Say Cheese......Steaks, an addendum - Voltero's, Sodhi's (Letty's??) Bean Shack, and Jersey Mike's

*** You can find Part 3 here.

I hope you don't mind another cheesesteak post to go with my original. These are more like sloppy seconds, with nothing that really compares to my favorites. I will say that I got some interesting emails from that post, so here's one that was a recommendation (thanks Derek!), one that I had forgotten about, and one out of nowhere. 

Voltero's Pizza:

I'd been to Voltero's a couple of times before, but had forgotten that they sold cheesesteaks. For me Voltero's is typical of the neighborhood pizza joint; good prices, friendly staff, and pretty hefty portions.

 The cheesesteak at Voltero's comes with either fries or a green salad.... guess which I selected? It's also priced right at $6.95.

 
I noticed that the roll was not an Amoroso right off. It was a nice, crusty Italian that did not bad, but was a bit too much bread. At least it was slightly toasted and warm.

The cheese was nicely melted and decently gooey, which I believe was provolone. The meat was on the dry side, but the flavors along with the bell peppers and what I call "pizza mushrooms", (thinly sliced mushrooms usually used to top pizzas) was pretty good. This was pretty close, but not quite.

The funny thing was, I enjoyed the fries.....

And then I realized that I hadn't had fries since the beginning of April. So these hit the spot.

Overall a good value...... and much better then the Philadelphia Sandwich Company, which is kinda depressing if you think about it.

Voltero's Pizza
5650 Balboa Ave
San Diego, CA 92111

Sodhi's (Letty's) Bean Shack:

Well, the sign says "Sodhi's", and the menu says "Letty's" so I'm trying to cover all bases on this one. Located on a side street across from UCSD Medical Center; I'm guessing this place makes a living on giving folks an alternative to Hospital food.

The Cheesesteak here also comes with fries, and is even cheaper than Voltero's at $6.75:

The biggest surprise for me was that this sandwich came on an Amoroso roll! The portion of meat was bit on the small side, and the meat had been placed on the flat-top with onions, topped with cheese which melted nicely, the roll was then placed on top of everything and it was scooped up and put into the styrofoam box. Of course, this meant the roll was still cold, and had not benefited from any toasting.

The sandwich was also a bit dry for my tastes. Cold Roll + small portion + dryness = mediocre cheesesteak.

A generous portion of "steak fries" were served with the sandwich.

These were fried golden brown.... or should I say double, or even triple fried??? The fries were already cooked and still in the basket. When the order was placed, the fries were dumped back into the oil for reheating. They didn't seem to suffer any ill effects.....

Letty's Bean Shack
4229 Front St
San Diego, CA 92103

Jersey Mike's Subs - Rosecrans:

FOY "Derek" asked me to try out the cheesesteaks at Jersey Mike's. So, of course I did so at my earliest opportunity. I do have to apologize about the poor quality of my photos.... I don't know what the heck happened that day. I've already done a post on Jersey Mike's Rosecrans location, so I decided to return to that shop for my cheesesteak. 

Even a regular sized sandwich looks pretty huge.......

The bread, with an almost cracker like flavor, does well with Italian Subs, but for me, it tends to interfere with the flavor of a cheesesteak.

It was also cold and the ratio of bread to filling was off.... too much bread in this case. In fact, there was too much of mostly everything, peppers, bread, onions, to meat for my taste. I pulled out some of the meat and had a taste, and the right flavor was indeed there; but it was just overpowered in this case.

On one interesting note; the #13 "Original Italian" has kinda grown on the Missus and I. It's still pretty much a "salad in a bun", but we sure do prefer it over Subway, and other of shops of that ilk.

Jersey Mike's Subs
3670 Rosecrans Street
San Diego, CA 92110

You can read my original Cheesesteak post here.

Comments

[bill]

None of the sandwich looks like a winner to me.

[Darwin]

Not a Philly native here, but a huge fan of all things Philly. Its a shame that the best part of some of your sandwiches Kirk, were the fries! You got me wanting a nice whiz philly now!

[Kirk]

Hi Bill - Yep.... no big winna's

Hi Darwin - This was just an add-on to my previous post. I wanted to cover places I missed last time.

[Carol]

Hi Kirk! Too bad your cheesesteak was cold, yuck! The one I go to is the one in Mira Mesa and the sandwiches have always been hot. But it has been a while since I've been.

[Kirk]

Hi Carol - It was the rolls that were cold..... which is not so good eats for a Cheesesteak.

[Derek]

Hey Kirk,

Thanks for giving Jersey Mike's another try. It's too bad it was underwhelming. The 3 times I've gotten a cheesesteak the bread has been pretty fresh and toasted ever so lightly & I've actually gotten a pretty good meaty punch.

Oh well, I still prefer Pops and need to make it down to the Olde City Grill to give them a second chance. Thanks for taking the time to check it out Kirk!

[Kirk]

Hi Derek - Thanks for the rec, It was just too much bread for me.

[Reggie]

I see that you stopped by my restaurant for a Philly. Thanks for the review (I think). I am the owner of Letty's Bean Shack. The reason the bun is placed on top of everything is that I wanted the sandwich to be as authentic as possible. I researched the sandwich before I placed it on the Menu and found a you-tube video of either Pat's or Gino's showing the sandwich cooked in this manner. If you know your cheesesteaks, you know that these are the restaurants that invented them. I too prefer a toasted bun, but the way I do it is the way that it is done by the creators. You can always ask for the bun to be toasted and we will gladly so so for you.
As for the smaller sandwich. It is a balance trick. I refuse to use cheap meat. A proper Philly uses only rib-eye steak - but my location is one that serves the hospital community. Most of my clients are customers 3 to 5 times a week and want affordable prices. This is the most expensive item on my menu at $6.75. But that leaves no room for huge portions of Rib-eye. I do offer an off the menu version of the Philly. Full foot long for $9.75 - this also includes the fries.
Also we have invented or own version the the Philly. We and taken the sandwich and moved it west. It is another off the menu item. The same Philly sandwich with Avocado added. We call it the San Diego Cheesesteak. We hope that it catches on and maybe we will someday be as famous at Pat's and Gino's. Stop by and try it sometime. Just make sure and ask us to toast your buns. Thanks,

Reggie
Owner of Letty's Bean Shack.

[Kirk]

Hi Reggie - And welcome! BTW, I've done my own research.....I've been to both Pat's and Geno's...so I've been there, though I haven't seen a Youtube video. You do know that the locals pretty much consider Pat's and Geno's kinda tourist traps and trips down memory lane nowadays, right? Of course, if you read the first part of this post you'd know that.
http://mmm-yoso.typepad.com/mmmyoso/2010/07/say-cheesesteaks-a-comparison-of-cheesesteaks-in-san-diego-gaglione-bros-alexs-brown-bag-eddie-phila.html
Therein lies the problem of the par-baked amoroso.... Pat's and Geno's gets them fresh...while US Foods and Sysco...well you know enough. How about this for a kicker, why don't you pool your customers and see who still phone orders from Alex's?? Which ain't all that hot in my opinion. Why not lose the fries and go with more meat. Also, I never had a cold roll at either Pat's or Geno's...so go figure, maybe you don't have to toast them.

[Ed (from Yuma)]

funny that I missed this from years ago. My ancient memory of the closest thing that I've ever had to a real Philly cheesesteak did have the roll placed on top of the meat and cheese on the grill, but I believe the roll had been warming on the flattop before scooping up the fillings. But memory is a very tricky thing any time, and at my age . .

[Kirk]

Hi Ed - Yep, they warmed the roll on the flat top......but what do you expect from someone who based all of his expertise on a Youtube video????

[Kirk]

Hi Ed - They did warm the roll on the flat top at Pat's and Geno's....of course, what do you expect from someone who bases everything on some Youtube video....