A good picture of cheesesteaks on the Grill !!!

  Carl's Steaks    Chambers Street  NYC          ...   doin' it right  !!!

You are making me really hungry.

Is that provolone?  And at the bottom, the green, looks like Giardiniera for Italian Beef sandwiches.

Looks great, but I have a question: why is the cheese on the beef in the middle?  It seems like it would be more efficient to have it arranged in a raw --> cooked --> prepped for serving order, but keep in mind that I've never been to a place that serves authentic cheese steaks...

Brad

Gorgeous photo, Tommy B. Reminds me of my visit to Pat's King of Steaks in Philadelphia several years ago. I know some roadfooders claim that there are better cheesesteaks than Pat's around Philly, but I can't imagine it; I loved my sandwich there. 

Brad, fair question.   

The cooked beef is held to the right, because there the burners are kept very low, to prevent the meat from drying out.

So when the 'raw' meat is cooked,  it is transferred to the "cool" side of the grill.

Then,  when making cheesesteaks,  the meat is slid back to middle for the "heat" needed to melt the cheese.


I know, it seems to be a bit backwards, but it works.


BTW,  this is a picture of Carl's Steaks on Chambers Street in NYC.


I think it's such a good shot of cheesesteaks.


At   "TOMMY B'S PHILLY CHEESE"  So Delicious . . . It Rhymes! ,    I keep the delicious caramelized onions to the cool, right side of the grill,  and make the cheesesteaks to order....from raw-to-cooked-to-topped-with-cheese-to-Amoroso Roll !!!

www.TommyBsPhillyCheese.com

NOCAROLINA,  thanks for the kinds words !


Pat's  is a great place in Philly,  that's for sure!

Great picture...but I like whiz on mine...

I am definitely a "Whiz Wit" myself.

I used to ALWAYS favor melted white american (still love it that way),  but I have to say that Cheez Whiz does marvelous things for a cheesesteak that's been prepared well.

And Whiz is the #1 seller for TOMMY B'S,   out of Provolone, White American or Whiz.

Tommy B


The cooked beef is held to the right, because there the burners are kept very low, to prevent the meat from drying out.

So when the 'raw' meat is cooked,  it is transferred to the "cool" side of the grill.

Then,  when making cheesesteaks,  the meat is slid back to middle for the "heat" needed to melt the cheese.

Ahhh...now it makes sense.  Thanks!
 
Brad

the green really looks like chopped green peppers.
I've never had a Gino's steak but I like their idea of not chopping up the meat.
Joey Vento quote "why chop it up? the poor things already dead when it gets here"

 Of course there are all sorts of schools of thought about chopped/hacked/unhacked.The one I subscribe to,and the one i always thought was the most commonly recognized in the Mid-Atlantic,is that chopping /hacking allows the pieces of meat to be coated on all sides by the cheese,rather than just have cheese on the top or inbetween the slices.Visually,I always believed that on a proper cheesesteak you shouldnt even actually be able to "see" the cheese as any more than just a "sheen" on the meat and definitely not just on one side of the roll-you really shouldnt be seeiing any congealed cheese on the roll at all.
  Then again that condition can also be caused by not knowing how to make the cheese melt-not rocket science to be sure,but a technique that makes all the difference in the world.
   Its just one of those things that gets no respect.Theres probably a million people selling cheesesteaks,and maybe only a couple thousand that take the effort to do it right,because  what the hell,its only cheesesteaks right.Its not something important like getting a tattoo or making sure your hotel bathtub doesnt have any hairs on it.

Pat's, Geno's, Steve's Prince of Steaks, these are some of the best in Philly and they don't chop the steak. Delasandro's does chop but they too are one of Philly's best.

Just in my experience (I grew up in Philly and have lived here in South Jersey for 21 years), 90% of the steak shops that I have patronized chopped or hacked the meat. A few don't. I have found that when I eat a cheesesteak in North Jersey, the meat is not chopped nor is it hacked, it's just one piece. I have only had a few up there, and they were good, that's for sure, but the meat is left in a flat piece. The melted cheese is visible up there (and still, not a bad thing as far as taste), but here in the Philadelphia area, the cheese is invisible but so tasty. It's when you go to other areas who don't do it authentically that the preparation seems to fall by the wayside, i.e. thicker pieces of meat, cheese isn't even melted all the way, etc.
I don't go to Pat's or Geno's, and haven't since I was a little girl, so I don't remember how the meat was. Steve's Prince of Steaks I've been going to for years and I do like their unchopped, unhacked version. But I'm spoiled by Gaetano's here in South Jersey.
 
The picture is great, though; I'd love to see more of your food pics on flickr itself if you have them.

I like My meat chopped so when you bite into it you get a mouthful without pulling half of it out.

myterry2


Great picture...but I like whiz on mine...

 
If someone whized on my cheesesteak, I'd drop him!

I do agree with jellybear.

at TOMMY B'S PHILLY CHEESE,  we do some chopping,  but we don't "hack it to death".

Also,  I must say,  the chopping in front of customers is fun to watch.   "Display Cooking" tends to draw a crowd, and then when they see the mound of caramelized onions, and the melting cheese,   ......they grab their wallets !!!

I like steak shops that chop, not hack.  The picture has me salivating right now...I don't live close enough to Philly to get great sandwich all the time.  I'm a 7 hr drive so I at least make one yearly pilgrimage there just to eat, seriously.

I'm in...call when another batch is being made...love the pics.

I am impressed-i have never had an authentic philly-whiz wit-is that correct?? My dad, who was a proffesor, hated how the English language progressed- but loved regional sayings...

chewingthefat

myterry2


Great picture...but I like whiz on mine...

 
If someone whized on my cheesesteak, I'd drop him!

Some like mustard and ketchup on their cheesesteaks!!!

Now thats pretty.

When I make cheese steaks at home, I put hot sauce and bbq sauce on the meat before it finishes cooking.  I call it a Texas.

i like the Texas recipe !

when i make a buffalo chicken cheesesteak,   i like to use hot sauce, and then finish the steak with a few crumbles of bleu cheese.    (minus the celery stix)

oh yeh !

I like mine chopped.

Great picture.
Amoroso Rolls are the bomb.
Jim's on south has an awesome cheesesteak!
 
I don't get to Philly as often as I would like, but when I do.......look out cheesesteaks!!
 
Jenny

I agree....Amoroso's  "Hearth Baked"  is absolutely just right.

And I have to say this,   they make a great Frozen roll,  that thaws out and "eats" as good as anything fresh-delivered as you can get.

All the Cheesesteak shops outside the Northeast,  that claim to use Amoroso,  are using their Frozen product.    I'm a believer,  although frozen gets such a bad rap, especially for bread.   But they got it down !    

I like the Code #910, which is a unsliced,  9 inch roll.



And Jim's is my favorite  (besides my own of course!)

For those of us around Chicago, I've really gotta recommend Philly's Best in Chicago (now FOUR locations)
http://www.yelp.com/biz/phillys-best-chicago-2

I've gotta recommend the Wizz-wit on garlic bread.  Pretty greasy with the garlic bread, but damn it tastes GREAT!

The only complaints that I've ever heard has been due to either the price ($7-9 ) or the service (too slow? can't rush a good thing...).  I haven't tried anything else there, but what would you order at a place called Philly's Best?
Pizza?  Salad?  I think not.

Tommy B


i like the Texas recipe !

when i make a buffalo chicken cheesesteak,   i like to use hot sauce, and then finish the steak with a few crumbles of bleu cheese.    (minus the celery stix)

oh yeh !

So...do you have any locations? I drove by the address on your website, didn't see anything...

Cameron, thank you for asking the "most-frequently-asked" question.

On my homepage,  I list a place in Metuchen NJ, called Simply D'Licious Cafe.

It's been a good experience so far,  but at this point,  this (one) location cannot be considered a complete "Model" location, i.e., all the Tommy B's menu items are not being sold.

But the owner, Terry Toovey,  is so happy with the results of the Signage, Uniforms, and of course, the Cheesesteak itself.


Today,  in West Orange NJ,  an owner of a Diner wants to install Tommy B's to his location.

And a Convenience Store in Jersey City NJ,   wants to add Tommy B's.


It's a labor of love,  and this "Start-Up" Phase is requiring a lot of sweat, and more importantly, flexibility to see just where the right niche for Tommy B's is going to be.


Cameron,  with a lot of patience and hard work,   hopefully I'll have a really good list of plenty locations to visit and enjoy a delicious cheesesteak & chocolate shake.


Thanks for asking !!!


I appreciate it.