Bagel Buffet, Secaucus NJ

Full Cheese Steak, Onions Peppers, American




Bagel Buffet is a deli that has great standards for fresh ingredients and good food. They have a large selection of sandwiches, salads, hot meals, breakfest foods, and I'm sure its all great.

Bread: 9/10
Beef: 3/5
Cheese: 4/5
Flavor: 9/10
Misc: 0
Total: 25

Delicious sandwich, had fresh green peppers and onions(still crunchy) and great tasting beef. The roll most have been baked recently. If only it had more meat, in general it was a tiny sandwich. It is hard for me to rate because it was so good, but such a small portion. Big portions are very important to me. So no bonus points for it being a tiny sandwich...


http://www.bagelbuffet.com/
Bagel Buffet | 127A Plaza Center | Secaucus, NJ 07094 | (201) 863-1710 | info@bagelbuffet.com

McCarthys Bar and Grill, Bridgewater NJ

Full Cheese Steak, Onions, Peppers, Mushrooms, Mozzarella



McCarthys is a pub/restaurant that has a large cozy bar atmosphere along with a large family dining/ restaurant area. Iv been there several times and have never been disappointed by one of their meals. Iv had the steak, burrito, burger, nachos, fish and chips, pizza... the list goes on, all of it is delicious. (McCarthys is my local watering whole, I'm there pretty often...)

After realizing that they cant make a bad dish, I decided to finally get the Cheese Steak. I was hesitant at first because i have noticed that my perspective on a place can be seriously effected by their ability to make a cheese steak. In the past, the sub par cheese steak has reduced my favorite pub to a lost memory erased from my life and may only exist in my sub conscious appearing in a dream of mine every 5 years in the form of a spider monkey that is trying to steal my beer. And I definitely did NOT want that to happen to McCarthys.

Anywhozzle, The steak was pretty good, it definitely had some great characteristics.

Bread: 10/10

GREAT ROLL, it had that fresh fluffy bread taste underneath the crispy toasted outside shell. mmmmmmmmm. I would eat the roll by itself if it was sitting in front of me.

Beef: 4/5

When I was eating it I remember thinking, hmm low score for the beef because it doesn't have much flavor. BUT this beef category also accounts for the amount of beef, not just taste, and there was A LOT of meat on this. It was pretty heavy, i think i should get scales for the Hot Beef Sandwich staff. That way we can all add how much each steak weighs to the review. haha.

Cheese: 4/5

It was good, but its gotta be a cheese explosion for me to give it a 5. I'm twisted like that.

Flavor: 8/10

GREAT ingredients, I think the peppers may have been pre-soggy, but the onions and shrooms were delicious. It's rare that a place will have fresh green peppers, most places have a dish of soggy peppers. Some pizzerias and delis have freshly chopped green peppers waiting to go in your sandwich or pizza, that is very important to me. Although I don't get as upset over peppers as I do over CANNED MUSHROOMS! UGHHH!!!!!

If you are a legit Italian pizzeria and you are using canned mushrooms, leave. just leave the world forever.

Misc: 5/5

Bonus points for being a great bar and handing me a Yuengling before I get a chance to ask for one.

Total: 31


http://www.mccarthysnj.com/
McCARTHY'S BAR AND GRILL
600 East Main Street
Bridgewater, NJ 08807

Phone 908-526-1420 Fax 908-685-7670

Piccolo Trattoria (Pennington, NJ)

Full steak/ onions peppers/ mozzarella cheese

I was about to write this place off - even after dining there before - when the counter staff had somehow "missed" my called-in order.  What's that all about?  They made me consider the possibility that I had called the wrong Piccolo but, no, my call history confirmed that it was their mistake, not mine.  Needless to say, after planning to save myself fifteen minutes, I ended up waiting at least another twenty/twenty-five.  There are greater tragedies in this life, but still, I was a hungry man, and they were running the clock on my patience.

