Donkey’s Place New Jersey Cheese Steak

Donkey’s Place New Jersey Philly Cheese Steak – The Most Dangerous Cheese Steak in America

I have been hearing about and reading reviews of Donkey’s Place for years and how great their Philly cheese steaks are. Considering that it is located at 1223 Hadden Avenue in Camden, New Jersey, it is only a few minutes from most parts of Philly. But the thought of going into Camden, NJ just to try a cheese steak was more weight than my actions could lift. Finally, I got the nerve to go as it is a prerequisite for having the best Philly cheese steak blog.

Donkey’s Place was established in 1943 as a bar by the Matthew’s family. But its true origin began in 1947 when a man named Leon Lucas, AKA Donkey, bought the bar and started selling steak sandwiches. Leon was a champion boxer (light heavy weight) on the 1928 United States Olympic Boxing Team. Leon was also a champ fighter in his unit in World War 1. He received his nickname from having said to have a punch like a mule.

“Donkey” Lucas renamed his place after himself, Donkey’s Place. He ran the business for many years until his death in 1971. After his passed away, his son Bob Lucas took over the business and runs it presently. In 2003, Bob Lucas opened up another location in Medford, NJ (7 Tomlinson Mill Road) and in 2005 he opened a third spot in Ocean City, NJ (1018 Asbury Avenue).

OK…enough of the background…let’s get to the point. Donkey’s cheese steak has been ranked unbelievably high in my book. Its sandwich has characteristics of no other. Their cheese steak is a unique sandwich that is a twist of the traditional South Philly version in that its roll is a round, soft, Kaiser roll with poppy seeds. The steak used is thin rib eye stripped steak (not chopped) stacked high in the roll. The cheese is American cheese placed on top of the steak to melt from its heat. The onions are very unique.

Donkey’s Place used large strips of onions that are very stringy. These onions have been sitting in a big pile on the grill not too far from the meat for an hour or two. However, they are not browned at all. I believe that it is the steam that has created its unique taste and for a long period of time. There is a huge pile of onions that is placed on Donkey’ sandwich, their trademark.

Every part of Donkey’s Place’s sandwich is unique. I love the poppy seed effect. This is very different if you are used to the traditional soft long Italian rolls. It really makes you question what the future of Philly cheese steaks may hold. This style along with Grilladelphia’s pouch rolls have really made me think twice about what is a customary Philly cheese steak. I think a revolution may be underway. The poppy seeds effect though is much better than I thought.

The inside of Donkey’s place is very old fashioned. I question whether anything has been moved since its inception other than a routine cleaning. There is so much history to this place as well and this may be the reason that you may find very important politicians, etc. frequenting the place.

The hospitality was exceptional. Their menu was simple.

The biggest disadvantage, for those of you who don’t know anything about South Jersey, is getting there. Donkey’s place is in the middle of the most dangerous city in America: Camden, New Jersey. Although it is just a quick toss away from Philly, Camden is a very different place in that the crime is unbelievably high here. This is why a label Donkey’s Place the “Most dangerous cheese steak in America.” To get here, I should have brought a couple machine guns. You drive through tons of abandoned buildings and crime infested streets.

But let me tell you how it was worth it. I ate two sandwiches today ($6.50 each) and I could have sat there all day long and ate more. I still can’t get it out of my mind how good these sandwiches are. Not only do I put Donkey’s Place in the Best Philly Cheese Steak Club but they may just be the best of the best (maybe) (definitely one of the best New Jersey Philly cheese steaks). Although they are not in Philly exactly, for now I will allow them to be a special exception to get into the club even though I have originally designed it exclusively for Philadelphia cheese steaks only. If you have never been there, take a little risk through Camden County (bring the bullet proof gear), and try Donkey’s Place’s Philly cheese steak!

Grilladelphia Gas Station Cheese Steak Review

Grilladelphia is an interesting take on a Philly cheese steak and must be reviewed here. They are located at 2330 Aramingo Avenue, Philadelphia, PA inside of the Rock and Roll Exxon gas station (that’s right). A gas station has one of Philly’s secret cheese steak shops! This goes to show you that the real Philly cheese steak shops are out there but need to be discovered.

Grilladelphia was established around 2000 by Barry Appelbaum from Northeast Philly. In 2002, another location was set up at Fasone’s Bar and Grill in the Port Richmond area.

Grilladelphia has its share of popularity. It is considered by many to have the best Philly cheese steak in the Fishtown section of Philadelphia (voted best cheese steak by the Fishtown Star). But the real popularity began in 2002 when Craig LaBan from the Philadelphia Inquirer gave them great reviews.

What is different about Grilladelphia is the way that they make their Philly steak – it is absolutely unique. They use a giant custom made circular roll (it has about a 6 inch diameter), which they take the inside dough out and then pack it with their ingredients. These special rolls are called hot pouches.

I ordered the special: a half pound of steak cheese steak, French fries, and a soda for $8.09 with tax. This is a real deal as you get the whole package for the same price of just a cheese steak at Geno’s or Pat’s Steaks.

I was impressed with the small shop tucked inside of the gas station. There are several small chairs and a stand up counter to eat off. The chef/waitress was very friendly. The only thing that I didn’t really approve of was that she sliced the giant roll in half and then pulled out the inside dough by hand with no gloves on (and her hands looked a little dirty). This is a major issue that I will try to look past but if the owner reads this please make sure that your staff is always wearing a fresh pair of gloves (not the same one used all week either as this is pointless).

Other then the glove issue, this place rocks. The steak was not rib eye but was an extra lean, steam grilled skirt steak, which is the opposite of every major Philly cheese steak place in Philly. This resulted in a healthier approach to eating this sandwich and benefitted my longevity on this planet. The steak was chopped fine and mixed well with the cheese and onions (cooked thoroughly). There was no ooziness like many “wanna a be” Best Philly Cheese Steak members. However, even if there was, the pouch was designed so well that the juice wouldn’t run out.

This sandwich is really a clever idea and somebody ought to help this guy take his sandwich to the next level. If you think about how many varieties of Italian rolls are out there, this is how many varieties of hybrid cheese steaks that could be created. Grilladelphia may be holding on to the key to the future of Philly cheese steaks.

I do want to say that this place does sell pizza slices too for $1. For many of you who don’t know the origin of this blog, I am one of the administrators of Blog Pizza, the famous pizza blog. This pizza really looks gross. There appeared to be too much oil on top with very burnt crust. I would highly recommend that this place focuses on the cheese steaks instead of the pizza. But for a buck, I can see it being a good complement to their customers. I just wouldn’t eat it.

Grilladelphia, keep doing what you are doing and welcome to the Best Philly Cheese Steaks Club!