Famous Philly's in Port Orange, FL

The John A - Baah Ben Limited Roadfood Tour reared its ugly head again here in Port Orange, FL, a little south of Daytona Beach, hometown of John A. Ironically, John has never been here before so I was happy to turn him on to this place.
 
You gotta love the outside of this joint.   Nope folks..This one you don't have to worry about.  It ain't no chain (yet) albeit they own another location in Palm Coast. 
 

 

 
 We were the first to arrive at 11:00 AM.  My RF partner likes to start early! They can seat about 100 people, by the time we had finished; the place was half full on a Friday for lunch. 
 

 

 
We split a 9" cheesesteak with white American (you can have your choice of white or yellow American, Cheese Wiz or provolone) onions and green peppers; John does not like mushrooms, which also come with the sandwich.  We also ordered a side of very well done fries.  They're frozen, but were pretty good.  I've been here at least 4-5 times and always enjoyed their cheesesteak sandwiches. It's the best version I've ever had, but I have never been to Philly.  John has been to Philly.  He enjoyed this one very much. too.
 

 

 
 
 
Each weekday, you can get their 7" cheesesteak special for $6.95 that includes a soda, chips, and a pickle; fries are $1.00 extra.  The sandwich comes out molten hot because they mix everything together and the cheese is like lava!  I cannot imagine a true Philly cheesesteak being much better than this one..Except for the roll itself. That's the key. Even though they have the bread baked locally to their specifications, as good as it is, it’s just not the same.
 
No napkins here, each table has a roll of paper towels and you are going to need it as these sandwiches are literally dripping with goodness from the melted cheese. If you still have room you can finish up with a Tastycake.
 
Friday night is Doo Wop night, one of a number of promotions they use to attract their fair share of followers. Not pictured is the wall with TV’s from end to end for sports fans. Here’s their website - http://famousphillys.com/news/
  
John - Thanks for the great pictures as usual and the good company.
 
Back at ya BB.
 
 
 
 
 

Great Job Guy's,
 
Looks like the real deal to me.
 
And how many days did I miss this trip by?
 
Early Start??  I heard it's John's job to wake up the birds in Central Florida.

I'll take you word for the food being good, but I have to say the inside of that place looks fantastic. It looks like a place I'd love to hang out in.

Looks good to me.

Is the ceiling exceptionally low?  I think that would bother me.

This looks like a terrific place.  I cannot believe that I have missed seening it.............it is at the corner of Nova and Ridgewood?  What used to be in that location?

I cannot wait until the next time that I am in town.  I will go there for sure.  The sandwich (except the roll) has to be better that  Pat or Geno's.  I think both those places serve poor quality product BUT there are a lot of really great cheesesteaks to be had in Philadelphia!

Thank you for the report.

Thanks for the report.  My DAB "To-Do" list keeps growing.

What a great looking meal!!!!

Greg - This is a must next time you're here.  Also, Stonewood instead of the Brickyard.  And Leahan's..So, there you go..Your entire dining schedule is made for you!

Continental stopped flying here..Who knows which is the next airline to call it quits..We've lost so many.  Some return, but not for long.  It's a shame really.
 
Mar52 - The ceiling is not exceptionally low, but check out the "outside" interior ceiling lighting.  John noticed it.  Hey, it's part of their roadfood atmosphere.  Is this roadfood or what!

Nice and juicy looking cheesesteak!
And good, crispy fries!
I'm in!!

John A: You referred about 3  times to your dining partner"JOHN". He's  never being to Famous Philly's before,  as well the fact that same "JOHN" HAS been to Philly.
However, it looks like you meant to say "BAAH BEN" in those cases...
You may want to edit that...

AC airport has had some fickle air carriers , as well..
We used to have US Airways and Spirit Airlines but then US Air left.
Then we had Delta and Spirit , and Delta left us.
So now we're just down to one airline, SPIRIT.
Great for super deals on nonstops to Florida, though. (like $9 each way)
And I just found out today that they will start flying from AC to Boston on May 1st. (just in time for me to FLY up for that Roadfood meat up in Western Mass later in May, instead of the Greyhound buses; Amtrak..

Back to your cheesesteak, that's just the way I like it, chopped , not sliced. Definitely had all the necessary components. Great Roadfood!!!

joerogo


Great Job Guy's,
 
Looks like the real deal to me.
 
And how many days did I miss this trip by? 
 
Day before you got down this way Joe
 
Early Start??  I heard it's John's job to wake up the birds in Central Florida.
 
Reveille is at 5:00am, those birdies better be going tweet, tweet by then.

 

Hi Ellen,

Shows what happens when one makes an assumption. In posting this I assumed people would perceive that Baah Ben had written the text, obviously I was wrong. The next time we do this I will certainly point that out. There will be a next time, he refuses to take pictures and drags me along as the camera person. 

