Philly Cheesesteak in Charlotte, NC

[fishingnc]

Heading to Charlotte next weekend and was wondering if anyone has any recommendations for Cheesesteak Hoagies in the Charlotte are. A friend of mine had mentioned a place in Cornelius but I don't recall the name. All suggestions appreciated!

[ickymettle]

I was reading a little blurb about the new restaurant on East Blvd., Restaurant Plan B (where City Tavern used to be), and the owner was talking up his cheesesteaks. That said, I'm disappointed that space is being used to serve bar food.

[southernitalian]

I know what you mean icky but it seems like restaurants along that end of East Blvd. do better when they are casual and family-friendly. Everything upscale down there fails pretty quickly. Southpark and Uptown seem to do better with more upscale dining.

[GodfatherofLunch]

not sure I agree. Restaurant I , Sole, 131 Main are all pretty far from Bar food. I was shocked when City Tavern closed. They always seemed packed and the roof top patio was mobbed. Does anyone know why they closed this location?Many restaurants fail as it is a very hard business to survive in. Most fail in the first 2 years. I went to Plan B last week. Just passable bar food at best. I never saw a renovation that made a place look worse than the original. It feels like your hanging out in a 70's rec room

[ickymettle]

And I have no problem with a casual restaurant. In fact, I wish Charlotte had more casual, inexpensive restaurants that served interesting (or at least good) food. The problem is most of these casual, inexpensive restaurants fail to serve interesting food. Passable bar food certainly isn't interesting, and generally not something I would consider very good. It's too bad, because that space could have the potential for something good. I do hope Pio Pio works out in that area, because that is exactly the type of casual. inexpensive restaurant that serves interesting food that I wish we had more of here.

As for bar food, I'll tell you one place that has great bar food-- Hef's. The quesadilla there may be the best in town, the black-and-bleu burger is one of the best burgers in town, the smoking blonde (a sandwich with turkey, applewood smoked bacon, real mozzeralla, cucumbers, italian dressing, served warm on a croissant) is one of the best sandwiches in town, and their wraps are quite good as well.

Anyway, sorry to take this thread so far off-topic.

[Chocolate Toe]

Hey... did any other Dilworthers notice that Plan B closed? Short life span, huh? Anyone heard anything about Rock N Lobster, the new place moving in that spot?

[GodfatherofLunch]

Not really shocked, bar food done badly. They did however have a very hot staff.
I guess the scenery just didn't make up for the food.
Godfather likes just about anything with Lobster, Is this a chain or an indie?

[GodfatherofLunch]

CT, Here's the deal on Plan B. The two owners are taking in third partner, one of the guy's from Tavern on the Tracks. The new concept a more upscale seafood/lobster restaurant/bar.
They hope to open in about a week.

[bellyspeaks]

Possibly named Plan C.

sorry...couldn't resist :)

[704Champ]

GFOL, I most definitely concur about the talent of Plan B's staff. Hopefully they will retain some of them.

Rock n Lobster looks intriguing. I wonder how their seafood will compare to Oceanaire or Lavecchias.

[GodfatherofLunch]

I don't know this for a fact but I think we are talking closer to Vinnie's Sardine although with lobster who knows. I hope it really will be Rock N

[lynnlato]

CHEESESTEAK FANS - A while back Kathleen Purvis read this thread and then contacted me via facebook to suggest a place that purportedly serves up fabulous cheesesteaks. She's no longer a member of CH, but wanted the info to get out - that woman is committed to getting good food to us Charlotteans! I had temporarily closed my CH acct. so I couldn't post her suggestion.

The place is The Steak & Hoagie Shop on Sharon Amity, just north of Independence. The owners are from Philly and I guess Peter Reinhart (grew up in PA) turned KP on to this place. Apparently it's the real deal folks. It's on my short list!

