Ten cheesesteaks worth the trip, one served at 3 a.m.
A shipyard namesake in Phoenixville, a 3 a.m. post-bar stop in Doylestown, and a Lansdale steak sandwich that comes with fries on top.
Nobody needs an introduction to the cheesesteak. The question out here is which one is worth the detour, and whether the best one is in a deli, a pizza shop, or a pub at midnight. These are the ones people keep going back to.
-
Cheesesteaks at the east end of Butler Avenue with a 4.8 across five hundred reviews, which settles most arguments before they start. "Great little spot to enjoy my 1st official Philly Cheese Steak," Frank says on Google.
-
Cheesesteaks and milkshakes on Lancaster Avenue, open every day from 11 to 9, and they would rather you order direct than pay a delivery app's markup.
-
Cheesesteaks on Starr Street named for the shipyard where the sandwich legend starts. A whiz-wit education, no field trip to Philly required.
-
Slices, pies, and cheesesteaks on State Street with the kitchen going until 3 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. This is where a Doylestown night out ends.
-
Slow-roasted pork on a hoagie roll straight out of the South Philly 9th Street playbook the name promises, plus cheesesteaks and eggplant parm that hold up their end too.
-
A Colwell Lane deli piling hoagies and cheesesteaks over the counter for the lunch rush. Order at the register, take a number, out the door before your break ends.
-
A corner Italian deli that has been building hoagies and cheesesteaks on Chestnut Street for 45 years, with homemade baked ziti and a soup that changes by the day. "Been eating hoagie and shopping here for 52 years," Barbara says on Google.
-
South Broad pizza shop where the Lansdale Cheese Steak comes topped with french fries, fried onions, and cheddar sauce. Restraint is not the house style.
-
A sports pub pairing Philly cheesesteaks with what the house calls grub with a Baltimore twist, and the kitchen holds out until 11 on Fridays and Saturdays.
-
The Exton half of a two-shop pizza-and-steaks operation, with a Gentili Family Rewards program for anyone whose pizza night is a standing appointment.
More field notes
- Nine antique shops out here, one funds a shelter
- Montgomery County trivia: eight bars and a 1919 tavern
- A brewery in a Victorian house, and eleven more out here
- Seven reasons Monday night is better than you'd think
- Four art house theaters, one weekend, 35mm and a sing-along
- Twelve ice cream stops, one of them run by teenagers
- Every field note