Philly West Bar and Grill

I had to give my good friend Leigha her Christmas present before she went home to Texas, so I thought it would be nice to catch up over cheesesteaks! We decided to check out Philly West Bar and Grill.

We walked in, and immediately I had a good feeling. The inside is small and cozy, and I liked the atmosphere. I recognized a bunch of the pictures on the wall too.

The food is very reasonably priced. A regular cheesesteak is just $4.75! I got their regular cheesesteak, which comes with fried onions, American cheese, and just a touch of their marinara sauce. Leigha ordered her's with just steak and cheese. I also ordered an IBC cream soda, and an order of fries for us to share.

The food came out pretty fast and looked good. My steak was super cheesy and gooey. There was just the right amount of sauce to give it some flavor, but it wasn't drowning. Between all of the cheese and the sauce, the steak had a mushy texture, which sometimes just hits the spot. The steak and onions were cooked perfectly, and the meat was chopped to the perfect size. My only complaint was that the meat was actually bland. Leigha added salt to every bite. I thought it could have used a little pepper as well. Even though there is cheese and sauce, it is still important to season the meat. We weren't super crazy about the fries, but we've had worse. I will definitely go back to watch a Philly game and try a hoagie!

What did we have for dessert? Tastykakes of course!

We decided on the classic Butterscotch Krimpets. After her first bite, Leigha decided that Tastykakes are indeed tasty.

Side note, Leigha was totally happy for me that Cliff Lee left the Rangers and came back to the Phillies, no hard feelings. She is a good friend, and here she is with her Christmas present!

Happy Holidays!

Philly West Bar and Grill

1870 Westwood Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 90027

310-474-9787

Jersey Mike's Subs

Happy Thanksgiving cheesesteak heads!

I had been wanting to try Jersey Mike's Subs for awhile now. I have seen a bunch of locations scattered about, but Leigha and I decided on the West Hollywood Location.

Jersey Mike's was bigger inside than I expected, and was pretty busy. It was clean and decorated nicely. I ordered Jersey Mike's Famous Philly, which comes with grilled onions and bell peppers.

The steak looked pretty good, and my first bite confirmed it. The steak was seasoned well, and there was a generous amount of melty cheese. I did have a few bites of meat that were a little too chewy, but overall it wasn't a big problem. A lot of places will only use green bell pepper, but Jersey Mike's uses green and red, and the red was a nice extra flavor. The bread was not bad, although it was too big for the meat, so I had to pull a bunch of the roll off. I don't really like it when the roll is not proportionate to the filling, but again, not a huge deal.

Leigha enjoyed her steak and was thrilled that she didn't have to add salt like at Hoagie Steak Out. I enjoyed my cheesesteak too, and would definitely order one from Jersey Mike's again.

I was excited to see that they had lemon bars, and Leigha was excited for their pickles.

I have a thing with lemon bars. Either they're really good, or they taste like how a wet dog smells. There is no other way for me to describe it. I am happy to report that the lemon bars at Jersey Mike's are pretty tasty.

Unlike Hoagie Steak Out, I can't wait to go back to Jersey Mike's to try a hoagie! And Leigha can't wait to go back for another cheesesteak.

Jersey Mike's Subs

7100 Santa Monica Blvd.

Unit 153

West Hollywood, CA 90046

323-850-1111

Hoagie Steak Out

I will preface this review by saying that this place has only been open for a couple of days, so there are definitely a few kinks to work out.

I've been keeping my eye on this place for awhile now, and today I drove by, and the sign said Open. Without further delay, I ventured off to Hoagie Steak Out with my good friend Leigha and my flaky friend Josue. I call him my flaky friend because...well he's a flake of course! He may actually have only come today because it got him out of work for a bit. Hmm...

We get there, and I placed my order. I decided on the BellPepper Instinct. Side note, they have really stupid names on the menu. BellPepper Instinct? Ugh. Other examples are Rocky Philly, GodFather Hoagie, 3Pepper Scarface. Just call it a pepper steak. You don't go to a place in Philly and see stupid names like this...they're trying way too hard. Anyway, all of the steaks come with mayo and grilled onions. I don't prefer mayo, but I wanted to try it the way they normally serve it.

I get my steak, and the presentation was a hot mess. A good portion of the meat was not even in the roll. I also was immediately concerned about the roll thinking it seemed too small...

I grabbed a piece of meat from the top and tried it. Bland...except for a chunk of coarse pepper that made me cough. Much to my dismay, this place also uses orange American cheese, and it just doesn't feel right. The onions and peppers seemed to be sauteed perfectly, but there was an odd aftertaste to them. Normally I could just eat them alone and enjoy, but there was a slightly vinegary aftertaste.

Leigha agreed that the meat was bland, and had to add salt to her steak, which is just plain crazy. One should never need to add salt to their cheesesteak, especially with mayo on it! We all agreed that the bread was awful, and it reminded us of a hot dog bun. It didn't stay together very well, and Josue pointed out that it was really quite dry. Look at it:

The employees were very nice, and they gave us all free fries, which is a special that they are running this month.

Let me address the decor for a minute. The outside is cute, but they have these corny pictures hanging in the windows all around the building, and I'm not crazy about it:

The inside gets plenty of natural light, so its bright and pretty, but its also a little much with the decorations. We get it...you're soooo South Philly Italian:

Maybe I'm being too hard on them...it is Hollywood after all, and I do love Rocky. Bottom line is, Hoagie Steak Out could possibly improve, but there is a lot of work to be done.

