Change for the Worse

For the second time in less than a month, I revisited one of my top 10 steak shops after reading about a change in their business circumstances. In early August, I checked out Gazzos‘ new Ardmore location and found their cheesesteaks to be as good as ever. 

My second such recent stop occurred last week when my friend, Robert, joined me in visiting the new Bleigh Street on York in Hatboro, Pennsylvania. They had operated out of at least a couple different bars in Philadelphia before moving into their own space earlier this summer. The new digs sit on Hatboro’s quaint main downtown drag. 

Bleigh Street’s menu features two of my favorite things to eat – cheesesteaks and smash burgers. I was tempted to try them both but heard George H.W. Bush’s voice in my head telling me it wouldn’t be prudent and ordered a steak with Cooper Sharp cheese and fried onions, as did Robert. The smash burgers will have to wait for a later visit. 

After such a positive experience at the new Gazzos outlet, I was somewhat complacent in assuming the same would be the case with Bleigh Street. Unfortunately, that assumption was well off the mark.

When I first visited them at the Port Richmond Pub a couple years ago, the only minor issue I had with the steak was the roll being softer than I prefer. But as usual when a roll is fresh and has a nice chew – as was the case on that occasion – I didn’t penalize them for something that is clearly a matter of personal preference.

Beyond the roll, it was pretty close to a perfect cheesesteak in terms of the meat and cheese mix and overall flavor. 

So it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say I was shocked by what I saw when our steaks were placed in front of us last week. 

The obvious thing that stood out about these steaks from a visual standpoint was the big puddle of cheese on top of each. I’m pretty sure the cheesesteak I had at Bleigh Street in 2023 featured sliced Cooper Sharp that was beautifully melted in with the meat. But they now appear to be using a thin Cooper sauce, something that a few other places offer, but which I always pass on if there is a choice. 

Aside from the type of cheese, the amount of it was a significant issue. I have written numerous times about the extent to which I prefer a well-proportioned sandwich rather than one with ridiculous amounts of meat and/or cheese. While the amount of meat on this steak was fine, the puddle of cheese was crazy. There was already enough Cooper Sharp mixed in with the meat without it. That put the meat-to-cheese ratio way out of whack. 

It was tough to tell how well seasoned the chopped ribeye was because the Cooper Sharp sauce overwhelmed it. But while I wouldn’t go quite as far as calling the meat tough, it was a little more chewy than I’m accustomed to when eating a cheesesteak.

The Liscio’s Bakery seeded roll was again softer than I prefer, but it was perfectly fresh and got the job done nicely.

In light of this experience, I don’t have much choice but to drop Bleigh Street from my list of the top 20 cheesesteaks in the Philadelphia region. This isn’t the first adjustment I’ve made to it over the past year or so. You can see the updated list here.