Any doubt I began to have about their competence disappeared, however, when I was greeted by this vision:

Ladies and gentlemen, this here is a window into a satisfied appetite.  Note the modest size: it should never exceed this.  (Also note the shape.  I love you too, Piccolo!)  Dry paper is for the kinds of sandwiches you wash down with kombucha (and if that's your jam, perhaps this would be more your speed...), but when it's soaked, you know your sandwich-makers are graduates of the Paula Dean Culinary Institute - that is, out of distrust for their ingredients or their own cooking abilities, they simply dump as much oil on the grill as FDA regulations allow.

$6.50

Bread: 7
Beef: 4
Cheese: 5
Flavor: 8
Misc: 4
Total: 28

Its lackadaisical service notwithstanding, Piccolo Trattoria gave me very little to criticize with this hearty and delicious cheesesteak.  Every one of my personal preferences was met: the vegetables were grilled rather than boiled; the beef was tender, finely shredded, and cooked just right; the roll was toasted but still fluffy; and, most importantly, all the contents were mixed before entering the hoagie, rather than forming layers in the sandwich.  This last part tends to make or break a steak for this reviewer.  For whatever reason, mixing the component parts during the cooking process allows them to seep into one another, giving the sandwich a more unified, satisfying flavor.  It could be all smoke and mirrors, since I doubt that those component parts differ much between sub-shops, but at the end of the day, all I care about is what I taste.

In this case, what I tasted was a solid, uncomplicated, well-balanced cheesesteak.  I remember that when I ate this, it was the first thing to enter my stomach all day.  A bias, therefore, was inevitable.  After all, to quote Miguel de Cervantes: hunger is the best sauce in the world.

Piccolo Trattoria

Hopewell Crossing

800 R. Denow Road

Pennington, NJ 08534

(609) 737-9050

Joe's Italian Deli, Pork Store, and Catering (Franklin Park, NJ)

Full steak/ Onions peppers/ American cheese

$8.99

I walked into this Mecca of sports talk and fine Italian food and from the scent of the store knew it was going to be an out-of-body cheesesteak experience, as it was. The staff was very knowledgeable about local sports and we had an engaging conversation which made the waiting experience fun. Most places boast about their cheesesteaks being "world famous" or "Philly style," but Joe's had neither boasts nor special advertisements and just let its substance speak for itself.

Bread: 10

The bread was very light and toasted. It had a butter/oil combination applied to the interior of the roll which was then toasted. This was absolutely delicious and added its own flavor to the sandwich without being overpowering. Best roll I've had so far since contributing to this blog.

Meat: 5

Fresh and tasty are the first two words that pop into my head when I think of how to describe the meat. Fresh cut, added tons of flavor of its own to the cheesesteak. They were also not stingy with it, that will always be a positive in my blog.

Cheese: 4

I loved the taste of the cheese it collected on the bottom and was well distributed throughout, but there was one point in the sandwich (approx. 1 inch) that was devoid of cheese and that's not acceptable.

Flavor: 9

The onions and peppers were fresh, the meat was fresh, the cheese was delicious, and the bread was perfect. Combining all those factors and Joe's produced the best cheesesteak that "Biscuit" has tasted since starting blogging about cheesesteaks. I was thrilled when I smelled the sandwich and even more thrilled when I tasted it.

Misc: 5

Because this was the best cheesesteak I've tasted I had to give bonus points for greatness. Also being a rabid sports fan they were great NY sports fans who made fun of Philly and Boston, they must have known I was coming into the establishment. I was very happy hours after devouring this cheesesteak and I know that is the best possible compliment possible.

Total: 33

Joe's Italian Deli, Pork Store, and Catering

3151 State Route 27 Suite J

Franklin Park, NJ 08823
(732) 297-8229

Anthony's Pizza II (Easton, PA)

Full steak/ onions peppers/ American cheese 








$6.50


This was the best cheesesteak I have reviewed yet, and it caught me completely off-guard. When I entered the pizzeria everyone was speaking Spanish, and when I ordered the cheesesteak the Latino guy seemed a bit confused and asked me if I wanted sauce on it.  I said, "No, just onions and peppers."  I assume he meant tomato sauce, which I guess is something that they do in Easton, PA?


It sounds good, I might have to try that sometime.


