Philip's Steaks Philly Cheese Steak

Philip's Steaks Philly Cheese Steak Review

Philip’s Steaks is another perfect example of how you can find better Philly cheese steaks in Philly than what is traditionally known to be the best. I have recently eaten at Philip’s to reconfirm what I have known for many years.

Philip’s Steaks is located at 2234 West Passyunk Avenue, South Philadelphia, PA. They have been in business for over 25 years and have a very solid revenue from the locals. Philip’s Steaks is situated at a key traffic point off the highway and generates a decent amount of sales. They could be what Geno’s Steaks and Pat’s Steaks have been for some time but are still lacking major recognition. This could be why I still like their steaks. Philip’s Steaks has a good bang for your buck. I bought a regular Philly cheese steak with extra onions and a large soda for $9.

Phillip’s cheese steak was only $7.25, which is 75 cents cheaper than Pat’s and Geno’s. The sandwich was all round perfect. The bread was soft Italian bread about a foot long. This is a few inches bigger than Pat’s and Geno’s. The cheese that I ordered was American cheese (if I eat whiz with my cheese steaks for all my reviews I may not make it too far). The cheese was perfectly melted and tucked away within the steak. The steak was thinly sliced rib eye steak. There was a sufficient amount in there to give you your money’s worth.

The only problem that I had was with the onions. The onions were rarely cooked at all. I like onions cooked from medium to almost well done. Actually, the best onions are those that are cut really thin and simmered low for a few hours. They become so tasty that you could eat them without anything else.

I ate my Philip’s cheese steak on the small metal stand up tables attached to the side of the building. Most cheese steak places in Philly have this including Geno’s, Pat’s, and Jim’s. I have always found it fascinating of how many diverse people that you meet at cheese steak shops. Word of advice for many tourists: Just act natural when you are in Philly. I write this blog as an educational blog for those who are interested in the Philly cheese steak but inevitably I have to share some information about the city as a whole.

It appears to me that many tourists who visit Philly always have this preconception of everyone being so rude and looking for a fight. The truth is that it is not that way. For example, when I went to Philip’s, this tourist with his friend kept talking tough to the cashier as if he was supposed to because he is in Philly. Philip’s is a regular local Philadelphia cheese steak place run by friendly locals. They are not looking for trouble. Because people are told what to expect when they go to Geno’s or Pat’s they think that they have to act tough for every cheese steak place. This is inaccurate and unnecessary. Geno’s and Pat’s has a reputation to live up to and deals with tourists all day long and that could be the reason they have so many ordering rules there (and the tough guy reputation to live up to). It could also be that they have been abused by the tourists so long that this is the result.

Philadelphians are nice people as a whole so if you come to Philly don’t try to act tough for no reason. This actually makes you look more like a tourist. The reason that I digressed here was to let you know that the people working in these cheese steak places are just normal hardworking people and deserve to be treated with respect. If they don’t give you any trouble than you shouldn’t give them any. Enough with the lecture…

My review conclusion…Philip’s Steaks has a dynamite Philly cheese steak for your buck. Aside from their onions not meeting my standards, Philip’s Steaks is a true hidden gem of a cheese steak shop and goes down as having one of the Best Philly Cheese steaks.

Jim's Steaks Cheese Steak Review

Jim's Steaks South Street Cheese Steak Review

Today’s review will be of Jim’s Steaks South Street cheese steak shop. After many years of visiting Jim’s I have made a frequent visit to keep this review fresh. First thing that I will do today is to start out with an overview of Jim’s Steaks. It’s important that you understand its significance in the cheese steak world before I proceed with my review.

Jim’s Steaks has 4 locations as of this review. The location that I went to was at 400 South Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147. Jim’s Steaks’ history actually had its beginnings in 1939 in West Philly at 431 North 62nd Street by the owner Jim and his family. Jim’s expanded to the South Street location in 1976. Another expansion happened many years later in 1996. Jim’s had opened up a new location at Bustleton and Cottman Avenues (at the Roosevelt Mall). The last cheese steak shop opened in Springfield (469 Baltimore Pike).

