Down the street from the office there lives a little Cheesesteak restaurant called Shorty’s. They bill themselves as “NYC’s only authentic cheesesteak.” I have to assume they mean authentic to Philly, especially because there is all sorts of Eagles and Philthies merchandise everywhere (BLEH!) Now seeing as though I have never been to Philly, I can’t really comment on authenticity. (And yes… I know… it’s crazy that I have grown up less than an hour away and never been to the City of Brotherly Love. But I will try to go soon, just so I can lick the Liberty Bell… special Nom cred to anyone that gets that reference).
The inside is a long bar with a few small tables on the side. It’s not easy to jocky for seats, but it is feasible for lunch.
And for this special, you can see why it’s usually packed! $9 gets you a “shorty” cheesesteak (that’s 6 inches of sandwich for ya) and a beer from 12pm-7pm and 11pm to close.
We started making a tradition at work where we would go each Friday. Unfortunately, 2 Fridays into the plan and I was out. It’s all tasty, but I literally was useless at work on Friday afternoons. And I’m not a fan of being unproductive, no matter how delicious cheesesteak is. Not to mention the waistline damage!
I do love their Italian Fries, however. These have Italian seasoning and Romano cheese. Nom Nom Nom. Delish!
They must be used to groups, because they conveniently label each sandwich so you know who gets what.
I went with a chicken cheesesteak my first go-around and it was topped with sharp provolone (not sharp enough… at all), mushrooms, and onions.
Delicious… but HEAVY.
And definitely missing out on that oozy, cheesy goodness that I usually expect with cheesesteaks. The steak version I would level set in about the same place.
They do have the classic option of Cheese Whiz, and I hear this is the way to go.
You can also top it with sweet and/or spicy peppers. My coworkers went for the pepper duo.
The last time I was there I tried something a little different and went with the Potato Skins with steak, wiz, bacon, and sour cream. They were DELISH, but I couldn’t even make my way through half of the course before my stomach said “ENOUGH!”
My coworkers love this place, and the special is pretty awesome, but only go if you are prepared to dedicate a few hours to digestion and digestion only!
