99 miles to philly

94 3rd Avenue, New York, NY - (212) 253-2700

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Posted By Pigiron on March 2, 2008 2:46 PM

This is it, the best cheesesteak in New York. I would even go so far as to say that it's better than both Geno's and Pat's (although I never held either of those two in such high regard). The steak is infused with onion flavor and chopped to the perfect consistancy, leaving a little bite. I'm not sure where they get the rolls from, but if they're not shiped in from Philly, someone is doing a great job of recreating them. Really as close to perfection as it gets.

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Cheesesteak

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Posted By Bill Homan on November 25, 2007 1:55 PM

99 miles to philly makes the best cheesesteak in New York (it's 99 miles to Philly from their front door). They have a pretty small menu; they know what they are, what they do well, and they stick to it.

I'm a purist; I get mine "wit-whiz" (or is it whiz-wit? I can never remember). That means it comes with onions and Cheese Whiz. The steak comes finely chopped with a nice amount of grease, onions that are cooked down on the flattop 'til soft, and a nice thick vein of Whiz in the bottom of the roll. With cheesesteaks, bread is key and these rolls hold up nicely (they use Amoroso's bread, which is what is used in many cheesesteak shops in Philly). They also offer chicken steaks, vegetable "steak" sandwiches and Italian sausage sandwiches, but the classic cheesesteak is what you want here.

For sides, they have waffle fries and onion rings. Most shops treat these as afterthoughts but the rings here are probably the best I've had anywhere. I don't usually go in for breaded (I'm more of a beer batter-dipped kind of guy), but I think some kind of alchemy is going on in back, because I was blown away with every bite. They have a wicked crunch; they cook them a long time so the rings wind up very dark brown in spots, bringing their flavor and crunch to another level. You can wash your sandwich down with a bottle of Philadelphia's own Hank's sodas. They carry root beer, cream soda and black cherry. They also carry another Philly favorite, Tastykakes, for dessert.

If you can't make it to Philly, 99 miles away might be the next best thing. Now if I can just convince them to start making roast pork sandwiches (with broccoli rabe) I'll start paying rent there.

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