Sunday Sandwich's, the "Say Cheese" Edition: Gaglione Brothers versus...Gaglione Brothers

Since I've been waving the Cheesesteak flag again, here's the next logical post of a series that I began in 2010. I had first gone to Gaglione Brothers in 2005 and had revisited several times over the years. I've always found their sandwiches to be decent, if not the best, though it could be the garlic fries were the main reason for my visits. Since then, Gaglione Brothers has expanded, opening another location in Mission Gorge.

One evening, I was in the area....and thought, "why not".....

Gaglione Brothers - Mission Gorge:

My how time flies, the last time I was here it was still Pisa's Chicago Deli, which didn't last very long. Now it's Gaglione Brothers second location....business must be good.

They were pretty busy when I arrived, though thing cleared out quickly. I went with my usual, the 8" Mushroom Steak.

This was kind of interesting. I've always thought the cheesesteaks at Gaglione's were moist with the provolone giving the whole mess a light milky, creaminess. It seemed to lack a sufficient amount of cheese. This was on the dry side and pretty salty. The roll was nice and warm, but I found some of the meat tough.

It's not quite what I expected from a Gaglione Brother's Cheesesteak.

Gaglione Brothers
10450 Friars Rd
San Diego, CA 92120

I was wondering if this was something to do with perhaps timing, or the location....or has GB changed the way they make their sandwiches? Which means that a couple of days later, after a couple of years, I finally revisited the Point Loma location.

Gaglione Brother's - Point Loma/Midway:

I've done a couple of posts on Gaglione Brother's over the years, though I've visited way more times. Still, it's been at least 2 years since I've ben here.

Not much has changed except the price.........

I ordered my mushroom steak and had a seat. While waiting for my sandwich I stared off into the parking lot; and quickly noticed that one could easily tell which folks were coming to have something from GB, versus who was heading to the fitness center next door.....just by physique! It was quite entertaining as I was 10 for 10 in guesses. Of course, if one were playing the same game and saw me exiting my vehicle, I'm thinking they'd be able to tell where I was headed to......

And this turned out to be the typical, lovely, "hot mess" that is a GB cheesesteak. Gooey, gloppy, with hot cheese napalm burning your lips...... The beef didn't seem as well incorporated into the cheese as on previous visits, but it was decent. Because of the milky mildness, onions are a must on this sandwich.... It is still a bit lacking in terms of beef flavor, but it does fine by me.

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

I did find it kind of strange that the two shops served up cheesesteaks that had very little in common....except for the name on the sign.....

Comments

[Nhbilly]

I really need to get my fix.

[Kirk]

You need to Billy....you're reading this on a Sunday evening when the Oscars are on!!! LOL!

[Jason]

I have similar thoughts about the first location, I love the texture and mouthfeel of the sandwich, but always feel like it's flavor is borderline too mild. Maybe I'm too used to the hyper-saltiness of a yellow cheese cheesesteak.

[Kirk]

So true Jason....but I'm not big a fan of "whiz" which kind of over-powers everything. I guess I'm looking for some kind of balance in all this.

[kat]

I'm gonna have to figure out how to make this because I've not seen anything like it here...

[Kirk]

No cheesesteaks in Japan! Well, you have to change that Kat!

[Sandy]

I confess to visiting Gaglione Brothers (MG location) after last week's post on cheesesteaks. I haven't had one in awhile (gotta watch those calorie bombs!) and it hit the spot. The sandwich did seem kind of salty, but not overly salty.

[Soo]

Mmm… Mushrooms and steak… Good combo! I'll have to try it sometime.

[Kirk]

Hi Sandy - I know what you mean about being a calorie bomb. I'm glad you got your fix.....

Hi Soo - You don't mean to tell me that you've never had a cheesesteak????

[Mary]

I used to always get Provolone on my cheesesteaks but have since discovered that American tastes better and cheesier to me after all (just not the cheese whiz... dear god, never that stuff). I prefer Gaglione's to most places I've tried in town. Interesting that both locations didn't quite serve up the same thing.

[Kirk]

Hi Mary - I find American a bit too sharp for the rather low keyed flavors of cheesesteaks. I was surprised at how different the sandwiches were between the two locations.

[Franklin]

They must not be doing too well. They had 4 locations and are now down to two

[Kirk]

FWIW Franklin - They seem to be doing some bang-up business at both locations when I visited.