Johnny’s Back and Hasn’t Lost a Step

One of my favorite places to post on since starting this blog has been Johnny Paisano’s of Springfield, PA. It was a charming little restaurant less than five minutes from where I live that served excellent cheesesteaks and a wide array of other sandwiches and entrees. My wife and I used to eat there periodically for dinner, but that stopped when they closed during 2023 and moved into a smaller space where they focused on catering and curbside pickup. 

Johnny vowed to return to a larger facility and resume full service at some point and that day has arrived. They opened in their new space – also in Springfield, about 10 minutes southwest of the old spot – for takeout a couple weeks ago and put the word out earlier this week that they are up and running with dine-in service. My wife and I wasted no time in heading over there to check out the new digs. I was jonesing big-time for one of their cheesesteaks after many months without one. 

The new place is in a shopping center next to a Japanese steakhouse. They did a beautiful job with the interior. After walking through their takeout area, customers enter a dining room with brick walls and hardwood floors. Their mafia film posters have been moved to the hall that leads back to the restrooms. 

The menu appeared to be unchanged since my last meal at Johnny’s old location. It’s packed with great options, but I usually go the cheesesteak route and that was the case Wednesday. To start the meal, I also ordered fried mozzarella. My wife opted for chicken Gardino, which is pieces of boneless breast sauteed with mushrooms, black olives and roasted peppers.

Fried mozzarella is a dish that can be very good or very bad. The difference generally comes down to whether they are the frozen sticks used by many pizzerias or freshly made. The ones I had at Johnny Paisano’s fell into the latter category. They were beautifully fried chunks of fresh mozzarella with a nicely seasoned crust. The tomato sauce on the side was also excellent. This was a great meal-opener.

The word on Johnny’s new place being open must have spread quickly, as they had a steady flow of customers coming in for both takeout and dine-in. But the kitchen and wait staff were up to the job. Our main courses arrived just as I was finishing the appetizer. 

My wife’s healthy portion of chicken Gardino came with a side of green beans and potatoes along with the usual plate of garlic bread, always a highlight of our dinners at the old location. 

She appeared to enjoy the meal and had enough left over for lunch the next day. 

Johnny Paisano’s hasn’t kept up with the latest cheesesteak trends in terms of cheese options – meaning they don’t have Cooper Sharp. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Their steaks come with American cheese by default unless provolone is requested. I took the American as well as my usual fried onions. They are served on seeded rolls from Aversa’s Italian Bakery, one of the Philly region’s major sandwich roll makers. 

The steak arrived with the meat disproportionately bunched toward the center of the roll. I did some redistributing after taking the first couple photos and was happy with the proportion of meat and cheese to roll when I was finished. 

The roll was a beauty. It had a bit of crustiness and was also soft and extremely fresh without being too doughy within the crust. 

There appeared to be in the neighborhood of 10 ounces of chopped meat and it was moist and very well seasoned. I’ve mentioned before that under-seasoning is one of the most frequent problems I come across in my cheesesteak travels. That wasn’t an issue on this occasion. 

When it’s fully melted and blended in with the meat throughout, as was the case Wednesday evening, I sometimes prefer American cheese to Cooper Sharp. It has a more neutral flavor, allowing the meat and fried onions to be the dominant flavors while still adding gooeyness to the sandwich’s overall texture. 

Johnny Paisano’s steak was under serious consideration for my top 20 list until they closed their old location. I decided against having another one until they went back to dine-in service. There was no parking lot in which to eat at their temporary spot and I don’t like driving home with a wrapped cheesesteak, as the roll is often soggy by the time I get to eat it. 

If I update the list at some point, they could find their way on to it.