Cheesesteaks are a crazy topic here in Philadelphia. People will fight to the death over the best cheesesteak, the most authentic, the least racist, provolone or whiz, sarcone's or amoroso. Some fight for no cheesesteaks at all, and prefer the city to be recognized for its "higher-brow" culinary achievements, or argue the superiority of hoagies or roast pork.
For some reason a lot of writers and experts fail to mention Phil's . I didn't even know it was there until a friend proudly announced he knew of a "secret" spot at 22nd & passyunk that has no line and better food than Pat's or Geno's. A recent re-visit confirms that this is all true. It's not nearly as busy as the well known "cheesesteak vegas" of 9th & Passyunk. But it's open 24 hours and the cheesesteaks are fantastic.
More meat than Pat's but not so overfilled that everything falls apart. And they put so much whiz on my fries that I had to use a fork. AND they have fish cakes which for me is the mark of the real deal. I think the main reason Phil's gets passed over is that it's in a neighborhood that's not considered to be the best, but it's really not that bad and totally worth the trip.
Philip's Steaks
2234 W Passyunk Ave
Philadelphia
