Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Authentic doesn’t mean you have to eat Cheez Whiz

Philadelphia Sandwich Co. comes to Miramar

Philadelphia cheesesteak
Philadelphia cheesesteak
Place

Philadelphia Sandwich Co.

6904 Miramar Road, San Diego

In early 2015 the Philadelphia Sandwich Co. — est. 1979 — moved from Kearny Mesa to an address on Miramar Road. That’s about six mile difference by car but a distinct change in market for the 37-year-old small business. It’s hard not to think the Philly cheesesteak specialist won’t seem less out of place abutting a military base than it has among the glorious surplus of Asian restaurants associated with its old Convoy Street location.

Sponsored
Sponsored
Same business since 1979, now in a Miramar location.

A little smaller and a little lighter on Philly sports fan flair, the newer spot nevertheless operates on the same principle: to replicate the owners’ hometown staples. There’s a rack of Tastykakes and Wise potato chips, with birch beer on the menu. More importantly there’s a choice of hoagies plus Cheez Whiz, American, Swiss, and provolone cheesesteaks.

The shop uses an old family recipe and goes to great lengths to be authentic. It ships in the classic rolls from century-old Philadelphia bakery Amaroso’s. It orders thinly sliced of beef from B&M Meats, which has six decades in the cheesesteak supply game in greater Philly — aka Wilmington, Delaware. And I already mentioned the questionable linchpin of cheesesteak myth, Cheez Whiz.

The whiz probably only exists at this point thanks to cheesesteaks and nachos, and there are people who’ll tell you it’s not a real cheesesteak if it’s not the phony cheez. Thankfully, the sandwich predates the invention of whiz, so there’s no imperative of authenticity to try it. I opted for provolone, with bell peppers an extra 50 cents and grilled onions gratis. I added two bucks to upgrade from a six inch to ten for a total of $8.95.

I don’t know which was shorter, the time it took to make my sandwich or the time it took me to eat it. I could have used a little more meat to chew on and some stronger seasoning overall. But it didn’t get greasy, and the texture was spot on. If I was going to score it “three bears” style, it tasted right in the middle, everything you expect out of a cheesesteak. The new address makes it a safe bet for the Marines and brewery employees working in the area.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Classical Classical at The San Diego Symphony Orchestra

A concert I didn't know I needed
Next Article

Trophy truck crushes four at Baja 1000

"Two other racers on quads died too,"
Philadelphia cheesesteak
Philadelphia cheesesteak
Place

Philadelphia Sandwich Co.

6904 Miramar Road, San Diego

In early 2015 the Philadelphia Sandwich Co. — est. 1979 — moved from Kearny Mesa to an address on Miramar Road. That’s about six mile difference by car but a distinct change in market for the 37-year-old small business. It’s hard not to think the Philly cheesesteak specialist won’t seem less out of place abutting a military base than it has among the glorious surplus of Asian restaurants associated with its old Convoy Street location.

Sponsored
Sponsored
Same business since 1979, now in a Miramar location.

A little smaller and a little lighter on Philly sports fan flair, the newer spot nevertheless operates on the same principle: to replicate the owners’ hometown staples. There’s a rack of Tastykakes and Wise potato chips, with birch beer on the menu. More importantly there’s a choice of hoagies plus Cheez Whiz, American, Swiss, and provolone cheesesteaks.

The shop uses an old family recipe and goes to great lengths to be authentic. It ships in the classic rolls from century-old Philadelphia bakery Amaroso’s. It orders thinly sliced of beef from B&M Meats, which has six decades in the cheesesteak supply game in greater Philly — aka Wilmington, Delaware. And I already mentioned the questionable linchpin of cheesesteak myth, Cheez Whiz.

The whiz probably only exists at this point thanks to cheesesteaks and nachos, and there are people who’ll tell you it’s not a real cheesesteak if it’s not the phony cheez. Thankfully, the sandwich predates the invention of whiz, so there’s no imperative of authenticity to try it. I opted for provolone, with bell peppers an extra 50 cents and grilled onions gratis. I added two bucks to upgrade from a six inch to ten for a total of $8.95.

I don’t know which was shorter, the time it took to make my sandwich or the time it took me to eat it. I could have used a little more meat to chew on and some stronger seasoning overall. But it didn’t get greasy, and the texture was spot on. If I was going to score it “three bears” style, it tasted right in the middle, everything you expect out of a cheesesteak. The new address makes it a safe bet for the Marines and brewery employees working in the area.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Poway’s schools, faced with money squeeze, fined for voter mailing

$105 million bond required payback of nearly 10 times that amount
Next Article

Now what can they do with Encinitas unstable cliffs?

Make the cliffs fall, put up more warnings, fine beachgoers?
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader