So what were you doing on July 14th, 2010? Well, I'm not sure of a lot of things, but I do know I was typing up my first "say cheese" Cheesesteak Round-up, comparison post. Man 3/1/2 years. Recently, I reader asked me why I hadn't done one in a while, the last one being almost exactly two years ago. You know, I'm not quite sure, but as I mentioned before, just the thought of a cheesesteak can send me off into a frenzy of Amaroso bunned binging......
A couple of things, I like mine "wit", onions that is, and wit-out "wiz", which was introduced to the sandwich sometime in the 1950's. And unlike that "owner" who didn't care for my opinion of his mediocre sandwich, claiming he knew what a cheesesteak was all about because he read about Pat And Geno's on the internet; I have actually been to Pat's and Geno's, which wasn't nearly as good as the cheesesteak I had from a shop in the Reading Terminal Market called Rick's Original Philly Steaks, which has been closed for a number of years. I did read that he's opened shop in Kennett Square.
Of course all that time means some changes; Olde City Grille has closed, Gaglione Brothers opened their second location, and for some reason the Philadelphia Cheesesteak Company keeps rolling along. One place did drop off the map and had me wondering "whatever happened to......"
Alex's Brown Bag at Latitiude 32:
**** Alex's has totally closed
When I worked in the Hillcrest area, we used to order from Alex's all the time...until it seemed that there was some degradation in their sandwiches which were coming up dry and tough. During that last visit in 2010, it just didn't seem like the same cheesesteak I had been eating over the years.
A couple of years ago, Alex's pulled up stakes and moved to PB. After my cheesesteak trigger had been pulled, Alex's came to mind so I decided to find out exactly where they were located.....which turned out to be inside the pub called Latitude 32. Cheesesteak in a Pub? Shades of Monkey Paw.
The drill here is, you can peruse the menu at the bar, but have to go to the back of the pub to place and pay for your order near the kitchen.
The guys here were very friendly; I recalled the folks when I visited 5th avenue were on the surly side. I got a 12" with provolone, which was probably more sandwich than I should have ordered.
This was a nice sandwich ($8.96), much better than the last one I had from Alex's. The Amoroso roll was nice and warm, with that mild, almost imperceptible crustiness to it, along with the gritty cornmeal. The beef was a bit more chewy than I recalled, but the sandwich was nice and moist with a milky edge brought on by the cheese. This was nicely seasoned, edging on almost garlic-salty, but was nice as most 'steaks are on the milder side.
This was better than I remembered, I'm sure to be back soon.
Alex's Brown Bag (Inside Latitude 32 Pub)
5019 Cass St
San Diego, CA
Jin's Grill:
*** Jin's Grill has closed and is now a location of Homestyle Hawaiian
So I see a sign announcing "Best Cheesesteak in San Diego" in the same stripmall as Pho Little Saigon. A couple of days later I return to find the shop behind the sign, which turns out to be a little shop called Jin's Grill.
The place only has various renditions of "Philly's" i.e. sandwiches on the menu.
I was told that the beef for the cheesesteak was angus, which I thought was nice since the sandwich was south of $7, though I did add mushroom for about a buck more.
The sandwich did look nice....especially the strings of cheese stretching across the wrapper.
The was a plus/minus sandwich. The roll was cold and really detracted from the sandwich. This wasn't highly seasoned, which meant I could really make out the beefy flavor. It wasn't as oily as other versions, but then again, this meant that it was also a bit too dry and lacking in that oozy-richness that makes cheesesteaks so good.
Sort of a tweener, but well priced.
Jin’s Grill
3445 Midway Dr
San Diego, CA 92110
Hours:
Mon - Sat 1030am - 9pm
Sunday 11am - 8pm
Now that this has started.....who knows where it'll end. I do need to visit Philly Frank's, Monkey Paw, and perhaps Eddie's, and of course Gaglione Brothers.....
yummy round-up
Posted by: kat | Monday, 17 February 2014 at 12:10 AM
its all about giorginos. the best in town.
Posted by: Travis G. Clifford | Monday, 17 February 2014 at 02:43 AM
Been searching for a steak sandwich all morning. THANKS!!!!!!!!!!!! ;-)
Posted by: nhbilly | Monday, 17 February 2014 at 05:45 AM
Thanks Kat!
Hi Travis - I did think they made a good sandwich...I need to revisit.
You're more than welcome Billy! Hoepyou geto ne! ;o)
Posted by: Kirk | Monday, 17 February 2014 at 07:44 AM
Keep going Kirk! Don't stop now!
Posted by: Soo | Monday, 17 February 2014 at 10:06 AM
LOL Soo......
Posted by: Kirk | Monday, 17 February 2014 at 07:10 PM
Did you finish the 12" with provolone at Alexs?! I was nodding my head in agreement about the "cheesesteak trigger had been pulled" . B/c that's what happens to me when I read food blogs in the morning before I've eaten anything. Except replace 'cheesesteak' with whatever food topic someone is writing about that morning...
Posted by: Faye | Tuesday, 18 February 2014 at 10:15 AM
Yes I did Faye....... and yes I do too Faye....
Posted by: Kirk | Tuesday, 18 February 2014 at 07:37 PM
Hey Kirk, the family that used to own Alex's brownbag, sold it several years ago and now they are here...
http://popsjerseystylecheesesteaks.menutoeat.com/
PedMa
Posted by: PedMa | Sunday, 23 February 2014 at 12:16 PM
I know PedMa, I posted about the place back in 2010:
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
I hope all is well.
Posted by: Kirk | Sunday, 23 February 2014 at 08:13 PM