Cafe Carmela, Philadelphia, PA
2025 March Cheesesteak Madness
Philly Region – Contestant video
Cafe Carmela, past winner of March Cheesesteak Madness, continues to make a very good cheesesteak. The cheesesteak has a good size and is very traditional. This cheesesteak gets most of its flavor from the fried onions. I liked to see more from the other parts.
Nipotina, Philadelphia, PA
2025 March Cheesesteak Madness
Philly Region – Contestant video
I took my cheesesteak Marriott Courtyard at the Navy Yard to meet guest eater Spunky D. This cheesesteak sat wrapped up for a little while. The roll got steamed back to a doughy state. It reminded me of my grandmother’s meat pies so I like it. It had a good amount of meat. The meat had decent flavor. The cheese was mostly on top. Onions got a little lost.
Bar Jawn, Philadelphia, PA
2025 March Cheesesteak Madness
Philly Region – Contestant video
This was a roller coaster of emotion. It started with a conversation with a parking authority representative about my parking spot. Bartender picked me a great beer. $1 to get fried onions on my cheesesteak. In for a penny in for a pound so I paid $2 to get vodka sauce on my cheesesteak. Bartender helped with that decision. Bar Jawn made potato chips looked interesting. They turned out to be soft and amazing. My drunken cheesesteak may be one of the best things I have eaten on my Philadelphia Cheesesteak Adventure. I’m still not sure how much or little I loved the roll. I filled up on potato chips so I only had 2 small bites. PS I am going to make 3 meals out of this cheesesteak. Meal 1; half of the meat/cheese/sauce on potato chips. Meals 2 & 3, 2 halves of the cheesesteak.
Dagwood’s Pub, Philadelphia, PA
2025 March Cheesesteak Madness
Philly Region – Contestant video
I am a big Dagwood’s fan. The couple next to me was sharing four appetizers. The apps looked amazing and I was jealous. The cheesesteak was big and came with Dagwood-made chips. Apparently you have to ask for a seeded roll. My roll was big and bready. Very good amount of finely chopped meat. Good amount and melt of cheese. The cheese settled on the bottom a bit. I was expecting more flavor from the onions. The chips were a very nice complement to the cheesesteak.
The Sidecar Bar & Grille, Philadelphia, PA
2025 March Cheesesteak Madness
Philly Region – Contestant video
The Sidecar Bar & Grille is a fun, lively neighborhood bar. I was surprised they have a big menu. They make an amazing Philly Aioli. Proper Philly Aioli distribution is the key to happiness. On this night our Aioli was mostly on the bottom of our cheesesteak. Half my bites I really missed the Aioli. The other half of my bites I got a lot of Aioli. Bordering on too much Aioli. The cheesesteak comes with house-made chips. they were yummy.
Jaxxs Steaks Taproom, Philadelphia, PA
2025 March Cheesesteak Madness
Philly Region – Contestant video
A very good cheesesteak. The roll, meat, and cheese were all very good. Everybody played nice together. Inside seating, beer, bathroom, TV’s, and nice people; all things I like. The cheesesteak needs a star. It’s hard to say anything bad about this cheesesteak. But, I can’t point to one thing that I love.
Cleavers, Philadelphia, PA
2025 March Cheesesteak Madness
Philly Region – Contestant video
I took the cheesesteak to Marriott Courtyard Navy Yard to meet guest eater spunky D. This cheesesteak was close to being very good. The roll was very good. But the crust was a little thick and it was bready. Better for a hoagie. Definitely needed scooping. The meat, cheese and onions were very good. We had a little bit of a distribution problem. I would have liked more from the meat.
Callahan’s Grille, Philadelphia, PA
2025 March Cheesesteak Madness
Philly Region – Contestant video
Callahan’s aka Tom’s grille at Callahan’s. I never had a bad time at Callahan’s. Kelly runs a great bar. We had a lovely conversation with an MIT grad. Tom makes a very good cheesesteak. Good amount of good meat. Thicker slice so you taste the meat. Big pieces of cooked down onions add a nice flavor. Good to very good roll. I would like more cheese.
