Illinois

HOAGIE HUT

2580 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, IL PH-(773) 248-0900
I gotta cast my Chicago vote for Hoagie Hut (Sheffied, Lincoln & Wrightwood). This is the closet I've had since leaving Philly in 1997. Rolls: Nice and soft and warm. Not Aamorso's but pretty close.
Steak: Finely chopped, not too chewy.
Onions: PERFECT. they were carmalized and DICED.
Cheese: Got American, got the Whiz, no Provolone (nice!)
Other: I'm a pickle guy, and unfortunately the Hut does't have pickle chips. But I got over that fast.
Summary: Pretty damn close to Tom's Pizza in Aston, PA.
Submitted by Pat, Feb. 1, 2005

PHILLY'S BEST

855 W. Belmont, Chicago, IL ph.-(773)-525-7900
815 Emerson, Evanston, IL ph.-(847)-733-9000
I own Philly's Best, in Chicago. Rather than critique myself i im inviting readers in Chicago to sample our steaks and email the responses to your page. I have two locations 855 West Belmont (Belmont and Clark) 773-525-7900. Also 815 Emerson, Evanston il (across from Northwestern campus)847-733-9000. We have all our product shipped in from Philly, ask for Michael.
Submitted by Michael Markello (mmarkell@wans.net), April 11, 1998

Hello! I have to put a vote in for Philly's Best in Chicago. I used to work in downtown Philly and thought; that Jim's was the be-all and end-all of the cheesesteak universe. Then I; moved to the frozen tundra of Wisconsin and I was in cheesesteak hell. Every place that I tried had no clue how to make a decent cheesesteak (and you would think they would know how, it's the land of cheese!) Then I moved to Chicago and discovered Philly's Best. I was skeptical at first but one trip there and I was back in cheesesteak heaven! The rolls are awesome and the meat and onions are perfect! You can also get white American or Cheese Whiz (unfortunately no provolone). The other great thing about the place is that you can get Tastycakes for dessert and Herr's chips to go with your steak. (for those who are not from the Philly area, these delicacies are hard to find outside of PA). I went there for the first time a couple of weeks ago and had to go back this past weekend...I was sitting innocently playing darts and having a beer and I could hear the cheesesteaks calling my name! So we drove 30 miles each way at 10:00 PM on a Saturday night to Philly's Best for a fix...what more can I say?
Submitted by Beatrix (vleranth@email.msn.com), December 29,1998

Let me cast a vote for Philly's Best in Chicago. Michael does a great job. Having grown up with Philly steaks, you can imagine my hunger for the real thing. Philly's Best comes the closest of any shop I know about! Anywhere outside of greater Philly.
Submitted by chgojack(chgojack@interaccess.com), September 16, 1998

Gotta disagree with Beatrix about Philly's Best in Chicago. Originally from Delaware County, PA, I've had plenty of good steaks, and Philly's Best may be one of the worst (I had a real bad one at Mike's Pizza in CT).
Rolls: no where close to soft. The guy must throw them in an oven right before he serves 'em. They were all burnt, flakey and dry.
Steak: Almost as thick as sliced roast beef and twice as chewy.
Onions: they were sliced, not diced and they look like they were roasted, not grilled. Very dry.
Cheese: I'm an American Cheese guy, so they had that. Also, points for the Whiz. Extra points for no Provolone (who the hell does that?)
Other: SUPER greasy. Kudos for the Tasty Kakes and Herr's, but that's the only Philly-quality food you'll find there.
Summary: I bet they have better steaks in Korea.
Submitted by Pat, Feb. 1, 2005

EDITOR'S RESPONSE: You are entitled to your opinion, Pat, although I am wondering why I have received so much positive feedback on Philly's Best with you being the sole dissenter. However, I completely disagree with your position on provolone! Your comment "Who the hell does that?" amazes me; I discovered sharp provolone at Tony Luke's in South Philly when I was in high school, and it has been my preferred cheese ever since. I would even bet that it is the preferred cheese of most native Philadelphians... see the poll that I posted on the front page of this site for confirmation.
Regardless of my personal opinion, what is wrong with more choices??? I don't particularly care for Whiz, but I would never think less of an establishment for offering it to patrons who prefer Whiz over other selections. More choices are always better in my book. I must disagree with Your logic of rewarding points for not having a particular cheese.

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