Goomba’s Delivers Again

Some of you may recall that I’m in the process of revisiting all of the steak shops that made my top ten last year. This is being done in preparation for updating that list to a revised top 20 this coming fall. Holding down the number two spot on the initial list was Goomba’s Pizzaria of Colmar, PA, which is about 45 minutes north of Philadelphia in Montgomery County. My wife and I met up there with her parents and my brother – Abdel – for an early lunch Saturday.

It was a little over a month ago that I revisited Angelo’s Pizzeria of South Philadelphia, which served my number one steak last year. They didn’t disappoint, essentially holding serve. Goomba’s high ranking was arguably more surprising than that of Angelo’s, so I was extra curious as to whether they’d impress me to the extent they did the last time I was there. 

Our entire group of five was at Goomba’s by 11:15 a.m., making it easy to grab one of their three outdoor tables. The interior is nothing more than the kitchen and a small ordering and waiting area. 

While I didn’t bother looking at their menu, as I knew what I was ordering, they have the full array of offerings that most local pizzerias feature along with a few unique items. I’m sure it’s all good, but I’ve only been interested in their cheesesteaks during my three visits. 

As usual, I ordered one with Cooper Sharp cheese and fried onions, which Abdel and I would split. These are very hefty steaks and I didn’t have a big appetite after eating a cheesesteak stromboli the previous day. My mother-in-law also ordered a steak with Cooper Sharp, but asked for mushrooms rather than onions, while my wife went with a Da Diavlo turkey hoagie and my father-in-law had a roast porcetta sandwich with aged sharp Provolone and broccoli rabe. 

We were seated at a table that was shaded by a red umbrella. On several past occasions when that was the case, my photos came out with a reddish tint. So with Abdel’s help, I unwrapped and photographed each sandwich at another table that had a darker umbrella and was more shaded from the sun before sending them to their rightful owner. I’m sure it looked crazy to anyone who may have seen what we were doing, but that’s a small price to pay to get quality food photos. 

As was the case last time around, my steak tasted fantastic. Their grill chefs do a great job of seasoning the meat and also mix in plenty of Cooper Sharp without going overboard, as an increasing number of places seem to do. The onions were also nicely caramelized. 

As I’ve previously pointed out about Goomba’s, aside from getting the above basics right, the roll they use sets them apart from almost all other steak shops for me. Not only is it beautifully crusty on the outside and soft within, but it’s wider than most rolls of the same length. That enables them to fit 14 ounces of meat and a lot of cheese on there without it seeming the least bit overstuffed. The meat and cheese are in virtually perfect proportion to the roll, which is a rarity for a steak with so much of each. 

Without committing myself, I’ll just say that it won’t be an easy task to dislodge this steak from the lofty position it held on last year’s top ten list. 

I didn’t sample any of the other sandwiches at our table, but everyone seemed pleased with them and there were a couple comments about how good the rolls were. Here are the photos.

I’ve got another cheesesteak outing planned for later in the week – this one with a fellow food blogger who I’ve mentioned in a few past posts. He’ll be in Philly and has been dying to try a top-flight cheesesteak. I’m going to help him out in that endeavor.