[GodfatherofLunch]

I'm eager to hear back from you on this one.
It's my guess to get the quality of a real Philly Cheese Steak a place needs to do Volume or they can not afford to give lots of great meat and great cheese on great bread and still make a profit

[CharlotteAsianCH]

I'm no big Philly Cheese Steak expert (been in Charlotte for 30+ years, never had Pat's or Geno's or any other known "real deal" place), but The Steak & Hogie Shop is where I go to get my fix when the mood strikes. They definitely have the volume of business to give quality. Standard order comes with provolone, though they have other cheeses for subs so substitution may be available. Not sure if they have Cheese Whiz. Bread's good, crusty but soft inside. Generous portion of meat and onions for the basic Philly, other options are peppers, mushrooms, pizza sauce, steak sauce, blue cheese (?1) and jus. Just went for a fix there today.

Another option in this area is The House of Pizza on Central. I went there yesterday when I drove up to the Steak and Hogie and realized they were closed on Sundays. A lot of my friends who also grew up in Charlotte have gone to the HOP for years for their cheese steak, but to me it's just a notch below S&H. I thought their bread was just a bit more chewy, and the meat was a little less juicy than I liked.

But again, I'm no expert, and I'd love to hear what some of you who have tried the best think of these places so I can educate cheese steak palate.

[lynnlato]

I'm from PA originally but have been in CLT for 12 years. My family owned a hoagie shop "back in the day".

If there is a real cheesesteak to be had in town, the closest is probably Marino's Philly Pizzeria & Grill on Providence Rd in Waxhaw. They ship in their hoagie rolls from Amoroso's in Philly. I've had their pizza (great) and their hoagies (good) but haven't yet tried their philly cheesesteak.

3909 Providence Rd, Waxhaw - 704-843-8296.

They are supposedly opening a 2nd location on Hwy 521 in Ballantyne area.

[lancastermike]

Please remember Holly Moore's golden rule of cheessteak geography. The distance from 9th st and Passyunk Ave in Philadelphia is in inverse proportion to the quality of the cheesesteak. The closer you are the better. Charlotte is a nice town but it is a long way from home

[GodfatherofLunch]

some may ask Who is Holly Moore?
check the link below for Holly Eats

http://www.hollyeats.com/Pats.htm

[hazardnc]

My husband loves cheesesteak sandwiches, and he's eaten them at both Pat's AND Geno's, and his favorite is still found here in Charlotte at Arthur's. THere are two Arthur's locations: inside Belk's Department store in Southpark Mall and in Two Wachovia in downtown Charlotte.

There is a cheesesteak shop in Park Towne Village on the corner of Woodlawn and Park Road that I have tried and thought was pretty good, but I cannot remember the name.

[mcap]

The place in Park Towne Village is called Duckworth's. I didn't have the cheesesteak there so I can't comment on that. My meal was not good at all - very greasy and low quality. I was dragged there so I may have gone in with a bad attitude....

[GodfatherofLunch]

I have never eaten at Arthur's so have no feed back on them but I have tried Duckworth 's at Park Towne Village. It was just OK at best. What they serve is a whole nother deal from Pat's or Geno's. To me it's not even in the same ball park. Put it this way - I ate at Duckworth's once and that one time was enough for me and I ate at Pat's several times while visiting Philly about 15 years ago. I still remember it vividly. It was that good! No wonder Philly is known for its great cheese steak's

[HungryGrayCat]

This is the place in Cornelius. I haven't tried it yet but hear the sandos are very tasty and HUGE.

http://www.laspadas.com/LaSpada_home2...

[karmadry]

I from Fort Lauderdale were La Spada is the place to go for subs. There was a time were our family would go once a week to get a sub. One sub easily feeds 3 people. I've been dying to go. I wonder if it's as good.

[fishingnc]

GFOL, I'm not asking for the next Pat's or Geno's for crying out loud. Just what some of the locals consider the best cheesesteak in the area. I know there has to be some people from the PA/NJ area that could chime in here! It's my opinion that the bread usually makes the difference.

[Hapy]

Two places come to mind.....Joe Mama's and Lugi's..both are off south tryon. Lugi's in the stip mall w/ Wal Mart and Lowe's...way in the back but worth the trip...I get their's to go and love the way the wrap it all up, paper plate and all....the bread is great...Joe Mama's is a close 2nd...strip mall w/Food Lion...good fillings but the bread's not as tasty...

[GodfatherofLunch]

Dude we have a lot of great things in Charlotte Philly Cheesesteak is not one of them.