giorgino's has is the relaxing seating outdoors during a nice day in South Park.

It makes everything taste better.....

Giorgino's
1237 28th St
San Diego, CA 92102

It's not the Cheesesteaks that bring me back: The Philly Grill

It's Suzanne, the Owner, who has loads of character, and can always bring a smile to my face.

Like I mentioned in this post, the reason I would return to The Philly Grill are not the Cheesesteaks, but Suzanne, and the Italian Sandwiches, which she douses with a mildly bracing balsamic dressing.

The Cheesesteaks here just don't do it for me.

 The beef is decent quality, and pretty freshly cut, but there's not enough of it. The bread on my visits was from Gibaldi's and there was too much of it, too doughy, and the crust was not up to the task. The one saving grace was the addition of pickled peppers, much like Giardiniera with added some flavor to the proceedings.

The Philly Grill
2041 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92104

It could have been better: Eddie's Philadelphia Steaks, Hoagies, and Burgers

I like the location on 30th street of this place. My good FOY (Friend of Yoso) Howie told me that even though he prefers Giogino's, Eddie's has slowly gotten better over time. 

This converted house has a porch, and different rooms where you can have your meal. The menu itself is pretty large with everything from (of course) Cheesesteaks to Prime Choice (what is prime choice???.... is it the prime cut of choice grade meat, or a choice cut of prime grade meat) Rib Eye.... you can see it on the menu yourself here. Of course, it says "Angus Beef" which is a branded beef, but not "Certified Angus Beef" which is a special industry designation. Enough of that, I was here for a Mushroom Steak & Onions with Cheese ($7.75). I of course, ordered mine with provolone.

There were a couple of things that held this cheesesteak back in my opinion. First, the roll was ice cold and flaccid, it could have used a bit of heat or mild toasting. Second, there wasn't enough cheese to create a nice gooey texture, and not much of the milky flavor I want from provolone. The portion size was good, the beefy flavor rather mild. mushrooms sparce, but at least they weren't canned.

Eddie's Philadelphia Steaks, Hoagies, and Burgers
3501 30th Street
San Diego, CA 92104

And there was one: The Philadelphia Sandwich Company

What can I say other than I dreaded coming here. I've never gotten anything better than Tasty Kakes from here. And yet, this place has been around since 1979.

 
I ordered a 6" Mushroom Steak with Provolone ($5.84). And to be honest it was the most inexpensive of the cheesesteaks I ordered. That's all I'm going to say. The photos speak for themselves.

 
You can come to your own conclusions.

Philadelphia Sandwich Company
3904 Convoy St. Ste 112
San Diego, CA 92111

I hope you enjoyed this post on various cheesesteaks joints in San Diego. And perhaps you have a few that I missed. It did take me eight months to make these visits.....

Beyond the narrative, which are, as always based on personal preferences, perhaps you'll get out there and try a few of these places!

I hope everyone is having a great week!

Comments

[bill]

Maybe you should have put the worst at the top since it just ruin my appetite now ;-) This is my favorite joint when I'm in town. Check it out when you get a chance. http://maps.google.com/maps?q=phillys+best&gl=us&hl=en&cd=1&ei=rwY_TIPsHJmQNc-lrP0O&sll=33.663104,-117.902827&sspn=0.02511,0.031672&ie=UTF8&view=map&cid=17969550609979552072&ved=0CFMQpQY&hq=phillys+best&hnear=&z=17

[Rosa]

I don't know if I've ever had a Philly cheesesteak... And even though I LOVE mushrooms, for some reason, I stay away from them when it comes to burgers/sandwiches. Maybe I should just try a mushroom steak and kill two birds with one stone. ;)

And don't worry, my cats talk to me all the time... ;D So does the pug but all he ever says is "Feed me, Seymour!"

[jenelyn]

i love that place so many cheesesteak restaurant so many chosen where you sit the right place restaurant.

[gina]

Good food and a cute dog what more do u need! :-)

http://bazaarofserendipity.blogspot.com/

[Sandy]

I'm impressed with your research! It's a tough job, but someone has to do it, right?

Personally, I like the mushroom and provolone. Cheeze Whiz and I had a disagreement years ago, but maybe I'll try it on a cheesesteak sandwich next time.

[kat]

I think I look like that dog drooling over everything you had :0

[kamisama]

I also don't understand why Philadelphia Sandwich Company is still around. Maybe it's the cheap rent since they've been around so long, but their sandwiches were meh for me. I only went a few years ago because I had a B1G1 coupon.

