Back to the Cheesesteak Grind

It was a bit of a struggle to get back into cheesesteak mode following our trip to New York state and Connecticut, but duty’s call must be answered. The only question was where to go for one. Aside from the usual big names, the closest thing to a hot steak shop on Facebook lately has been Jay’s Steaks of Royersford, Pennsylvania. So that’s where I headed for an early lunch Tuesday. 

Jay’s sits in a standard suburban shopping center just off Rt. 422. Its interior is split into two sections with a wall dividing the kitchen and ordering area on one side and seating space on the other. 

Their menu is written out by hand. Hopefully you can read it – although it was irrelevant to me, as I knew I’d be ordering my usual steak on an optional seeded roll with Cooper Sharp cheese and fried onions. 

I grabbed a soda out of the refrigerated case and a table and waited for my sandwich. It came out in under ten minutes and looked fantastic.

The roll, which I believe was from Liscio’s Bakery, was softer than I normally prefer, but it was very fresh and had such a pure chew that I didn’t mind the lack of crustiness. 

Photos and comments I had seen about Jay’s steaks online led me to believe that they are part of the trend of obscenely overstuffed steaks that I’ve complained about a few times. I was happy to see that assumption was erroneous. There appeared to be in the neighborhood of 10-12 ounces of chopped ribeye – my ideal amount – and it was well seasoned and perfectly proportioned to the roll.

While there was a bit more Cooper Sharp than I prefer mixed in well with the meat, it wasn’t as big of a problem as I’ve experienced at a few other places that really go nuts with the cheese. 

Overall, it was an outstanding steak – certainly good enough to merit consideration when I put together my top 20 list in a couple months. 

Royersford is not quite as far west as Pottstown, but it’s out in that same direction. A stop at both Jay’s and Gazzos, which I raved about in January, would be an extremely tasty and filling afternoon for any cheesesteak adventurer and a friend.  

I’m undecided at this point about which shop to go to for my next steak. But you’ll find out where I settle on by the middle of next week.