Is This The Best Cheesesteak in Philadelphia?
The last weekend in June, my good friend from college and I decided to spend a few days in Philadelphia. I love that city (Go Birds) and hadn’t spent any real time there in a little while, so I was pumped. The original point of the trip was to go to a Phillies game (and check that off my summer bucket list) but we decided to fill our schedule with all kinds of fun things.
We started the weekend with a trip to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. I had never actually been there before so I didn’t know this, but that place is HUGE. We were there for 4 hours and only saw about 70% of the exhibits. So if you’ve never been the the Art Museum and are ever thinking about going, make sure you allot enough time to see everything. It was super cool and I’ll be going back.
For dinner Saturday night, we went to Ocean Prime. We’ve got another friend who works there and he told us to stop in, so that’s what we decided to do. If you find yourself there, I’d highly recommend you order a pineapple picante and the goat cheese ravioli to start. I still think about those ravioli. And we ended the evening at the Good Dog Bar. They’ve got a $5 shot + beer special and a pool table, so I was having a great time. Even though I’m pretty terrible at pool.
Sunday was the day for us to go to the Phillies game. We had great seats, it was Trea Turner’s birthday, and we were in good spirits. I had every intention to get a cheesesteak at the ballpark Tony Luke’s. I’m a Tony Luke’s girl through and through. Campo’s is good, Jim’s is good, Steve’s is good. But I grew up at Tony Luke’s. The day itself, however, had other ideas.
The game was a stressful one. The Phillies were doing great early on, but as the game went on, we were slipping. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. We ended up turning it around in the last two innings and won. But oh man, was I stressed. Too stressed to worry about getting something to eat. When the game ended, I was genuinely really upset that I didn’t get my cheesesteak. But my friend told me not to worry, we weren’t leaving the city until we’d gotten some.
Our original idea was to go to the Reading Terminal Market and get sandwiches there. But as we were getting back to the car, the sky opened up over the whole of Philadelphia. And trying to fight our way out of South Philly was proving difficult. Nobody anywhere seems to know how to drive in the rain. By the time we got anywhere, the Market had already closed.
My friend mentioned we weren’t too far from Angelo’s Pizzeria and he said his friends always raved about it, and I could have sworn I had heard it was one of Jason Kelce’s favorite cheesesteaks, so that’s where we decided to go. Parking was difficult to find in that part of the city and Angelo’s was busy.
When you get there, you go inside and order (or you can call & place your order) but the place is takeout (and cash) only. So then it’s time to stand outside and wait for them to call your name. There were probably 20 people standing outside the restaurant when we got there. I ordered provolone with onions and a side of hot peppers (the superior way to get a cheesesteak. Whiz is gross).
By the time we got our cheesesteaks, it had been about half an hour. We went back to the car and dug in. I completely forgot to take a picture of my sandwich, but it basically looked like this. The sesame roll is made fresh in-house every day. And you can tell. It was crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside. Plus the steak was seasoned well. And the bread-to-steak-to-cheese ratio was on point. I ate that first bite and all I could say was holy sh*t. I housed the thing, it was delicious.
Next time I’m in Philadelphia, I may be skipping my favorite spot in favor of Angelo’s. Or I may have to give John’s Roast Pork or Dalessandro’s a go and see how those classic spots compare. Stay tuned for that article. But tentatively, I’ll give the title of Best Cheesesteak in Philly to Angelo’s (like I’ve got that kind of power). Seriously though, if you’re looking to get away from the tourist traps that are Pat’s and Geno’s, Angelo’s is worth the trip.