Looks good but no comment until the roll is experienced. It's a key component to a good cheesesteak.


How does it compare to a Philly or Atlantic City  roll?

Michael Hoffman


I'll take you word for the food being good, but I have to say the inside of that place looks fantastic. It looks like a place I'd love to hang out in.

 
Reminiscent of the honky tonks by GI bases I would occasionally visit back in the early 60's.

Ha!  I thought Ben Baah was using John A's computer!
 

Whoa Momma!  That looks fantastic, regardless of whether it is "authentic" or not!  Next time I go to visit my brother in Ormond Beach, we gotta hit that place!

On a side note apropos, the roll question.  My son moved to Houston a few years back and missed getting good soft pretzels.  He and a bud worked out a recipe, talked to a local baker and started getting them.  They planned to sell them to Bars, etc. but they got a deal to sell them at Rice Univ. games.  Folks would rave about them!

Too bad (NOT!) he got a transfer to Barbados for his day job!

acer2x


Looks good but no comment until the roll is experienced. It's a key component to a good cheesesteak.


How does it compare to a Philly or Atlantic City  roll?

It's a very good roll. I'll bet that anyone doing a cheese steak taste test from both regions, for the first time, would never mention the rolls, period!!! However, perception is reality so anyone from the NE, including me, is going to favor those rolls. Same thing with pizza dough. I've been here for 29 years and cannot tell you how many times I've heard pizza guys transplanted from there say they cannot duplicate the dough because of the water. Granted, that may be the case in some places - but the entire region with each municipality having its own water treatment plant???

Greymo


This looks like a terrific place.  I cannot believe that I have missed seening it.............it is at the corner of Nova and Ridgewood?  What used to be in that location?

I cannot wait until the next time that I am in town.  I will go there for sure.  The sandwich (except the roll) has to be better that  Pat or Geno's.  I think both those places serve poor quality product BUT there are a lot of really great cheesesteaks to be had in Philadelphia!

Thank you for the report.

 
Hi Greymo,
 
It is exactly on the east side of the Nova road and Ridgewood (US1) intersection. Seems to me they have been there about 10 years, before that it was a neighborhood bar with a different exterior paint job.

 Joe used to use Amoroso's rolls on all of his sandwiches. I was there about 5 years ago. It's a fairly decent sandwich for outside of the 60 mile range that I use for cheesesteaks.
I wonder if he's still using Amoroso's rolls for his other sandwiches.

Cheesewit..So, is Joe the owner? 

Baah Ben


Cheesewit..So, is Joe the owner? 

Yes. Joe Trappuzano. His kids run a restaurant in Bucks County north of Philly. 

John A


Hi Ellen,

Shows what happens when one makes an assumption. In posting this I assumed people would perceive that Baah Ben had written the text, obviously I was wrong. The next time we do this I will certainly point that out. There will be a next time, he refuses to take pictures and drags me along as the camera person. 

What a nice bonus for Baah Ben! A built in cameraman!
You would've pulled it off, John, but when I saw YOUR name as the author of the thread, it threw me off . Actually , I'm STILL confused!                                   So, WHO'S the one who's never been to PHILLY?  
 
Hey, Baah Ben: Next time you could always say "Hey, it's me, Baah Ben here, doing the Trip Report commentary.........
and John A is supplying all the pics. We work as a great Roadfood team!'
        

ellen4641

John A


Hi Ellen,

Shows what happens when one makes an assumption. In posting this I assumed people would perceive that Baah Ben had written the text, obviously I was wrong. The next time we do this I will certainly point that out. There will be a next time, he refuses to take pictures and drags me along as the camera person. 

What a nice bonus for Baah Ben! A built in cameraman!
You would've pulled it off, John, but when I saw YOUR name as the author of the thread, it threw me off . Actually , I'm STILL confused!                                   So, WHO'S the one who's never been to PHILLY?  
 
Hey, Baah Ben: Next time you could always say "Hey, it's me, Baah Ben here, doing the Trip Report commentary.........
and John A is supplying all the pics. We work as a great Roadfood team!'
        

 
As hard as it is to believe, after all those years in NJ,  Baah Ben has never been to Philly


 

yeah thanks for rubbing that cheesesteak in my face guys.
sorry I had to work that day, otherwise you would have been the 2nd & 3rd people there.
great photos, great commentary, but where's the beer?

John A

ellen4641

John A


Hi Ellen,

Shows what happens when one makes an assumption. In posting this I assumed people would perceive that Baah Ben had written the text, obviously I was wrong. The next time we do this I will certainly point that out. There will be a next time, he refuses to take pictures and drags me along as the camera person. 

