Another Cheesesteak and Roast Pork Combo

After threatening to do so for the past couple weeks, I finally began revisiting the cheesesteak purveyors that made my top ten list last year. My intent is to put out a revised list that will also be expanded to a top 20 later this year. While I’m continuing to try new steaks, I also want to take another taste of the best ones from 2022 rather than simply going based on my memory and what I wrote previously. 

The first stop on this tour was Guido’s Steaks in Bensalem, PA – just outside of Northeast Philly. The steak I ate there and wrote about in early September was good enough to make the list at number 10. In fact, I couldn’t find any fault with it and was blown away by its overall flavor. It could have easily wound up ranked even higher, but the competition was fierce and it was much more difficult to set the order of the top ten than it was to decide which steaks belonged on the list.

Having reminisced about last year’s steak at Guido’s, I also recognize the need to keep an open mind and an essentially clean slate going into each of the places I’m revisiting.

I again found Guido’s to be a pleasant place to eat a steak. I’m not talking about fine dining, but it isn’t a hole-in-the-wall and the staff keeps the dining room clean. They also have an eye-catching sports-themed wall next to the seating area. 

Their large sandwich menu is posted on another wall. As was the case at Giacamo’s in Quakertown Saturday, I decided to take advantage of the fact that Guido’s also serves a Roast Pork Italiano – another sandwich I’ve been focusing on here – by splitting both one of those and a cheesesteak. Fortunately my lunch companion, Robert, was extremely cooperative in that regard.

I ordered a steak with the usual Cooper Sharp cheese and fried onions and the pork with sharp provolone and spinach instead of broccoli rabe – they offer both. Each came on seeded rolls without the need for a request.

Their refrigerated cases were well stocked with a nice array of sodas, including their house brand. I went with a Guido’s black cherry, which was very tasty.

The steak arrived a couple minutes before the roast pork, so I’ll start with that.

The roll was at least as good as I remembered, if not better. It seemed a little crustier this time. It also wasn’t very doughy and had some beautiful air pockets. 

The meat and cheese were in perfect proportion to each other and were nicely blended throughout. The onions were also mixed in well.

Overall, it was still a great steak, although I didn’t get quite the same jolt from the flavor when taking my first bite that I did last year. The meat may not have been seasoned as heavily. But that’s not enough to stop this from being an elite cheesesteak that any area fanatic should try. I’m not sure where it will wind up on my next list, but it’s tough to see it not being on there. 

Moving on to the Roast Pork Italiano, I was expecting thinly sliced pork loin, but instead there was an abundance of shredded or pulled meat that I would guess came from the shoulder. It was extremely good both in terms of flavor and texture. 

The sandwich appeared to have been prepared like a grinder rather than a traditional Roast Pork Italiano; meaning the entire thing was put in the oven after it was assembled. The roll was toasted and there was a layer of melted provolone on top of the spinach and pork. 

The other roast pork sandwiches I’ve reported on included coarsely grated or shredded pieces of sharp provolone that were likely pressed into the untoasted roll before being covered with the pork. 

I am pretty sure I asked for sharp provolone, but what was on my sandwich tasted like the mild version. It’s possible there was a miscommunication with the young lady who took my order or it may just be a case of sharp provolone not packing the flavor wallop that comes with aged sharp provolone. The other roast pork sandwiches I’ve eaten recently featured aged – a.k.a. stinky – cheese. 

The melted cheese also overwhelmed the layer of spinach that was between it and the meat. I normally prefer spinach to broccoli rabe, but the latter may have stood up better to the cheese from a textural standpoint in this case.

The meat and roll were unquestionably the highlights of this Roast Pork Italiano. It would have been a great sandwich with no other ingredients. 

It felt good to get the first cheesesteak from last year’s list under my belt. I’ll be mixing in the others – as well as the honorable mentions – on a fairly regular basis over the coming months.