Be Still My Heart
Written: Aug 16 '07 (Updated Aug 16 '07)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: The best cheese steak sandwich I've ever had.
Cons: Uh, it's really the only cheese steak sandwich I've ever had.
The Bottom Line: Top notch cheese steak sandwiches in the Bay Area.
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| megugrrrl's Full Review: Cheese Steak Shop |
I really only know of two things to eat that come from Philadelphia - cream cheese and scrapple - which is why a cheese steak sandwich never really appealed to me. For my entire life, I never felt the need to try one; I always thought it might be a glorified grey Steak-umms sandwich with some grilled onions and bell peppers.
Boy was I wrong.
I've never been to Philadelphia, but I have been eating a lot of cheese steak sandwiches lately, and I gotta tell you that cheese steak sandwiches (when done right) are the bomb. Not just the gut bomb, but the gastronicimal, squeal with happiness, cheesy, juicy, BOMB. I love them, and if it weren't for the fact that they're rather unhealthy, I'd eat them everyday. Maybe even twice a day.
Grill
The sandwiches at the Cheese Steak Shop, a San Francisco Bay Area chain, are awesome. I don't know about authenticity, and honestly don't care in this case because these sandwiches are dayum good. Here at the Cheese Steak Shop, they chop up the meat (beef, Steak-eze says the menu, which I can't understand why they'd announce - or chicken) on the grill with metal spatulas, mincing in onions (or other add-ins like mushrooms) to create this hot and flavorful meaty marvel. It sounds a lot like a Benihana with the clanking of metal spatulas on the grill. The onions caramelize, the meat gets nice and cooked, the flavors mingle and mesh. The meat's cut up so fine, it almost resembles ground beef. Yummy!
I thought that just the namesake sandwich, the cheese steak, would be the only divine thing, but the chicken and spinach (minced just as fine) is also quite excellent. (Meat fans can opt to double the meat, for a price.) Just before your meat leaves the grill, they arrange the cheese on it just long enough to start melting it.
Preparation
They use sturdy and soft hoagie rolls - 7 inch, 10 inch and a giant 15 inch one - and scoop the meat masterpiece inside. I'm told they imported these rolls from Philly, Amoroso buns they said. It's part of the Yum formula. (a 7 inch is around $6) They're light and have just the right amount of chewiness; they do a great job of soaking up the juiciness while retaining their integrity.
After the meat scoop, the person tending to your sandwich moves on to the pepper prep area - and you can get sweet or hot (or both). These pickled peppers are pretty mellow in flavor and compliment the sandwich perfectly with a tang and soft crunch. (Take it from someone who can't stand bell peppers on her pizza - these peppers are good - not bitter at all.)
Ah - and they use a nice provolone - which gets all warm and gooey under the meat. You can also opt for American, but the default is provolone.
The Other Menu
Steak fries, onion rings and curly fries to accelerate clogging.
Other grilled sandwiches featuring veggies and veggie mixins.
Salad. Yup, a salad with tasty meat on it. Haven't been able to say no to a sandwich to try it.
Tasty Cakes at the counter for dessert for that extra Philly effect.
Nuts & Bolts
Other than the perfection of their sandwiches, everything else is pretty standard fast-food here. Order at the counter, self-service drinks, bus your own tables. Really nothing much to comment on, except for maybe a slightly pricier experience (average tab is around $9 for a combo type meal.)
There are around a dozen or so of these Cheese Steak Shops in the Bay Area, and I haven't been to many, just the no-nonsense one in the city on Divis, near the Kaiser sprawl and their newest one in Alameda - if it weren't for the delicious menu, you'd think they were two different places (one's a few years older than the other.) The food, and the wait for your food as it cooks are pretty consistent - nothing else is.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
megugrrrl
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 - Top 500 |
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Location: Oakland
Reviews written: 147
Trusted by: 317 members
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