Cheesesteakmeouttotheballgame

4.0 out of 5 stars

My next cheesesteak review will be for Carmen’s Famous Italian Hoagies and Cheesesteaks which is located at the Reading Terminal Market.  At one point the Reading Terminal Market was home to Rick’s Steaks who apparently used to offer awesome cheesesteaks, however after their lease ran out there was some controversy over politics and they were forced to move.  Since then there really hasn’t been a cheesesteak place at the market.  Sure there are tons of different eateries offering all types of food, but this is Philadelphia and there should be at least one quality cheesesteak place.  I think I finally found that place after reading some reviews online of each of the different eateries located at the Reading Terminal Market.  So this time I chose Carmen’s Famous Italian Hoagies and Cheesesteaks.  As normal I tried a cheesesteak with provolone and fried onions.

Bread-I tried this cheeesteak early in the day so the Italian roll they used was extremely fresh.  I can’t remember the brand, but they had tons of boxes with rolls in them sitting around waiting to be consumed throughout the day.  The brand began with an L but that’s all I remember.  Anyway, besides the freshness it was very tasty and soft throughout.

Cheese-The cheese was my second favorite part of this cheesesteak.  First off there was a ton of cheese, and secondly it was melted throughout the entire sandwich.  You can see what I am referring to by looking at the picture below.

Meat-The meat was outstanding.  It was flavored to perfection with salt and pepper and it was cooked to the perfect temperature where the meat just about fell apart in your mouth.  The meat wasn’t diced up in to small of pieces like I have become accustomed too but I guess that is something that I just have to live with.  The quality of the meat is also something to bring up.  There was no fat, gristle or grease from the meat.

Amount-I guess the amount is something of a negative for this cheesesteak.  There was a decent amount of meat but I think this cheesesteak needed a little more.  The amount of cheese and onions was pretty average as well.  Lastly the roll was your typical 10 inches so I don’t have any complaints there.

Fried Onions-The fried onions should have been fried for a little longer but other than that I have no complaints.  They were also mixed throughout the entire cheesesteak which is a good thing.

The cheesesteak at Carmen’s Famous Italian Hoagies and Cheesesteaks was one of the best cheesesteaks I have had in the last few months.  I was throughly impressed.  Besides the food their service was amazing as well.  You can tell they actually care about their patrons.  They cook up the cheesesteak right in front of you and you can tell that they are trying to make it right because they take their time from everything from the bread selection to the placement of the meat, cheese and onions in the roll.  On a side note when President Obama visited Philadelphia in the Fall of 2010 he choose Carmen’s for a cheesesteak.  So if it’s good enough for him, it should be good enough for everyone.  GoBama!  Here’s link to another website that has a picture of him visiting Carmen’s.  Anyway if you are at the Reading Terminal Market and craving a cheesesteak I definitely recommend Carmen’s Famous Italian Hoagies and Cheesesteaks.