Last week I had discussed Pat’s steaks and their significance to the cheese steak world. Specifically, because they were the first cheese steak hop in Philadelphia, they are a Mecca for cheese steak lovers. Well, you also have to give a place like Jim’s Steaks credit because although they are not the first cheesesteak shop they are one of the first. They opened approximately 10 years after Pat’s and about 30 years before Geno’s Steaks (the so called King of Steaks). With four stores under their belt, Jim’s Steaks’ history is extremely important for cheese steak lovers. They must be appreciated and relished because they are the foundation for the massive worldwide marketing of making Philly known for this type of food.

So on to my review…please recall that this review of Jim’s Steaks is of its location on South Street. Eventually, I may post a review of the other locations. Ideally, I would like to get in a nice review of the original location and make some comparisons to today’s review. There are so many good cheese steak places to cover in this blog that I don’t want to spend too much time on any given one.

Jim’s Steaks is a totally different cheese steak compared to Geno’s or Pat’s and in many ways. Geno’s and Pat’s have sliced steaks (extremely thin and layered on their steaks). Jim’s Steaks uses chopped steak, a completely different cheese steak experience. Sliced versus chopped both have very good tastes but yet very distinguished.

I ordered a plain cheese steak with onions at Jim’s Steaks. The steak was about 8 -10 inches (sorry I don’t carry a ruler). The great part about Jim’s is that as you wait in line you have to actually pass the frontline of the chef’s working quarters so that you see every move that is made. This is different than Pat’s and Geno’s where the grill is much more obscure. By the way, Jim’s is inside unlike Pat’s and Geno’s. This is a huge factor for those waiting in some ridiculous line in the middle of the winter. At least you can be a little warm inside. But I have also seen Jim’s Steaks‘ line wrap around the building outside on most weekend nights.

The inside of Jim’s Steaks is another interesting part of Jim’s history. There is pictures and autographs from many famous people all over the walls. Don’t forget to go upstairs to eat. Most people aren’t even aware that an upstairs exists but it does and there is many, many more pictures up there too. Upstairs they are even several tables for you to sit and relax while you eat (but don’t forget to feed the meter first because South Street ticket police are always on patrol).

Jim’s Steaks is also famous for its plaque that it has on its wall for the cheese steak record. This record is of the person who ate the most cheese steaks in one hour. The last I can remember it was about 13 but I didn’t check it when I went. If you can beat that record I am sure they will get your name up on that wall.

Ok…sorry I digressed (a bad habit). Back to the cheese steak review…While waiting in line you can watch your steak being cooked right in front of your eyes. There are tons of steaks on the grill. What makes Jim’s Steaks unique is that the cook is chopping your steak. I did not order whiz because I like American cheese (but I recommend it). By the way, Jim’s does not sell cheese fries unlike the other major stores.

Jim’s Steaks’ cheese steak was very good. My sandwich costs about seven dollars plus I ordered a root bear. The chopped steak is really tasty as it is cooked thoroughly. You very rarely find a Philly cheese steak place that has steak with a drop of red in it. This is uncommon as that is not what this steak sandwich is about. This needs to be distinguished from your usual bloody Mary Steak at a pure steakhouse (some served rare).

Jim’s Steaks puts the cheese under the steak in the sandwich. I got to say that this is one thing that I didn’t like. The ears of the bottom layer of cheese that were sticking out never got melted. I like cheese completely melted in a cheese steak. That is the way that it should be. If you want a sandwich with unmelted cheese then you would order a hoagie (subway or poor boy to many other Northeast folks).

The onions were chopped in large slices and were just lightly cooked. The ideal cheese steak would have onions thinly sliced and caramelized. You will rarely find this at any Philly cheese steak joint because it is too much work. However, when I cook them at home I will put any of these steak places to shame (the onion factor has a big reason to do with this). Try it at home and you will see what I mean. If you slice the onions really thin then it will result in much more flavor.

Overall, Jim’s Steaks is Jim’s. Whether or not I like it Jim’s is one of the oldest and most popular cheese steak places in Philly and will continue to be for a long time. I always wondered what would be the effect if Jim’s Steaks opened up a place right next to Pat’s and Geno’s. I think that they would help take some of that traffic off the streets and put them on the pavement. I don’t think their competition would appreciate this though and may have to retaliate by opening another one of their stores next to Jim’s.

I hope that you have enjoyed my review. If you get to Jim’s Steaks, please stop by our blog and let us know what you think about their cheese steak sandwich.