Bread: 9
Great bread! Very crispy from being lightly toasted in the pizza oven and still soft and chewy. Lots of flavor in the roll!


Meat: 5
Good portion, better taste! You can see in the image above that there is a bit of redness on the meat, I don't think it was from being undercooked. I think he added some type of seasoning, if not, it still tasted amazing!


Cheese: 5
Full points for cheese because this guy put a lot of cheese on it. Most places would require you to ask for extra cheese to match this cheeseliciousness, but not here.


Flavor: 8
Everything tasted amazing, onions and peppers were all good. I can't justify giving a higher score then an 8 because there needs to be a better taste out there, but this was definitely one of the top cheesesteaks I've had in a long time.


Misc: 5
Bonus points for sheer awesomeness in a sandwich and they had ICB Root Beer, which I haven't had since I was a youngster. I was very impressed.


Total: 32

Anthony's Pizza II

3621 Nazareth Road

Easton, PA 18045-8335

(610) 515-0300

Hoagie Haven (Princeton, NJ)

Full Heart Stop (steak, 4 fried eggs, and bacon)/ onions salt pepper/ American cheese







$9.50

With this being my local sub shop, I knew from the beginning of this adventure that they do not make good cheesesteaks. They throw 2 slices of Steak-Umms on roll and then ask you if you want lettuce and tomato. It's not very appetizing or filling.

The Heart Stop is one of a few "specialty" sandwiches they make that include the two slabs of Steak-Umms. The other variations have things like chicken tenders, mozzarella sticks, and french fries in the sandwich as well. I decided on the Heart Stop because I knew that no matter how bad a cheesesteak is, if you add eggs and bacon, it will be delicious.

Bread: 8
Good bread! I could definitely eat that roll with some salt and pepper.

Meat: 1
Very small amount of meat. Steak-Umms are really gross, I use to eat them when I was a kid but back then I would have eaten a shoe if you melted American cheese on it...

...hmm that actually sounds pretty good.

Cheese: 3
I could taste a little American in there, but I'm real stiff with the cheese rating. There NEEDS to be a lot of cheese for me to be honestly happy.

Flavor: 8
This is where it all came together, the bacon, eggs, fresh onions and greasy sliced mystery beef really know how to party. The taste was mostly over-powered by the bacon and cheese but altogether it was delicious. In fact, I would not hesitate to recommend this to someone as a breakfast sandwich, that is, of course, if the person does not have to operate heavy machinery or can't afford letting their boss see them taking an 11:45 A.M. nap at their desk.

Misc: 5
Max bonus points because I love the guys at Hoagie Haven for bust'n their butts for years making the greasiest sandwiches until 2 A.M. for all of the weirdos that dwell in Princeton at night (me) and for hook'n my wife up with extra cheese and Sanchez sauce [creamy hot sauce that goes on the Sanchez, a hoagie composed of chicken cutlets, fries, and American cheese - Ed.], free of charge.

Total: 25

Hoagie Haven

242 Nassau Street

Princeton, NJ 08542

(609) 921-7723

Nelsons Corner (Hillsborough, NJ)

Full steak/ onions peppers/ American cheese

$7.50

Bread: 3

Meat: 3

Cheese: 3

Flavor: 5

Misc: 0

Total: 14

Not very impressive, beyond the fact that the ingredients were minced together. The roll was a bit stale on one end.  I understand that there are a lot of different styles of cheesesteaks even though most of the steaks I have reviewed so far have been Italian/pizzeria style cheese steaks. Bryan just reviewed a very deli/sub-shop style of cheesesteak, but this sandwich didn't fit into either category. The one thing that I did like about this steak is that they melted a decent portion of cheese into the beef before throwing it in the sandwich, so there was at least a little bit of cheese in every bite.

Nelsons Corner

601 US 206 

Hillsborough, NJ 08844

(908) 359-2253

Edison Sandwich Shop (Edison, NJ)

Full steak/ onions peppers/ American cheese





$10.00

Bread: 7

Bread was clearly fresh Italian bread and was delightful. They gave a full roll and it was flavorful and crispy without being crunchy.