What a nice bonus for Baah Ben! A built in cameraman!
You would've pulled it off, John, but when I saw YOUR name as the author of the thread, it threw me off . Actually , I'm STILL confused!                                   So, WHO'S the one who's never been to PHILLY?  
 
Hey, Baah Ben: Next time you could always say "Hey, it's me, Baah Ben here, doing the Trip Report commentary.........
and John A is supplying all the pics. We work as a great Roadfood team!'
        

 
As hard as it is to believe, after all those years in NJ,  Baah Ben has never been to Philly


 

I love to go to these places and HATE taking pictures of the food ... I have gotten every reaction from owners ... service people ... other customers ... etc.

It is unusual ... I find it easier if I am with a group, but Ellen who manages it day in and day out is my hero.

I am pleased that she is coming to Western Mass Meat Up so I don't have to take as many pictures.

Ellen you are my #2 (Somehow that Stern guy holds onto the accolade for another year.)

Michael and Jane ... maybe you could enjoy this excursion -- although as I think about it, youve been to all but one WMass place.

JOHN A : That's one major reason I was thrown off by your commentary, as I was thinking "It sounds like BAAH BEN is the one who's never been to Philly! But that just COULD'NT BE?!? Did'nt make sense! As we all know, he's a former north Jersey guy... (but I grew up in north Jersey, as well, and there was so much to do in NYC, that I barely made it into Philly....  now I live much closer to Philly than NYC)
BAAH BEN, that's yet another reason for you to fly into PHILLY when you come up this way in April.  Cause you've just gotta get to the Reading Terminal Market! (tons and tons of authentic food stalls... and you can "warm up" with corned beef or pastrami from Herschels!)

Hey, GREGG : Thanks SO much for your kind words! It's quite a compliment that I'm #2 for you! (I better be careful, though, cause I don't want to see Michael Stern DETHRONED!)

As far as pics go, I've gotten pretty immune to those funny feelings;
I find that most of the time , other diners are so into their OWN fun, that they are barely looking at me and my "flashing",  anyway! They are too busy doing their own thing...  ......as I was taking some pics the other night, (with full tables of people near me), I said to myself "Hey, no one even cares! Look at that!"

I do try and wait till the food servers are looking in the other direction, though... as they tend to be intrigued by the photo taking..
And I prefer to take pictures of the outside of the place when I'm done with my meal , although I'll try and take at least ONE beforehand, in case I forget altogether after...
(as I've gotten a few reactions from owner type people after taking a bunch of pics outside before going in (apparently they saw me thru the windows) ....and I don't want to worry anyone..as in, "Is the IRS coming in? Is this a raid", or whatever...

Who knows, pretty soon, Gregg, you may get as obsessive like I am about taking those food pics! And at that point, you'll hardly feel funny!
If there is any questions from workers or owners, etc, I often say "I do a lot of free lance reporting on the internet"......
that does command a degree of respect, and as a bonus, they tend to be even more concerned how my meal is going...

Or, sometimes I'll just say "Oh, I take pictures of EVERYTHING!", particularly if other diners are amused by it...
I just LOVE when I'm at a place, (like while I was at Pepe's Pizza in New Haven, and at the Carnegie Deli in NYC) and I see OTHER people joyfully taking pics of their food!
 
Just when I thought I could take a little break in MASS. from my Trip Reporting duties , I've been called to the line of duty! (LOL)
Be glad to share trip reporting duties with you , Gregg...
Since I don't do the lobster roll stuff, (my loss, I know) you can handle at least that Williamsburg place.... I may even sleep in a little, and make it to the next stop...

Hey, JOHN A. and BAAH BEN : The weather will be nice in MASS. in May...
C'mon up!! 
You've heard of "Memphis in May"; well this is "Mass in May"!

Wow, I don't just write a REPLY; I write a whole CHAPTER!!!

Well, there's another Daytona food joint for you to explore Ellen - and we've barely scratched the surface. 

Ellen: Never been to Philly..It's ridiculous..I know.  I lived in NJ for 25 years!  Shame on me.

Acer..From all I have read, I doubt this roll could compare to one of those Philly rolls.

I have seen at least 5 times over the years the tv features on Pats and Gino's and you can see how beautiful those rolls are.  No, we did not have thay type of roll.  But, I can't imagine the inside being much better  at Pat's, Gino's, Tony Lukes, etc.   That is very good at Famous Philly's.

John - We continue to see others in Philly chop up the meat and mix in the cheese (see today's featured restaurant - 1/25/09) like Famous Philly....Vice versa actually.  

This means Famous Philly's is representative of what is served in Philly afterall.  Good to know.  Hey, I'm happy with it and glad they are here.

Cheezewit mentioned the owner is from Philly.....