A delivery cheesesteak is a fundamentally different beast than one that you consume right off the griddle. All the components are the same — melted cheese, griddled onions (if you opt for them), seasoned meat, a roll to contain it all — but the handling and time en route from the kitchen to wherever you are is transformative. For one, the sandwich inevitably steams within its packaging during the journey. A roll that is toothsome when freshly stuffed might arrive to you soft and chewy, offering no counterweight to the filling. (Sometimes, though, that’s exactly what you want.) For another, steaks built the old-school way — in which meat is piled onto a slice of cheese, thereby melding the cheese, meat, and roll together — tend to work less well for delivery: Tightly wrapped, these steaks don’t have as much opportunity for the cheese to melt and evenly distribute, risking a steak that’s dry, without cheese marbled throughout. (The newer style, best exemplified by Angelo’s, in which the cheese and meat are more thoroughly mixed from the beginning, tends to work better for the journey from the griddle to your plate.) The food team, along with some other Inquirer cheesesteak enthusiasts, ordered 16 steaks (all beef, no alt proteins) to the Inquirer newsroom in Center City. All were delivered within the same window to see how they withstood the rigors of delivery. For standardization, every order had at least one steak with Cooper Sharp (sorry, diehard purists) if available — American, if not — and onions, with no other toppings. There were surprises: Some in-person favorites didn’t hold up and some we had found lackluster when eaten on-site were real hits in the delivery dimension. Of course, based on your location and preferred delivery service, your options will be different; delivery also adds an element of unpredictability to every order, so your mileage may, quite literally, vary.
Angelo’s Pizzeria
Order this if: You want to skip the line at Angelo’s. Is it the same as having a fresh steak handed to you after huddling on a corner with a teeming bustle of fellow cheesesteak and pizza enthusiasts for not-even-God-knows-how-long? Not at all — and it arrives from a ghost kitchen built in partnership with UberEats — but no sandwich suffered less from delivery, a testament to Danny DiGiampietro’s seeded-roll mastery. It was a top-two steak for many of the assembled tasters, with an ideal balance of meat, thoroughly mixed-and-melted Cooper sharp, and a not-quite-crispy roll.
Campo’s Deli
Order this if: You love an onion-y steak. Described by one taster as “biting into a feather pillow,” the defining feature of the Campo’s steak was not the soft seeded roll, but the onions, which made themselves known in both taste (onion-y) and texture (a little crunchy).
Cleavers Philadelphia
Order this if: You want the crispiest possible roll no matter what. The first thing you will notice about the Cleavers steak is the roll is impossibly crispy for delivery. One of the tricks, we suspect, is that it is delivered in a box, not tightly wrapped in foil or paper, keeping the steaming to a minimum. The tasters otherwise thought it was a decent steak — the Effin Hot Cheesesteak, though not officially part of the test, had some pimento cheese vibes in a good way, if you’re looking to mix it up. (A follow-up delivery order yielded yet another crispy roll, but some decidedly inferior meat.)
Del Rossi’s Cheesesteak and Pizza Co.
Order this if: You want an Angelo’s-style steak without the hype. We are firmly in the era of a cheesesteak-roll arms race, and Nish Patel’s quest to bake a better one after acquiring Del Rossi’s a few years back has yielded superb dividends. The seeded roll lost some tautness in its journey despite the deep bake indicated by its dark brown finish, but the result was the platonic ideal of a slightly squishy cheesesteak: a soft chew with some bite, the right balance of meat to cheese, and a supreme depth of flavor. This was a favorite of a number of tasters. “9/10,” declared one.
Gouldsburger’s
Order this if: You want a solid modern steak but a light roll. An excellent steak with quality meat, the real choice here, as at so many places, is about the roll: The New Jersey-based Gouldsburger’s builds its cheesesteaks on one from Boaggie’s Bread that's not just lighter and yeastier than, say, Del Rossi’s or Angelo’s — it’s dusted with “everything” bagel seasoning. It’s not clear whether that tweak makes the steak any better, but it certainly stands out.
Jim’s South St.
Order this if: You want a cheesesteak that tastes like (grand)dad remembers it. This is what a cheesesteak tasted like during their youth, reported the oldest taster in the room. The meat was ultra-finely chopped — like it had been through a NutriBullet, according to one person — and left the faint impression of Worcestershire sauce. Another person was fully offput, however, declaring the blitzed beef reminiscent of “paper towels.”
Joe’s Steaks and Soda Shop
Order this if: You want a very classic steak. Everything about the Joe’s cheesesteak felt classic (other than, depending on your definition, the Cooper Sharp): Nothing too soft, too crunchy, over- or under-chopped, all the proportions totally in line. If you’re ordering for divergent cheesesteak tastes, this is one that should make everybody reasonably happy.
John’s Roast Pork
Order this if: You want a real big cheesesteak. The biggest, burliest cheesesteak on the table, the John’s Roast Pork steak arrived in a massive, doughy roll from Carangi’s, and featured an unsurprisingly perfect balance of meat, cheese, and onion. One taster thought the meat was a touch on the dry side, but it received high marks all around.
