Philly’s Best Cheesesteak

By SARAH BAICKER

Updated 1:12 PM EST, Mon, Feb 9, 2009

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We waited as long as we could before pulling the trigger on this one—we know that, when it comes to cheesesteak choices in this town, everyone’s got their own opinion. We didn’t want to step on any toes.

But ‘tis the season for spending time with family, and we know your cousin from out of town will insist that you take him to the best place in the city. So consider this our Christmas gift to you.

Citysearch: Steve’s Prince of Steaks
7200 Bustleton Ave.
We’re pretty sure it’s the cheddary flavor of the special Cheez-Wiz blend that sets Steve’s steaks apart. The rest of the sandwich is pure tradition: flat-top grilled thick slices of beef, onions, pizza sauce. But put all together, the ingredients at Steve’s make a heck of a sandwich. Oh, and next time you’re super hungry: simply ask, and double-cheese or double-steak is yours. Yum.

AOL City’s Best: Geno’s Steaks
1219 S. 9th St.
The polite thing to do when picking the city’s best cheesesteak, we’re told, is to avoid that certain corner of 9th and Passyunk—you simply can’t choose between Pat’s and Geno’s without angering an entire segment of the population. Well, AOL City’s Best went right ahead and disregarded that rule entirely. They’ve selected Geno’s as Philly’s top steak for reasons that include its hours (24/7), its fast service and its sandwiches’ thicker-than-expected meat. That all sounds good—but we would have added their overly flashy signs to that list.

Philadelphia magazine: Cosmi’s Deli
1501 S. 8th St.
Phillymag has gone so far as to suggest that the steaks at Cosmi’s might just be among the best in the entire world. While we’re not yet convinced that this is the case (really, there are thousands upon thousands of cheesesteaks made daily), the steak menu does offer the sandwiches topped with mushrooms, tomato, pepperoni, bacon and plenty of other atypical goodies. And that’s reason enough to try ‘em out next time you’re craving Philly’s finest.

Around Town pick: Rocco’s Italian Sausage
1601 S. Columbus Blvd.
This one’s a bit of an insider secret. Who else would trek down to the Home Depot shopping center on Columbus Boulevard for cheesesteaks other than absolute connoiusseurs of the sandwich? Turns out, everything about Rocco’s—the ingredients, the offerings, the staff—is far above the quality you’ll find at other (ahem) South Philly cheesesteak purveyors.

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