I also had Gaglione Bros and it was quite good. Have to give the other joints a shot. When I visited Philly a few years back I fell for Gino's and Pat's. I got them with cheese whiz and man, my stomach was not happy!

[liver]

Next time you are up in San Marcos around lunchtime, give me a holler and we'll go try Philly Frank's.

[sara]

Ohmygosh, droool! Those look good! I haven't found a good Philly place here in Seattle yet, but I'll keep my stomach out :)

[Derek]

Have you tried the Cheesesteak from Jersey Mike's? I went there the other day and was surprised how good it was. You can get their "HUGE" for right around $10 and I was surprised with the flavor of the meat and the quantity of it on the sub.

Pop's is my "goto" for cheesesteaks and sadly... the one time I gave Olde City a try, it barely had any meat on it and the meat that was on there was flavorless. For a $10 and '12 cheesesteak I was greatly disappointed. The picture of your '6 looks to have TWICE the meat of my '12. Oh well, good thing I can always cruise over to Pop's or Jersey Mike's.

[Dennis]

You'll always be my food blogging inspiration Kirk!! haha.. :) I love mushrooms, canned, fresh or rehydrated shiitake.. But yeah places need to be real about what it is. Anyhow I've always been meaning to check out Pop's. Thanks for the great post!

[Kirk]

Hi Bill - I will check that out when I have a chance.

LOL Rosa... my mutts "talk" ot me all the time!

Hi Jenelyn - Yes.... we're lcuky to have such a selection

Hi Gina- You're right..... not much more than a cute dog is needed for any post.

Hi Sandy - I'm not a big fan of "the Whiz" as well......

Hi Kat - If only he'd had all the stuff I'd eaten!

Hi Kamisama - I'm not such a big fan of "the Whiz" as well.....

OK Liver - I'll take you up on that!

Hi Sara - I'm sure you'll find something......

Hi Derek - Jersey Mike's seemed much like Subway on my visits... thouhg if you think it's worth a visit.....

Hi Dennis - I'm glad this'll get you out there checing out some cheesesteaks!

[Derek]

Kirk...

I ate a "sub" from Jersey Mike's and wasn't very impressed... like you said, kinda subway like. However, their cheese steak was gridded on the flattop with the normal meat, cheese, onions, etc and then finished with white cheddar. Maybe I was there on an "on" day but I tend to be pretty picky with it comes to my cheesesteaks but oddly enough I was impressed by their offering. I guess the trick is consistency, I'll see how they do next time.

On a site note... VERY impressive cheesesteak post with lots of great reading and pictures. Thanks for sharing as always =)

[Kirk]

Hey Derek - OK, I'll make sure to have a cheesesteak there next time! Thanks for the rec.

[jeff c]

Kirk, Other than vietnamese subs, these are my other all time favorites. I'm wondering if you know of any great Italian beef dip sandwiches. I only know of one place that was on Hacienda blvd next to a firepot place. Great Italian grocery store and deli.

[Captain Jack]

Hello Kirk!

Thank you for the great shouts out, and all the kind words. You did a really great job on this article. I was sad to hear about Alex's. I have an old post that shows my cheesesteak's wrapper soaked in juice/grease. I wonder what caused their decline.

Thanks again,
CJ

[James]

Awesome report - I've only been to Philadelphia Sandwich Co. and the food reminded me of something you'd get at a mall or airport food court. Will definitely check out the others, though!

[howie]

This looks like fun research :-)

Looks like I'm going to have to stop by Olde City soon!

btw, yeah, something you might want to try at Eddie's is The Nancy sandwich - turkey, swiss, cole slaw, and Russian dressing on grilled rye. That's Jenne's fave.

[Kirk]

Hi Jeff - I think you're referrring to HVM - Hacienda Village Meats. We used to go there quite often. They are still around.

Hi CJ - I dunno, but over the last couple of years, it's quite marked.....

Hi James - I'm not a real fan of the Philadelphia Sandwich Company, I've never gotten a decent sandwich there.

Hi Howie - The Nancy, huh? I'm going to have to try that.

[dave]

Oh man, now i want a cheese steak! I have to say, the last time i went to Pat's in Philly the steak was awful. Horrible.

The only cheese steaks i had in san diego were from philadelphia sandwich co (blech) and Giorgino's (which i liked).

Now that i am back on the east coast, i hope to eat a lot more cheese steaks. I just found a great place for italian subs near my house, so that's a start. The hometown food here seems to be hot weiners, coffee milk, and clam cakes. Not too sure about any of those yet.