My last article on Philly Cheesesteaks was rightly criticized for mostly covering “tourist” cheesesteak restaurants. However, I received several recommendations in the comments. I went to each one. Below, I describe each restaurant. At the end I give my decision on which was best.

Jim’s Steaks

First up was Jim’s Steaks. The Jim’s Steaks that was recommended to me, located on South Street in the heart of downtown Philadelphia, was damaged in a fire. It is supposed to reopen soon. With Jim’s South Street not open, I went to Jim’s Steak’s in Springville, a suburb south of Philly. This location is commonly called Jim’s Steaks Delco (Delaware County). The Delco location was started by the originator of Jim’s Steak’s, but the two locations are currently owned and operated by different people. The very first Jim’s Steaks opened in West Philly at 431 North 62nd Street way back in 1939. William Proetto and his brother bought the West Philly location in 1966 and opened South Street in 1976. They also opened the Delco location in 2009. South Street is now owned by Ken Silver, son of either William or his brother.

I arrived around 1:00 PM. The place was nearly empty; I expect this was because it was after the typical lunch time. There was a constant stream of people coming in the whole time I was there. Without any waiting, I went up to the counter and placed my order. In addition to Cheese Steaks, Jim’s also has hamburgers, cheeseburgers, a couple of Italian Hoagies, and some salads. I ordered the Pepper Cheesesteak.

John’s Roast Pork

John’s Roast Pork is in the Whitman section of Philadelphia. It’s not walking distance from downtown Philadelphia, but the Bus #57 goes straight there from the center of town. I took that bus. There is a very helpful sign at the restaurant that gives a good overview of its history, so I am going to directly quote it:

John’s Roast Pork (also known as John’s Lunch, The Snyder Avenue Lunch Bar and, back in its early days, The Pork Shack) has been on the corner of Weccacoe and Snyder Avenue since 1930 when Domenico Bucci started the family business. Roast Port was the features sandwich then – and now! Our Roast Pork is seasoned according to an Olde World family recipe and is slow roasted and sliced on premise to make the perfect sandwich!

The restaurant is now run by the third generation of the Bucci family, using the original recipe.

As you may gather from the description, John’s has much more than just cheesesteaks. In addition to the signature pork, there are also Roast Beef, Meatball, Fish Cake, and BLT sandwiches. They four sides: French Fries, Onion Rings, Mozzarella Sticks, and Poppers. There are also daily specials. That day, there were two: Bruschetta Cheesesteak and a Fried Meatball sandwich. I went with the Bruschetta Cheesesteak special, but I do want to go back and try their Roast Pork.

I arrived at John’s Roast Pork around 12:30 and there was a long line (but it was even longer when I left. As the menu indicates, the sandwiches are made to order and the wait times are long. That is what I experienced: I waited about 10 minutes to order and it took another 15 minutes to get the sandwich. There is both covered and uncovered outdoor seating. As it was raining that day, I used the covered seating. It was packed and I ended up sharing a table with others. I don’t mind that, as it is a good way to mingle with locals.

Steve’s Prince of Steaks

Steve’s Prince of Steaks was founded by Steve Iliescu, a former auto mechanic, in 1980. He opened in North Philadelphia, at the corner of Bustleton Avenue and St Vincent Street.

Steve’s now has a food truck and two other locations: one in the Comly section of Philadelphia and one in Langhorne, PA. Comly is a part of Northeast Philly, while Langhorne is a borough north of Philly. Steve himself is in semi-retirement while his son Ross and daughter Abbe Arno run the business. The first Steve’s franchise location recently opened in the Jersey Shore.

I went to the original location in Bustleton. The menu has three types of Cheesesteaks: Plain, Cheese, and Pizza. Each one can be ordered with double meat. Cheese choices are American/Whiz, Provolone, and Mozzarella. Extras include mushrooms, sweet peppers, pepperoni, and bacon. In addition to Cheesesteaks, hamburgers and cheeseburgers are also available.

I arrived at Steve’s shortly after 11 AM. I must have beat the lunch rush as there was no line and my order was taken immediately. And got it a couple of minutes later. Steve’s Bustleton has a small amount of inside and outside seating. The inside is covered with bright aluminum, giving it the feel of an old style diner. I’ve read that the aluminum is Steve’s signature style and that all their locations have it. As it was a mild summer, I ate outside.

Dalessandro’s Steaks

The last place on on my list was Dalessandro’s Steaks. It is located in the Roxborough neighborhood, in the Northwest part of the city. first settled in 1682, Roxborough dates back to Colonial times. I got the impression that the neighborhood was historically Italian. Not quite, but nearby Manayunk is. However, the major Italian part of the city is South Philadelphia. It was Italian American, William Dalessandro, who opened the restaurant back in 1960. It stayed in the Dalessandro family until 2009, when Steve and Margie Kotridis bought the place.

The menu is primarily Cheese Steaks, with both Rib-Eye and Chicken varieties. Styles for both include Regular, Cheese, Pepper, Mushroom, Pizza, or Hoagie. A Buffalo Chicken Steak and Burgers are also available. For both steaks and burgers, free add-ons include Fried or Raw Onions and Hot, Sweet, or Banana Peppers. For an additional charge, you can also add Pepperoni, Roasted Green peppers, extra cheese, or lettuce and tomatoes. There’s a couple of desserts as well — Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie is the one that stands out to me. But I did not get a dessert and stuck with the Cheesesteaks, getting the Pepper Cheesesteak.

The ordering system at Dalessandro’s confused me. There is a window on the right you place your order and a line of the left where you queue up to get your order. I mistakenly got in that line until I realized where to go. Once the order is placed, you wait until your name is called to get in line. It’s an efficient system, once you get used to it. I was confused when I arrived as there was a big crowd and the only line was at the pickup counter. Dalessandro’s must be popular to have such a crowd at 2:30 in the afternoon! Nevertheless, it only took 15 minutes from arrival to get my Cheesesteak. There is very limited seating outside (I’m not sure if there is inside seating), so we took our order to go.

The Best

So which one was the best? First, my criteria. The most import thing is the flavor of the steak. Second is the amount of cheese. Third, the flavor of the toppings. Lastly, the size. I’ll also note that it’s not a fair comparison as I got slightly different varieties at each location. At Jim’s and John’s I got provolone, while at the other two I got cheese whiz. John’s Bruschetta also had seasoned tomatoes. Dallesandro’s was the only place I did not eat at.

In terms of pure steak flavor, Steve’s far and away had the most. Jim’s had good flavor as well. As for cheese, Steve’s again had the most. Jim’s had a lot of provolone, but it was not mixed in. John’s was mixed in and there was a good amount. Dalessandro’s had less, but I believe that was because of the large amount of peppers on top. As for toppings, John’s Bruschetta had the most flavor. Not too surprising. Steve’s peppers had a nice, sweet flavor. The other two’s peppers were unseasoned and a bit bland. Finally, size. All four are very large Cheesesteaks. Each one big enough for two servings. Steve’s was slightly smaller than the rest, but not by much. All had copious amount of steak.

Overall, I feels Steve’s was the best. So I declare Steve Prince of Steak’s the winner. But each of these places has good Cheesesteaks and I would go back to them again. How does Steve’s compare to last year’s winner, Joe’s Steak and Soda? Tough call. Both have very good Cheesesteaks. I can’t make a call until I compare them side by side.