Before I went to this place, I already thought that I would have to go back for a hoagie, but now I'm not feeling very eager. Maybe if I wait a long time, they'll have better bread by then.

Hoagie Steak Out

1429 N. Highland Ave.

Hollywood, CA 90028

323-962-8833

Philly's "Famous Steak"

Once again, I hit up this spot with my good friend Leigha. Leigha is from Texas, but she is a little bit of a Philly girl at heart. Not only does she appreciate a good cheesesteak, but she always roots for the Phillies and the Flyers with me. Now I just need to get her to root for the Eagles instead of the Cowboys...

Anyway, we get to Philly's "Famous Steak" and it was really cute! A tiny hole in the wall type place, but clean and bright inside. Both sides had blown up pictures of Center City Philly on display.

This place keeps it simple. The menu is just six different sandwiches and a couple sides. I decided on the Great Steak, just onions and American cheese, and I made it a combo.

There was one other customer in there finishing his steak right as we were getting ours. He said that this was his first ever cheesesteak, and he enjoyed it very much. I thought that was a good sign.

We got our food, and it looked good. The first thing I noticed was that they use orange American cheese, which is not my preference. I just feel that the only orange cheese that should go on a steak is Wiz.

I took my first bite, and immediately enjoyed the cheesiness. The cheese was melted throughout, and in every bite, just as it should be. The meat was seasoned well, and it was actually very peppery, which I happen to like. However, some of the meat was a bit burnt and dry, but not too noticeable with the generous amount of cheese and grilled onions. The roll was mostly soft, but partially grilled, and the ends were a little charred. I wasn't sure at first if I liked it, but then decided that it gave the sandwich a nice toasty flavor. The fries were crisp, salty, and delicious.

I think this place is definitely above average and a good find. I wasn't madly in love, but I would definitely go back. The food was pretty good, atmosphere cozy, and the employees were very sweet! I think I may go back for their Chicken Philly.

Philly's "Famous Steak"

6323 Hollywood Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 90028

323-960-0204

Philly Steak Depot

Doesn't look like much, does it? Its not.

I have visited Philly Steak Depot two times. I have no pictures of my first visit, which I regret, because you would have to see how burnt the steak was to believe it. It was the worst cheeseteak I have ever had in my entire life. Dry, bland, not cheesy enough…and most importantly, burnt and gristly all throughout the sandwich…this was my first experience at Philly Steak Depot. I couldn’t eat it! Now I will mention that they seemed to be very busy that afternoon. There were a bunch of customers waiting for their orders, and only one woman working the grill with three guys just standing around watching her. Not cool guys, not cool at all.

I went back this time with the lowest of expectations, only to get my photos. This time, it was slow…my good friend Leigha and I were the only people in the joint. But where to begin??? The good news: This was a much better steak than last time. The bad news: It was still probably the worst steak I’ve ever had in my life.

We both got the 7 inch steak; mine with onions. We decided to split some curly fries, just so we would have food if these steaks were inedible. Good thing we got those fries...

This time, the steak was not burnt. It was also a little bland, but not as bad as last time. The roll fell apart on half of my sandwich almost immediately, which annoyed me. The meat was cut nicely…the chunks were not too big, not too small. Here is the big no-no...this is what ruined the steak. They placed American cheese on the roll. PLACED IT ON THE ROLL, then put the steak and onions on top of it. For shame! Is it laziness? Incompetence? A little of both? I just can't wrap my head around it. Check it out:

Most of the cheese never actually melted, and I have to say it grossed me out a little bit. How one handles the cheese is one of the most important factors in making the steak. Had they taken the time to mix it in with the steak and onions, I wouldn’t have had any dry bites of steak, and it would have helped cover just how bland it was.

I ended this experience hungry. I just had no desire to finish my sandwich.

Philly Steak Depot

6254 Santa Monica Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 90038

323-467-1215

Marco's - West Hollywood

I first noticed Marco's two nights ago on my way to a play. My good friend Leigha and I were walking by and the hot host gave her the menu. Today I headed over to Leigha's to watch the documentary "Broad Street Bullies," and she told me that there was a Philly cheese steak on the Marco's menu.

We decided to check it out, and it is adorable inside! Bright colors inside and lots of sunlight streaming in made it very cozy.

The cheese steak was scrumptious! The roll was lightly crispy on the outside, and soft on the inside. There was a generous amount of melted provolone cheese on top, and the chef's special cheese blend on the bottom. The onions and green and yellow bell peppers were sauteed perfectly, and the meat was juicy and flavorful. We had the option of adding parmesan truffle fries on the side for two dollars more, and it was well worth it!





I want to talk more about the cheese sauce that was on the bottom of the roll. It may have been a bit on the salty side, but overall was very good. It has a nice flavor to it, and is not overpowering. This apparently is the same cheese sauce that they put on their macaroni and cheese, which has me intrigued. I asked our kind waiter Justin what cheeses went into the sauce, and it is a blend of cheddar, gruyere, parmesan, provolone, and possibly one or two more cheeses that I am missing. And going back to the hot host, his name is Sebastian and he looks like a young Cary Elwes circa "The Princess Bride."


The rest of the menu at Marco's looks amazing, but the next time I go, I think I'll have to try a hoagie. They totally get bonus points for using that word!

Marco's
8200 Santa Monica Blvd.
West Hollywood, CA 90046
323-650-1060