Recent visit to Mama's Pizzeria on Belmont Avenue in Bala Cynwyd

[Arjani]

Has anyone had a cheesesteak at Mama's lately? I've moved out of the area but remember the cheesesteaks at Mam's fondly -- in my humble opinion, they were the best in all of Philly.

Planning to order a bunch of them on an upcoming visit to Philly, freeze them, and take them back to taste-deprived Ohio.

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Mama's Pizzeria
426 Belmont Ave, Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004

[Chinon00]

I visited Mama’s today for lunch and was eager to provide a review. I didn’t wanna begin another string so I figured that I’d just jump in here. So I had the cheesesteak w/ fried onions and their standard cheese. I found all the ingredients in the cheesesteak individually to be very tasty. The cheese in the cheesesteak I thought was particularly firm and potent almost like an aged Gruyère. For me though the cheese overpowered the flavor of the meat. A sandwich using the cheese alone would be a statement in itself. Cheese should compliment a cheesesteak not dominate it in my opinion. On a one to ten scale I’d give their cheesesteak a score of six.

[Delucacheesemonger]

Hmmm, cheese overpowering the meat, perhaps l might visit when back in Phila., sounds like my kind of place. l remember everything came with a gallon of tomato sauce, that is why have not been in 20 years.

[mkertello]

I haven't been to Mama's in a good while, but my memory serves me well enough to remember that the sandwiches are huge and the quality is way up there. Their meatball sandwich was always my favorite, probably 6-8 nice sized meatballs with a load of sauce. Messy sure, but satisfying. Cheesesteak hoagies were always a gem as well...

Definitely going to be making a trip back there in the very near future!

[Userfriend]

I used to live in East Falls which is just over the bridge from Mama's and went there often because my then boyfriend loved their food. I always felt the steaks were dry. I certainly don't want a greasy sandwich, but there has to be a happy medium. I find Mama's steaks are huge and way overstuffed, so it will fill you up, but the steak itself is just too dry.

[restless]

I know this is late, but Mama's on Belmont Ave. in Bala Cynwyd is still open, and the sandwiches are still fantastic.

[brentk]

Their website is down and their voice mail cuts out midstream. Can anybody confirm whether they are still in business?

[AgentRed]

ummm, I went not too long ago (June 20th-ish). They just seem like the kind of place that would let their website and voicemail go unattended, so I'm not TOO concerned... plus they're famous/old enough to have raised a significant outcry on the blogosphere if they were shutting down.

But it would be a shame if they actually have gone out of business.

[leepinleemur]

They do always have strange hours, and could be on vacation or something, but yeah I'd be surprised if they were actually closed down.

[restless]

We had Mama's a couple weekends ago. Boyfriend had cheesesteak hoagie. I had a cheese hoagie. Both were fantastic!

[Max Buten]

As always, Mama's is often not open when you would expect, so call ahead!

[phillyjazz]

They are the same as they've always been if you like that style. I prefer less of a "pizza style" sandwich. You certainly don't walk away from one hungry.

[Arjani]

Thanks. I always felt that the quality of the meat and the preparation were excellent.