Boo's Philly Cheesesteaks and Hoagies
4501 Fountain Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90029
Since our trip to Philadelphia a year and a half ago, I've been searching for a cheesesteak to rival the ones we had on that trip. It's not easy. So far, my favorite spot in OC is John's Philly Grill, but I have not explored the LA cheesesteak scene much. I went to my trusted source on all things food in Los Angeles, LA Eater, and found a best-of cheesesteak map. I found one which would be convenient on our way home, and that's how we tried Boo's Cheesesteaks and Hoagies.
It just so happens that Boo's is mentioned on almost all of the best cheesesteak lists in LA. Andrew Ahn, a Philadelphia native, had the notion of starting this business when he moved to LA in 2002, but he could not find a good cheesesteak anywhere in town. That got the ball rolling, and he and his family decided to bring an authentic cheesesteak to the people of LA.
That meant Amoroso rolls, deli meats from Dietz and Watson for their hoagies, and Wise Chips posted by the register. Andrews's biggest goal was to have fellow Philadelphians come here and claim that this was a legit cheesesteak served at Boo's. His vision is working, as they have this original location in Silverlake, which opened for business in 2011, and then added their Koreatown spot two years later. Both places have a 4-star rating on Yelp, with well over 2300 reviews between them.
We were leaving Burbank on a Monday afternoon at half past 4, so we knew we would be in for a long haul back to OC. I ordered online, and when we arrived at the Boo's in Silverlake, our food was packaged up and ready for us at the promised time. This location does not appear to have any indoor seating, but there were a small number of picnic tables out in front of the restaurant. We grabbed our two sandwiches and began the two-hour trip home.
Katie will almost always pick a hoagie over a cheesesteak. Yes, and I'm still married to her. At Boo's, they have four hoagies to choose from; two veggie sandwiches, an Italian hoagie, and this Turkey Hoagie ($13.95). This sandwich started with sliced turkey breast, then lettuce, tomato, onion, mayo, oregano, hoagie dressing, banana peppers, and provolone cheese were added. As you can see from the pictures above, they really added plenty of toppings to this sandwich. It reminded me of a Chicago hot dog, but in turkey sandwich form. The turkey was fresh and clean tasting, and I enjoyed including the hoagie dressing, an oil and vinegar combo that adds a nice tang to any sandwich. My only complaint about this sandwich was that I expected more turkey to be included, but Katie found this sandwich manageable. She would not hesitate to get this again.
Hoagies are fine and everything, but they are not as epic as a cheesesteak. Boo's has five beef cheesesteaks and six chicken versions to pick from. Predictably, I went the beef route by selecting the Boo's Mushroom Pepper Cheesesteak ($15.95). My first reaction to this was that I thought it would be longer, but they really stuffed the inside with steak, sweet peppers, onions, mushrooms, and my choice of cheese. They offered American, Cheez Whiz, or provolone. I never get American, but I split evenly between the provolone and Cheez Whiz. Today, the provolone won out. The mellowness of the provolone accentuates the other parts of the sandwich, which were excellent. The steak was tender, plentiful, and not as greasy as other cheesesteaks. The sweetness from the peppers cut the richness of the meat and cheese. The mushrooms got a little lost here, but I enjoyed the bites where they were present. This cheesesteak was made well, with minimal spillage of its contents. Even though it sat with us in traffic for two hours, it was not a soggy mess when we got home. Very well done.
This is the leader of cheesesteaks in LA at the moment, in my opinion. I have a list of places that have come highly recommended for cheesesteaks that I still need to try, though; South Philly Experience, Philadelphia Steak and Hoagie, and West Coast Cheesesteak are among the most highly regarded. The cheesesteak from Boo's was not as massive as the ones we experienced in Philadelphia, but it was well crafted and was the closest in flavor to what we had there a year and a half ago. Luckily, Katie often works in this area, so she will be able to bring me one of these with some regularity. Right now, Boo's has my heart as far as LA cheesesteaks go.
Out of five taxicabs (because the origin story of the cheesesteak involves a taxi driver seeing a hot dog cart guy making a cheesesteak sandwich for his own lunch, and suggested that he sell them), five being best to zero being worst, Boo's Cheesesteaks and Hoagies gets 3.5 taxicabs.
For more information about Boo's Cheesesteaks and Hoagies, head to their website by clicking here: https://www.boosphilly.com/
