Food Country Restaurant Reviews serving the Delaware Valley

Jeff's Take: I had read enough about the countless honors that John’s Roast Pork has won for its cheesesteaks. Local radio station WIP gave it top honors in its recent “ Ultimate Cheesesteak Challenge .” Esquire named it one of the Best Sandwiches in America . The James Beard Foundation gave it an “ America ’s Classic ” distinction. It was time to see what all the fuss was about. To clear up any confusion, John’s doesn’t deal exclusively in pork products. The “cheesesteak” is made with beef, and the “pork sandwich,” made with Italian roasted pork, is served up either on a Kaiser roll (small) or a hoagie roll (large). Both are excellent, but the pork sandwich is a true masterpiece. The Cheesesteak: The thinly sliced steak at John’s is of excellent quality. It’s cooked in small batches, which speaks volumes about the quality control at John’s. Most other busy shops cook their steak in huge batches, which often makes it tougher and drier, since it sits on the grill for longer per...

Sonny’s, a small shop in Old City Philadelphia, isn’t one of the better-known cheesesteak places. The wall isn’t lined with press photos of celebrities who have eaten there. But they do serve excellent steaks. Unlike most of other steak shops in the area, which purchase their steak pre-sliced, Sonny’s uses freshly sliced ribeye for their cheesesteaks (check it out, the slicer is right on the counter). Sonny’s also slices their steak a little thicker than other places, and serves their steaks on a soft, chewy roll. Jeff’s Take: There are several reasons why Sonny’s is my current pick for best cheesesteak in the Delaware Valley . First off, their quality is more consistent than most other places. With a lot of the better-known cheesesteak places, it’s either hit or miss, and this gets frustrating. Second, I like that Sonny’s has thicker sliced meat—a lot of other places finely chop their meat, which occasionally results in a dry steak. Also, I prefer cheese whiz on my steak, and Sonny’s...

Jeff's Take: A good sandwich all starts with good meat. And when you want good meat, it’s not a bad idea to go to the source—a dependable butcher who knows his stuff. Main Line Prime, a new shop in Ardmore , PA , offers exactly that. First and foremost, it’s a high-end butcher shop. It carries an impressive mix of fresh, local, organic meats and aged cuts from across the globe. As the owner told me, “we’re not really a sandwich shop.” But Main Line Prime does sandwiches well. Really well. The shop’s menu has a selection of about a dozen sandwiches and wraps, most of which are in the $6-7 price range. The one exception is The Gladwyne, a sandwich that includes seared Kobe steak, and is priced at $99. The price tag is high because Main Line Prime uses authentic Kobe steak. Real Kobe steak is imported from Japan and comes from cattle that are fed beer and sake, and receive daily muscle massages. The result is a tender, well-marbled, and very expensive steak. While many American m...

While we’ve been told that Fogo de Chao means “Fire of the Ground” or “Campfire,” we’re convinced that the direct translation is actually “Food Country.” Fogo de Chao is a churrascaria , a Brazilian-style barbecue where the meats are roasted over an open fire. It has almost a dozen locations across the U.S. , and five locations in Brazil . Its Philadelphia location, at 13 th and Chestnut, is a beautiful space, with high ceilings, huge chandeliers, and walls lined with wine bottles behind glass cases. A meal at Fogo de Chao is like a Choose Your Own Adventure book, except the pages are made of delicious, fire-roasted meat. Each person is given a two-sided disk at his or her place setting. Turn it over so the green side is facing up, and the gauchos (on double duty as both chefs and servers) circulating throughout the restaurant will bring fresh, sizzling cuts of skewered meat to carve directly onto your plate. Turn the disk back over to red, and you’ll get some time to clear your pla...

If one were to give an out-of-towner a tour of the best food Delaware has to offer, a stop at Capriotti’s is a must. This place serves some of the best hoagies in the area—and that includes Philadelphia, which is known for having the best hoagies anywhere. The original shop, located on Union Street in Wilmington, started serving up delicious hoagies over 30 years ago. Since then, Capriotti’s has expanded to more locations around the area, as well as across the country—as far as Arizona, Nevada, and Utah. Without a doubt, the star at Capriotti’s is the turkey. While most other delis continue to use processed turkey, Capriotti’s always uses freshly roasted, pulled turkey on its hoagies. You’ll never want regular deli turkey again. In addition to the standard turkey hoagie, Capriotti’s offers The Bobbie, a highly recommended mainstay at the shop, which includes turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing, and mayo. While Capriotti’s is most famous for its turkey hoagies, there are some other great ...