Pat’s King of Steaks, Philadelphia, PA
2025 March Cheesesteak Madness
Philly Region – Contestant video
If you know you know. I do NOT think they are a tourist trap. It’s not a bad cheesesteak. As traditional non-seeded rolls go, this is a good one. The meat was pretty easy to eat. The onions could have been mixed in better but they added flavor. I was at Pat’s so I got wiz. Can we, you, Pat’s, make it so the wiz ends up in my cheesesteak and not on the wrapper??????
Geno’s Steaks, Philadelphia, PA
2025 March Cheesesteak Madness
Philly Region – Contestant video
I definitely have a favorite in the Pat’s vs Geno’s debate. Round one of March Cheesesteak Madness I reveal my favorite. Does anyone ever talk about Geno’s by themself. Does anybody say ‘Geno’s and Pat’s’? I like Geno’s gets all of my wiz in the roll. I ate most of this cheesesteak at home. 1 minute in the microwave, 3 mins in the air fryer did beautiful things to a cheesesteak. I liked it.
The Nut Hut Saloon, Philadelphia, PA
2025 March Cheesesteak Madness
Philly Region – Contestant video
I love the philly motif. Good bartender. Good vibe. It’s a big boy’s cheesesteak. Big soft bready roll which I am not a fan of. Very good amount of finely chopped meat. The meat was easy to eat. It had a good amount and a good melt of cheese. A slice or two more would be nice. The onions got lost in everything. Good big cheesesteak. A tweak or two and it is a top tier cheesesteak.
Jim’s South St, Philadelphia, PA
2025 March Cheesesteak Madness
Philly Region – Contestant video
I love the rebuild. Plenty of indoor seating and a big bathroom. Wednesday afternoon I got a parking spot on South St. When I unwrapped the cheesesteak it looked sad and lonely. Roll video.
Del Rossi’s Cheesesteak and Pizza, Philadelphia, PA
2025 March Cheesesteak Madness
Philly Region – Contestant video
The new owners spruced the place up nicely. They sold a lot of Pizza while I waited for my cheesesteak. I took my cheesesteak to Lost Time brewing. I liked my beer. My cheesesteak had a lot of flavor but it was a mess. The bottom of the roll was bent over and ripped. Easily 20% of the meat/cheese was outside the roll.
Tony & Nick’s, Philadelphia, PA
2025 March Cheesesteak Madness
Philly Region – Contestant video
I forgot how much I like Tony & Nick’s. Slab without the ‘bad’ slab attributes. The meat was tender, juicy, and a pleasure to eat. The cheese and fried onions were ‘chopped cheesesteak’equse. They were melted nicely, mixed together, everywhere, and added a lot of flavor. This was a very good cheesesteak.
Angelo’s Pizzeria, Philadelphia, PA
2025 March Cheesesteak Madness
Philly Region – Contestant video
Guest eater Sharkey from Shark Bites Philly. He picked up Angelo’s so I used last year’s sign selfie and intro. Angelo’s stepford wives and defenders have fun with this. The roll was dry except moisture came from somewhere and made it soggy in the middle. I like my meat, cheese and onions mixed together better. With all of this, of the last 3 cheesesteaks I have had from Angelo’s, this was the best.
John’s Roast Pork, Philadelphia, PA
2025 March Cheesesteak Madness
Philly Region – Contestant video
Guest eater Sharky from Shark Bites Philly. $14!! I didn’t realize JRP was only $14! I may like this cheesesteak more and the wait didn’t seem as long. No mushrooms in March cheesesteak Madness this year. JRP was a co-signer of this rule. I smelled the roll as soon as I unwrapped this cheesesteak. It was a good smell. I had very high hopes for this cheesesteak. The meat almost lived up to the roll. The cheese and onions did not. It was a very good cheesesteak but the roll got me hoping for a great cheesesteak.
Cheerleaders, Philadelphia, PA
2025 March Cheesesteak Madness
Philly Region – Contestant video
In the immortal words of Dennis Green, ‘They are who you think they are’ and they have great food. Huge Thank you to Alicia and Sassy. Alicia made everything run smoothly. Sassy had fun with it so we could have fun with it. The Cheesesteak, who knew Cheerleaders put a lot of thought and effort into their food. We let the chef make it the way he would get it. He put peppers on it. Good pic of everything sitting on the grill mixing flavors. The roll needed a little help. Great afternoon!!