Cheesesteak Review #2 ~ Jersey Joe's, San Carlos

Cheesesteak number two was purchased at Jersey Joe's in San Carlos. I learned of this shop over ten years ago when I read a review of the hoagies in a local newspaper. Back then it had locations in Redwood City and San Mateo, which have since been closed and the new location in San Carlos opened. Remembering the mouth-watering hoagies, I had very high hopes for their cheesesteak.

After that glorious cheesesteak from The Cheese Steak Shop, it was almost inevitable to find this one inferior by comparison. I ordered the same thing - a chicken cheesesteak with onions and sweet peppers. The chicken was chopped, but some pieces of meat were tiny and some were left big. No big deal, but I do prefer more uniform size morsels of meat.

Here the cheese was more evenly distributed in the sandwich (a big plus in my opinion), but the meat wasn't very tasty and, although I could see the peppers in the sandwich, they had absolutely no flavor whatsoever. Big disappointment there.

Jersey Joe's does give you a very large sandwich for your money. I ordered mine to go and when I got it home I placed it on my postage scale. It weighed in at a whopping one pound! (And that pound was mostly meat.) I know that's a big plus for most people, but I would rather have less meat and a better sandwich.

I'm not sure what rolls are used at Jersey Joe's since it isn't mentioned on the website or inside the restaurant, but they aren't as good as Amoroso's. These were very chewy - a little too chewy if you ask me. I like a little crispness to the crust of my bread.

Not all was bad. The onions were cooked to perfection and the sandwich was still much better than other less "authentic" ones. (And it is probably one of the most attractive looking cheesesteak sandwiches I have seen!) I give this cheesesteak three stars out of five. Next time I'm going with the hoagie! Hopefully they are still as good as I remember them from years ago.

One thing that I forgot to mention about The Cheese Steak Shop is that they do not charge extra money for hot or sweet peppers. Most other places I have been to, including Jersey Joe's, charge more to add peppers. Jersey Joe's probably shouldn't charge extra since you can't even taste 'em ...