Steaks and Pizza of West Chester, PA

Two cheesesteak purveyors in West Chester, Pennsylvania, made my top 20 list –  Steaks, which is in the five slot, and Lorenzo’s Steaks and Hoagies at number 15. As part of the preparation for putting out a revised list, I headed toward West Chester with the intention of visiting one of the two along with Pizza. That’s the name of a very highly regarded pizzeria that is nearby both Steaks and Lorenzo’s. 

Although Lorenzo’s is closer to Pizza, I couldn’t resist the temptation to eat at two places called Steaks and Pizza back-to-back and headed to Steaks first, arriving shortly after they opened for  the day. 

Steaks wasn’t more than a few days old when I first visited them in the fall of 2023. I also arrived early that day, but they were already crowded and I had a decent wait for my cheesesteak. That  wasn’t the case on this occasion. There were no other customers when I arrived, although several came in shortly thereafter. 

So I strolled right up to the counter and ordered the usual steak with Cooper Sharp cheese and fried onions on a seeded roll. In addition to beef cheesesteaks, they offer chicken cheesesteaks, an array of hoagies, sides and salads. But my choice was preordained. 

Steaks has a bright and pleasant dining area, and I had my pick of tables. The wait for my cheesesteak this time was a shorter one.  

And I wasted no time in unwrapping it and snapping photos so I could get to the first bite. 

This sandwich didn’t appear to be quite as thick as the last one I had there. Here is a photo of that cheesesteak from 2023 for comparison with the above shot. 

While Steaks may be using less meat than they used to, there is another possible explanation. Their rolls are wider than the average steak roll. I’ve discussed in previous posts the extent to which wider rolls can handle more meat without seeming overstuffed. I can’t recall if they were using wide rolls in 2023, but perhaps the current ones are wider. That would explain a thinner looking sandwich with the same amount of meat. 

It was certainly a hefty sandwich for my taste. I only hate half on site and was feeling it by the time I left.

In addition to the extra width, the rolls were top-notch in terms of quality, with a wonderfully chewy crust, a fresh, soft interior and an abundance of flavor. 

The chopped ribeye could have been seasoned just a bit more liberally, but it was tender and juicy. The Cooper Sharp was mixed in well with the beef throughout, but I would have preferred a touch less of it. 

Nonetheless, this was still an outstanding cheesesteak that will unquestionably remain in my next listing of the top 20 steaks in the Philly region. It’s too early to say where they’ll be on it.

After leaving Steaks, I headed over to the also simply named, Pizza, a few blocks down West Chester’s Market Street. 

My plan was to order only a plain slice. But when I walked up to the counter to do that, I was told that they only serve full pies – large ones. I’m not sure when that became their policy, but I know they offered slices when they were new. 

I was faced with a sudden decision that I hadn’t prepared for. Should I skip it and leave without trying the pizza or order an entire pie. Naturally, I went for option B.  

The owner and pizza chef, Speer Madanat, is a wizard at putting his pies together quickly and they have an extremely hot oven, so my wait was a relatively short one. 

I’m fairly sure he used to make the pizzas at Joey’s Pizza of Thorndale, Pennsylvania. Their cheesesteaks are at number 11 on my top 20 list. They also serve pizza that I’ve called the best in the Philadelphia suburbs. So my expectations for the pie at Pizza were extremely high.

And I was not disappointed. 

Speer grates fresh cheese – I assume Parmigiano-Reggiano – on each pie just before closing the box and handing it off to the customer.

I decided the drive home was too long to wait until it ended to try a slice and opened the box in my car. It was still piping hot. 

After taking a few photos, I attempted to grab a slice, but it wasn’t such an easy task. It was so hot that the cheese hadn’t set and slid right off the slice, causing an immediate flop of the crust.

I somehow managed to avoid winding up with the sauce and cheese on my pants and put the slice back together, rolling it up so I could take a taste. As bad as that may sound, it still tasted absolutely fantastic. 

The sauce had an abundance of flavor and went beautifully with the very good Mozzarella and Parmigiano-Reggiano. 

But the early flop notwithstanding, the crust was arguably the star of this pie. It had a wonderful crunch while still offering a bit of the desired chew. A subsequent slice I had after arriving home held up much better with just a very slight droop. 

The pizza was similar to that served at Joey’s in Thorndale, which is a very high compliment from me. 

I hope to return to West Chester in the not-too-distant future to try another cheesesteak from Lorenzo’s Steaks and Hoagies.