I’ve mentioned in a couple recent posts that in addition to hitting as many new steak shops as possible, I’ve begun the process of revisiting the ones that are in my top 20 with an eye toward eventually putting out a new list. My most recent cheesesteak outing took me to South Philadelphia’s Nipotina, which I currently have in the number 17 slot.
They were a new sandwich shop that made a very positive impression when I first visited them during 2023. The high quality of their chopped ribeye stood out from the meat on most of the area’s cheesesteaks. As most new places go all out to put their best foot forward, I wasn’t sure if they would maintain their level of excellence.
I’m pleased to report that there was no slippage in quality. In fact, the steak I had a couple weeks ago was even even better than the first one I had there.
Nipotina sits at the three-street intersection of Passyunk Avenue, 21st and Wolf Streets in a section of South Philly that I don’t often visit. They have a tastefully decorated interior and a large chalk board on which their menu is written.
If I remember correctly, they had table service when I made that earlier visit. That was no longer the case. But I had browsed their menu online and was able to walk right up to their front counter and place my order upon arriving.
They still have their lunch combo of any sandwich on the menu with a soft drink for $16. As always, I ordered a cheesesteak with Cooper Sharp cheese and fried onions, which Nipotina calls ‘The Eye’ on their menu. It comes on a seedless roll by default, but they offer an optional seeded roll at no extra cost and I took that option. To wash it down, I ordered a Boylan’s diet black cherry soda.
The wait for my lunch to be brought out to where I was seated was a fairly short one and the steak looked exactly as I remembered it from last time.
Nipotina uses rolls from Liscio’s Italian Bakery. I’ve discussed their rolls and the extent to which I usually find them to be softer than I prefer in earlier posts. But I occasionally run across one that breaks from the usual mold, and that was the case this time around. It was wider and flatter than I’m used to and also was a bit crustier than most Liscio’s rolls. Given my preference for crusty rolls, that was a very good thing.
It was an extremely well proportioned cheesesteak all around with a good amount of Cooper Sharp, but not enough to overwhelm the meat. The cheese was also blended in beautifully throughout the sandwich. That was the case with the onions as well, although those could have been fried just a bit longer.
That takes me to the meat. As previously mentioned, the chopped ribeye was the highlight of the first steak I had at Nipotina. And that was the case once again this time around.
I don’t know what butcher supplies their meat, but it’s definitely a cut above the ribeye served by most steak shops in the Philly region. It’s extremely juicy and they do a wonderful job of seasoning it. I’m not sure that there is more flavorful beef to be found on any cheesesteak in the city.
The overall taste of this steak was outstanding – good enough for Nipotina to likely move up higher in the rankings when I put out my updated list.
And speaking of my list, you can expect to see a cheesesteak review roughly every other week for the foreseeable future until it’s released. That will likely be late this year or early 2027.
One of my recent posts was on Gentili’s Pizza & Steaks’ new location in Springfield, Pennsylvania. I stopped back there to sample more of their pizza for lunch last week and was again extremely impressed. Here are a few shots of my slices of square grandma and round barbecued chicken pizza. The thin and crispy crust on both was fantastic and what was on the crust was extremely flavorful.
Gentili’s is almost certainly the best purveyor of pizza and possibly also cheesesteaks in my immediate area.
BZ Maestro Eats 
Simply, Wow!
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