Meat: 3

They cut up fresh roast beef in-front of me. It was delicious, however, they did not give enough of it. This ruined the sandwich. Poor quantity ruined the good quality.

Cheese: 2

Once again, good but not much of it...nothing to write home about.

Flavor: 7

This cheesesteak tasted great; the peppers and onions were fresh. The meat was tasty and the bread was good. It would have gotten a 10/10 had they given generous portions.

Misc: 5

I got to read a newspaper while I was waiting and that is what gave it two points, and the other three points are for the clearly fresh ingredients.

Total: 24

Edison Sandwich Shop

2270 Woodbridge Ave

Edison, NJ 08817

(732) 985-0766

La Strada Pizzeria (Warren, NJ)

Full Steak/ onions mushrooms peppers/ Yellow American cheese





$8.00
Bread: 7
Meat: 4
Cheese: 2
Flavor: 5
Misc: 2
Total: 20

This was a LOT of cheesesteak packed into a tiny little roll. The contents were flowing out of it with every bite! I was tempted to ask the man for another roll for all the leftover beef. There was American cheese melted on top of the sandwich but there was no cheese to be found within the massive mound of ingredients. I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with an overload of beef in a sandwich, I just think that there should be a better ratio of cheese to meat.

Beyond the beef overload, this was a good cheesesteak. Usually, when I have burns on my tongue after a steak, that means it was a good one... or it means that I was starving.

La Strada Pizzeria

118 Mountain Blvd Ext

Warren, NJ 07059-5633

(732) 469-2625

Desi's Brick Oven Pizza (Hillsborough, NJ)

Full steak/ onions mushrooms peppers/ mozzarella cheese

$7.50

Bread: 5

Meat: 4

Cheese: 3

Flavor: 6

Misc: 1

Total: 19

I was very excited to judge a sandwich from Desi's because I am familiar with their sandwiches and I know that they use great Italian rolls. Sadly, they didn't have their usual bread today...

The owner must have run out of their usual rolls and had to settle for something cheap and local. Other then that, the steak was pretty good.  It was filled with big hunks of meat and big hunks of fresh veggies.

This cheesesteak had mozzarella cheese melted on top of the sub, and barely any inside of it.

Desi's Brick Oven Pizza

(908) 281-5558

424 Rt 206

Hillsborough, NJ 08844

Piazza Orsillo (Somerset, NJ)

Full steak/ onions mushrooms peppers/ American cheese





$8.00
Bread: 7
Meat: 4
Cheese: 3
Flavor: 7
Misc: 3
Total: 24

This cheesesteak was great. The bread was delicious, the meat had good flavor to it and the sub was packed with ingredients. This was also a very large cheesesteak.

There were two different types of onions in the sandwich: fresh red onions, and fried white onions that had to have been from yesterday. There could have been more cheese on it; it's upsetting to see all the cheese on the bottom of the sandwich.

I gave it 3 Miscellaneous points for its large size and the cool bag it came in!

Piazza Orsillo

120 Cedar Grove Ln

Somerset, NJ 08873-6462

(732) 805-9506

The Rating System

After ruthless debate and hours of discussion, the Hot Beef Sandwich team have created a point system that will be applied to every cheesesteak experience.

This point system includes 5 basic categories:

1) Bread: 1-10

Since bread was concluded to be the most important part of the sandwich, we gave this category a 10 point scale. This part of the sandwich can make it or break it.

2) Beef: 1-5

Quality of the beef and quantity.

3) Cheese: 1-5

This category is primarily focusing on quantity. The more the better.

4) Flavor: 1-10

The flavor category refers to not only the general taste of the sandwich but also the freshness of any other ingredients that were included (onions, peppers and/or mushrooms).

5) Miscellaneous: 1-5

Was it huge? Was it wet and soggy? Was it relatively inexpensive? The points in this category are awarded for whatever reason the judge can justify. If the cheesesteak had no outstanding features or was dissatisfying, it gets no points in this category.

Ladies and gentlemen, that is the 5 pillar, 35 point Hot Beef Sandwich adjudication system.

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