1403 Chester Pike
Folcroft, PA 19032
We decided that we were going to lounge around our hotel for the night. After two busy days of sightseeing, going to a Phillies game, and enduring a red-eye flight to get to Philadelphia, we felt we owed ourselves a quiet night to relax before our last full day in Philly. We still needed to eat dinner, so I scoured Yelp for a nearby restaurant to grab some takeout. Little did I know that we were about to hit the cheesesteak lottery.
Less than fifteen minutes away from our airport area hotel was Leo's Steak Shop. Leo's has been open for business since 1974 and is run by the Mullan brothers. Originally opened less than a block away, they moved to their present location in 1986 because they needed a bigger space due to their popularity. One of the reasons for their acclaim was that they have won numerous awards for their cheesesteaks, appearing on plenty of best-of lists, multiple mentions in print media, and a healthy four-and-a-half-star rating on Yelp.
With all these accolades, I felt ashamed that I had not had Leo's on the original restaurant list I had crafted before leaving California. I was too focused on Philadelphia instead of thinking we might have wanted to find a spot closer to our hotel in Delaware County. Since we were a group of eight, we called in our order to give them time to put it together. We arrived at their storefront just after half past eight, and they were just finishing our rather large order.
Leo's serves burgers, but the cheesesteaks and hoagies are the main draw. They offer nine different versions of cheesesteaks and 13 varieties of hoagies. The small sandwiches cost $12 or less, while the giant 18-inch sandwiches hover around the $22 price point. There's seating outside at a few picnic benches, but we opted to take our food and eat in our hotel lobby. Let's see what Leo's had in store for us.
I promised cheesesteaks but wanted to start with the Corned Beef Special ($11.45). This sandwich came on Jewish rye, piled with more corned beef than you could get your mouth around, thickly sliced Swiss, coleslaw, and plenty of Russian dressing. This sandwich was good, but it would have been better if the rye bread had been toasted and the coleslaw had been slightly more pronounced. I enjoyed that they used a lot of Russian dressing on this, and the corned beef was sliced thin, and there was more than plenty of it included here. A delightful surprise in a steak shop.
Now, what you come to Philadelphia for, or in this case, what you come to Folcroft for, cheesesteaks. Special thanks to Erven for doing the obligatory forearm picture showing how big his Large 18-inch Mushroom Cheesesteak ($22.65) was. He finally finished it for breakfast the next day. I did not finish mine either, as I got two sandwiches and some cheesesteak fries, but I added the inside meat of my cheesesteak to my omelet at the hotel buffet the following day. A genius move, if I do say so myself.
What we have featured in these pictures is the following: a Regular Cheesesteak ($11.45) and a Pepper Cheesesteak ($11.85) that I got. These sandwiches were heavenly to eat. The chopped meat had just the right amount of American cheese mixed in, which was noticeable but did not overwhelm the beef. A perfect balance. The semi-soft roll held the massive amount of beef and cheese admirably, with little to no spillage. The meat was incredibly tender and seasoned well, and the peppers added a touch of sweetness that went well with the savory sandwich. Easily the best cheesesteak I've experienced up until now in my over 50-plus years of life. I was not alone in this sentiment.
Katie had a cheesesteak at the Phillies game we were at earlier in the day, so she wanted something different, opting for the Turkey and Cheese Hoagie ($11,85) instead of Philadelphia's most famous sandwich. This hoagie featured as much shaved turkey shoved into the roll as possible, plenty of provolone cheese, a touch of mayo, and some lettuce. Katie called this a simple yet classic turkey hoagie that was a real treat to eat.
The Ham and Cheese Hoagie ($11.85) was Addison's pick. Her family says she's an aficionado of ham sandwiches, as she has one almost every chance she gets. Like the turkey hoagie, this one had meat spilling out of it. This hoagie came like the turkey one, with some lettuce, provolone cheese, and a little lettuce. I am still waiting to get a review of how Addison liked this sandwich. She's quiet unless it's about some of her passions, like soccer, pop music, or her love of license plates.
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Leo's Steak Shop was more than a pleasant surprise. This was the best cheesesteak I have had, and it made me realize that the cheesesteaks we have back home in California do not even come close to what we experienced this evening. The meat was way better, the cheese-to-beef ratio was on point, and the amount of meat they used on each sandwich was awe-inspiring. Their prices were incredible, and if I lived here, Leo's would definitely be in my restaurant rotation at least every two weeks. The lady taking our order over the phone was a little overwhelmed with our large order, but she got everything squared away, and it was just about ready at our quoted time. If you find yourself near the Philadelphia Airport, do yourself a favor and go to Leo's for one of the best cheesesteaks you will ever have.
Out of five buckets of popcorn (because the first 3D movie premiered in 1922, the same year Folcroft was incorporated into a borough), five being best to zero being worst, Leo's Steak Shop gets 4.5 buckets of popcorn.
For more information about Leo's Steak Shop, head to their website by clicking here: https://leossteakshop.com/
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