My Latest Cheesesteak – and Pizza for the Big Game

The slow ice and snow melting process and the impact it had on driving and especially parking kept me relatively close to home during late January and early February. For this week’s post, I checked out out Prime Steaks of Glenolden, Pennsylvania, which is only 10-15 minutes from me. 

The cold may have impacted my brain, as I forgot to take the usual exterior, interior and menu photos while there to pick up my lunch order. But I managed to find a couple online shots to give you a basic idea of Prime’s appearance. They have no seating, with just a counter to place and pick up orders. I took mine home to eat.

The menu can be viewed by clicking on the link in the top paragraph. 

Prime Steaks offers both Cooper Sharp and regular American cheese, and I decided to make a change from my usual cheesesteak order by opting for the latter. I’ve mentioned in past posts that because of its more neutral flavor profile, basic American enables the taste of the meat to shine through more clearly. Cooper can overwhelm the meat flavor when it’s generously proportioned. 

The steak came on a seeded roll by default.

The roll was softer than I prefer. I didn’t see any bakery boxes, but would guess that it came from either Liscio’s or Corropolese, both of which make soft rolls. In any event, it was fresh and got the job done. 

There was probably in the neighborhood of 12 ounces of beef on there. It was nicely seasoned but sliced thinner and chopped finer than what I consider to be ideal. On top of that, the meat’s flavor was different from what I’m used to. They don’t specify the cut that they use on the menu and I would guess it’s not ribeye, which most of the elite steak shops use. It may have been sirloin. It didn’t tase bad by any means, but I prefer the flavor of ribeye.

The American cheese was nicely proportioned and blended in well with the meat, as were the fried onions.

It was a solid cheesesteak, but not good enough to garner serious consideration for my top 20 list. 

The Sunday after I visited Prime Steaks was the day of the Super Bowl. Unfortunately, my Eagles weren’t able to make another return trip to the big game this year, but the occasion still called for the usual food planning.

This year, I decided to take out pizza from Gentili’s Pizza and Steaks of Springfield, Pennsylvania, which I raved about in a January post and which is also fairly close to my home.

I had been wanting to try one of their white pizzas and also a pie with sausage. So I combined those two cravings and ordered a white pie with sausage and also dollops of their special red sauce on half. 

My wife also requested a Turkey Diabo hoagie, which comes with chipotle mayo, fresh mozzarella and a couple kinds of peppers. She was very pleased with how it all came together. 

Although I showed up a little earlier than my requested pickup time, the order was ready when I arrived. I’m not sure if the pizza had been sitting around for a bit, but the crust wasn’t quite as crispy as it had been for my first couple visits to Gentili’s. I wound up throwing my slices into our toaster-oven to give the crust a bit more body.

The flavor for both the plain half and the side with sausage and sauce was outstanding. They use sliced and very tasty sausage instead of the frequently seen crumbles. The minor crust issue this time aside, I’ve been very impressed with every flavor and style of pizza from Gentili’s that I’ve sampled. Each visit affirms my view that they are the best pizzeria in my immediate area. 

Here is to hoping I have more of a rooting interest in next year’s Super Bowl.