He Made Me a Cheesesteak I Couldn’t Refuse

I’ve been on a blogging hiatus while trying to eat lighter than usual leading up to a major food-themed trip later this spring but felt the need to interrupt it to visit and report on a new cheesesteak shop in Philadelphia that has received a huge amount of attention. 

The reason for the excess publicity is the man who owns it and after whom it’s named. That would be “Skinny” Joey Merlino, the reputed long-time boss of the mafia in Philly and something of a local celebrity. It’s been reported that he is no longer active in that life and is now focusing on legitimate endeavors, including a podcast and his wildly popular steak shop.

Skinny Joey’s Cheesesteaks is several blocks north of the city’s sports stadium complex on Broad Street in South Philly. Since it opened in late March, seemingly everyone who is anyone in the region has been there and waxed poetic about their steaks. 

The customer lines and waits for orders have been reported to be long at nearly all hours of the day and evening. I did my best to avoid the worst of it by showing up at their 11 a.m. opening time on a weekday. They were already open with a line when I arrived, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as it likely would be an hour later.

After snapping a few exterior photos, I found my spot at the back of the line, which moved at a reasonable pace. I probably placed my order 15-20 minutes after arriving and only waited another 5-10 minutes for my name to be called when it was ready.

The setup at Skinny Joey’s is similar to some of the other well-known steak shops that I’ve posted about. They have two order windows, one for sandwiches and another for sides and drinks, as well as Skinny Joey’s T-shirts, which seemed to be going at a relatively brisk pace. Orders are also picked up at the latter. A large-screen TV between the two windows showed Joey on what was probably one of his podcast episodes. 

Skinny Joey’s menu consists of hot sandwiches, wings and other sides, drinks and something called an inside-out, which appears to be similar to a stromboli or calzone.

I went with my usual order of a cheesesteak with Cooper Sharp cheese and fried onions on an optional seeded roll. 

After picking it up I grabbed an outdoor table and unwrapped my steak.

It wasn’t as hefty as those at some of the newer cheesesteak shops that pile a pound of meat and a massive amount of cheese on their steaks. But as I’ve indicated a number of times, I strongly prefer sandwiches that are well-proportioned to those behemoths. That means about 10-12 ounces of meat and a light coating of cheese blended in with it throughout. And that appeared to be exactly what I found on the seeded roll from Aversa, one of the areas highly regarded Italian bread bakeries.

The roll was fresh, and while I wouldn’t call it crusty, its crust did have a very pleasant chew to it, while the toasted sesame seeds added to its flavor.

It was filled with very tender ribeye that wasn’t chopped too finely and just the right amount of Cooper Sharp. The onions could have been fried a bit longer, but that wasn’t a major issue. They were interspersed nicely throughout the sandwich. 

At first glance, this had all of the makings of an elite cheesesteak based on the criteria I’ve used since I started blogging about them.

Unfortunately, when I took my first bite, I discovered that the steak did have a key flaw, one that it shared with many other cheesesteaks I’ve had over the past few years. The meat was under-seasoned, leaving the sandwich’s overall flavor a little flat. 

That’s an easily rectifiable issue. A few more sprinkles of salt and pepper from the grill chefs is all that would be needed for this steak to compete for a spot on my top 20 list. 

I’ll wait a while and give them another shot at some point. I’ve seen one other person comment on the lack of seasoning and hope that they’ll get the message and make the necessary adjustment.

Don’t hesitate to check the place out though. The energy and vibe are a genuine slice of South Philly. 

Just be prepared to wait in line if you do go.