Revisiting a Genuine South Philly Legend

The weather gods finally smiled upon me Friday when it stopped raining in South Philadelphia just in time to go forward with my intended lunch at John’s Roast Pork, which has very limited indoor seating. They are the last of the steak shops from my top ten cheesesteaks list that I had to revisit in preparation for updating it later this year after a couple earlier efforts were rained out.

It’s an unfortunate truism that most of the legendary old-school steak shops in Philadelphia are past-their-prime at this point. John’s is the exception. Their cheesesteaks are still among the best in the entire region – both by general acclaim and my own past experiences. 

They normally attract lines, but between the bad weather and my 10:30 a.m. arrival time, I managed to avoid the sort of wait I experienced during my last visit.

As their name indicates, John’s isn’t only a steak shop. They are known as much for roast pork sandwiches as for their cheesesteaks. 

Thankfully I didn’t have to choose between the two, as my friend and periodic dining partner, Jim, met me there with the intention of splitting one of each. I had already placed our order and was waiting for my number to be called when he arrived.

John’s doesn’t offer Cooper Sharp cheese, so I went with the default American and fried onions. It came on a seeded Carangi Bakery roll, as did the pork sandwich, which I ordered the traditional way – with sharp Provolone cheese and spinach. Broccoli Rabe was not an option, but I am a spinach fan anyway. 

It was obvious as soon as we unwrapped the sandwiches that they were both extremely hefty. 

The steak was pretty close to perfection. I love the sturdiness of Carangi seeded rolls for starters. They are a great fit for moist hot sandwiches. And the proportion of chopped beef to both the roll and the American cheese that was mixed in with it throughout was right on the money. I’ve said many times that 10-12 ounces of meat is the ideal amount for a steak and they use 12 at John’s. 

Even more important than the amount of meat was how juicy and beautifully seasoned it was. Add to that the nice caramelization of the fried onions and this was unquestionably one of the better tasting steaks I’ve had since starting this blog. 

I’d have been extremely happy with nothing more than the cheesesteak for lunch, but we also had the Roast Pork Italiano. 

The key to the latter may be that they either dip or soak the pork in au jus before putting it onto the roll. That makes it unbelievably moist and flavorful. Add to that the sharpness of the Provolone and there was a strong contrast between this sandwich and the steak. 

In fact, it may have actually been a mistake for me to rotate bites between the two instead of eating all of one, then all of the other. Taking a bite of the roast pork sandwich was like a jolt to my senses after the mellower flavor of the steak. I’ll keep that in mind if I ever find myself in the same situation at John’s.

Yet the pork sandwich was undeniably great on its own terms. It’s a shame one is normally faced with a choice of having one or the other. 

The experience of eating the two sandwiches together also hammered home to me once again that as much as I enjoy roast pork sandwiches, cheesesteaks are still my primary love when it comes to Philly-style long-roll sandwiches. It’s nice to have other good options though when in the mood for a change of pace. 

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I still have to revisit two more steak shops that made last year’s list as honorable mentions in addition to getting to a handful of other places that are either new to me or that I feel the need to give another try before deciding which 20 will make this year’s list. That should be posted no later than the middle of November.