Saturday, October 10, 2009

Campo's Deli Cheese Steak Review

Campo’s Deli is one of the most popular Philly cheese steak joints in Philly. Campo’s was established in 1947 and has 3 locations. The main location was the one that I am reviewing at 214 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Campo’s is also located at Citizen’s Bank Park and the Wachovia Center. That’s right, Campos is the official Philly Cheese Steak of the 2008 world champion Philadelphia Phillies Fans and the official hoagie and cheesesteak of the Wachovia Center, home of the Philadelphia Flyers and 76ers.

Campo’s Deli was started by Ambrose and Rose Campo and is still family operated many years later. The difference is that it is not a little corner luncheonette slash grocery store anymore. Campo’s has been elevated to new higher levels through its increased popularity. Campo’s has a very strategic location in Center City as it benefits from the high trafficked area especially in its Old City neighborhood.

Campo’s has a nice sit down place inside. The place is very clean looking and the workers are all very friendly. The best part is that you can sit by the window and just gaze outside of the beautiful neighborhood of Old City Philadelphia and its passersby.

Campo’s Deli also has an increasing online presence as they ship virtually anywhere in the world. Campo’s has been rated the best by many different sources but you all know by now that I am not impressed until I review it myself (and you should have the same attitude).

I really liked Campo’s Philly cheese steak. I ordered a cheese steak with bell peppers and mushrooms. The steak sandwich itself was $7, which is very reasonable. The mushrooms and peppers were an additional $.50 each. The bread used is the famous Sarcone’s bread from South Philadelphia. This bakery has a huge fan base as they are one of the biggest bread distributors in the area along with Amorosa. The rolls were nice soft golden Italian rolls. The problem with the roll was that it was a little too small (about 8-10 inches). They need to upgrade to the foot long to really impress me.

The steak was stripped steak as was sliced a little thicker than the average thin strips. Obviously it was well done as there was no sign of blood. This is the normal way to cook a Philly cheese steak though. If you see a drop of red blood from your steak sandwich in Philly then you better run because that is not how it should be cooked.

The onions were nicely cooked to a golden brown and chopped into small slices. The American cheese was mixed well into the steak and stayed in one place (as opposed to oozing out the sides. The peppers and mushrooms were also cooked Italian style and were mixed right into the sandwich. They were a nice complement to the meal. Campo’s Deli also has many varieties of the sandwich that you can try like the old fashioned Italian pizza steak. You can tell that these sandwiches are influenced by Italian culinary traditions.

Overall, I like Campo’s atmosphere, location, cleanliness, and their sandwich. They appear to be a very nice family run organization. The price was also right considering the location. However, my only suggestion for them is to think about using a foot long roll.

Campo’s is truly a Philly favorite that needs to be recognized by our cheese steak blog. Campo’s Deli, welcome to the Best Philly Cheese Steak Club!

Campo's on Urbanspoon

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