Wolf Street Pizza and Pasta House
Order this if: You’re tired of standard steak rolls. By far the most divisive roll of the bunch, Wolf Street’s house-made 16-inch roll seemed to some tasters like it was better suited to a sub-style sandwich; it was also described as “baguette-like” or akin to pretzel bread in its softness. Otherwise, the steak was deemed to have a good balance between meat and cheese, and despite its length, not super-unwieldy.
Woodrow’s Sandwich Shop
Order this if: You want some funk in your steak. Whether or not you’ll enjoy the Woodrow’s cheesesteak depends entirely on how you feel about its house-made truffle whiz, which totally dominates the sandwich. Some in the room enjoyed it; at least one person described it as feet-like. For better or worse, everything comes down to that whiz.
Angelo’s Pizzeria
Order this if: You want to skip the line at Angelo’s. Is it the same as having a fresh steak handed to you after huddling on a corner with a teeming bustle of fellow cheesesteak and pizza enthusiasts for not-even-God-knows-how-long? Not at all — and it arrives from a ghost kitchen built in partnership with UberEats — but no sandwich suffered less from delivery, a testament to Danny DiGiampietro’s seeded-roll mastery. It was a top-two steak for many of the assembled tasters, with an ideal balance of meat, thoroughly mixed-and-melted Cooper sharp, and a not-quite-crispy roll.
Campo’s Deli
Order this if: You love an onion-y steak. Described by one taster as “biting into a feather pillow,” the defining feature of the Campo’s steak was not the soft seeded roll, but the onions, which made themselves known in both taste (onion-y) and texture (a little crunchy).
Cleavers Philadelphia
Order this if: You want the crispiest possible roll no matter what. The first thing you will notice about the Cleavers steak is the roll is impossibly crispy for delivery. One of the tricks, we suspect, is that it is delivered in a box, not tightly wrapped in foil or paper, keeping the steaming to a minimum. The tasters otherwise thought it was a decent steak — the Effin Hot Cheesesteak, though not officially part of the test, had some pimento cheese vibes in a good way, if you’re looking to mix it up. (A follow-up delivery order yielded yet another crispy roll, but some decidedly inferior meat.)
Del Rossi’s Cheesesteak and Pizza Co.
Order this if: You want an Angelo’s-style steak without the hype. We are firmly in the era of a cheesesteak-roll arms race, and Nish Patel’s quest to bake a better one after acquiring Del Rossi’s a few years back has yielded superb dividends. The seeded roll lost some tautness in its journey despite the deep bake indicated by its dark brown finish, but the result was the platonic ideal of a slightly squishy cheesesteak: a soft chew with some bite, the right balance of meat to cheese, and a supreme depth of flavor. This was a favorite of a number of tasters. “9/10,” declared one.
Gouldsburger’s
Order this if: You want a solid modern steak but a light roll. An excellent steak with quality meat, the real choice here, as at so many places, is about the roll: The New Jersey-based Gouldsburger’s builds its cheesesteaks on one from Boaggie’s Bread that's not just lighter and yeastier than, say, Del Rossi’s or Angelo’s — it’s dusted with “everything” bagel seasoning. It’s not clear whether that tweak makes the steak any better, but it certainly stands out.
Jim’s South St.
Order this if: You want a cheesesteak that tastes like (grand)dad remembers it. This is what a cheesesteak tasted like during their youth, reported the oldest taster in the room. The meat was ultra-finely chopped — like it had been through a NutriBullet, according to one person — and left the faint impression of Worcestershire sauce. Another person was fully offput, however, declaring the blitzed beef reminiscent of “paper towels.”
Joe’s Steaks and Soda Shop
Order this if: You want a very classic steak. Everything about the Joe’s cheesesteak felt classic (other than, depending on your definition, the Cooper Sharp): Nothing too soft, too crunchy, over- or under-chopped, all the proportions totally in line. If you’re ordering for divergent cheesesteak tastes, this is one that should make everybody reasonably happy.
John’s Roast Pork
Order this if: You want a real big cheesesteak. The biggest, burliest cheesesteak on the table, the John’s Roast Pork steak arrived in a massive, doughy roll from Carangi’s, and featured an unsurprisingly perfect balance of meat, cheese, and onion. One taster thought the meat was a touch on the dry side, but it received high marks all around.
Wolf Street Pizza and Pasta House
Order this if: You’re tired of standard steak rolls. By far the most divisive roll of the bunch, Wolf Street’s house-made 16-inch roll seemed to some tasters like it was better suited to a sub-style sandwich; it was also described as “baguette-like” or akin to pretzel bread in its softness. Otherwise, the steak was deemed to have a good balance between meat and cheese, and despite its length, not super-unwieldy.
Woodrow’s Sandwich Shop
Order this if: You want some funk in your steak. Whether or not you’ll enjoy the Woodrow’s cheesesteak depends entirely on how you feel about its house-made truffle whiz, which totally dominates the sandwich. Some in the room enjoyed it; at least one person described it as feet-like. For better or worse, everything comes down to that whiz.