Best Cheesesteaks in Utah and Best Steak Sandwiches in Utah

Best Cheesesteaks in Utah and Best Steak Sandwiches in Utah

- Revised 4 Je 2020

Check out our Best Sandwiches in Utah, Best Burgers in Utah, Best Restaurants in Utah, Best Fish and Chips in Utah, Best Ice Cream in Utah, and OTHER FOOD REVIEWS at TasterTestersClub.BlogSpot.com 

We’ve tested every restaurant that sold cheesesteaks for 25 years in Utah.  Forget about the ones at restaurants.  The best are at a specialty shop – a cheesesteak place.

BEST 7 CHEESESTEAK SANDWICHES

(For best "Steak Sandwiches," see the end of this article)

Note: the Top 2 are a tie - the only "A's" in Utah:

1. (tie) DP Cheesesteak (throughout northern Utah).  This blows away all the others except Maxwells and Moochies. Note that we compared all the various options of peppers and veges in making our recommendation: When ordering, CUSTOMIZE IT. (Last time we were there our favorite "model" was not on the menu - maybe it is now after our readers read this and made recommendations to them. We reommend the mild red peppers-onion-provolone (or whiz). But since it was NOT on the menu last time we were there, we recommend you getting the Cherry Pepper Cheesesteak and ALTERING IT.  The Cherry Pepper model comes with everything you want to keep . . .  except the cherry peppers.  REPLACE THEM WITH MILD RED PEPPERS and watch your taste buds soar.  Mild red peppers do something magical to onions and beef and cheese.  (The other ingredients that you are keeping the same would be provolone or whiz – but they need to add a lot more whiz - plus onions, and of course the steak and bun.) Grade: A+

We tried all the other versions of cheesesteaks at DP – all were decent, but these are the MOST WINNING COMBINATIONS FOR US: 

BEST COMBO: Cream cheese cheesesteak.  Actually on many days one might vote this the #1 Best Combo, depending on your mood.  Amazing.  Italian Place was the first place we ever saw this - and it’s still really good there - but DP has outdone them.

2nd BEST COMBO: Mild red peppers, mushrooms, onion, provolone or lots of whiz, steak and bun.  

3rd BEST COMBO: DP’s Garlic Cheesesteak

Not at DP, but our 4th favorite COMBO:  Mild green peppers, onion, provolone or lots of whiz.

Note on DP:  One of our friends tried DP on a Saturday night - the bun seemed stale.  We recommend you try DP on weekdays only, perhaps no later than lunch, to insure the freshest bread.  (The bread was fresh all 20 times we've been to the ones in AF and Brigham’s Landing in Provo.)

Final note on DP:  Pat’s King of Steaks, Geno’s Steaks, and Jim’s Steaks – the top 3 in Philadelphia according to most aficionados, can add DP to their league, from what we’ve heard from travelers. The place is that good.

1.(tie) (editor's personal favorite, but some prefer DP:) Maxwell's, SLC downtown. The beef seems a tad better and the bread a tad sweeter than DP, but the overall package is a virtual tie. They do put more veges in it. Substitute mild red peppers for the cherry peppers that normally come with it. Our fave sandwich here: green peppers, provolone, onions, mushrooms, ribeye (their standard steak). Grade A

3. Jersey Mike's, national chain:
a. CUSTOMIZED with chipotle mayo A-
b. Big Kahuna B/B+

4. Smokin' Apple, Lindon, B+

5. Brickoven, Provo (steak B/B+, bun B/B+) total: B/B+

6. Moochies, several locations, B 

7.  Italian Place.  How many places were started by a guy who left the Mafia? See the story below.This was our fave cheesesteak place since its opening in 1972 until DP and Maxwells opened, now it’s Numero Tres. What a fascinating history this restaurant has.  Read it at the end of this review. Food grade B.

3 points about Italian Place that make them unique: 

1)     they use sirloin, a cheaper cut of meat than the ribeye that is used by DP and the top 3 in Philadelphia, and

2)     they became locally famous for the black pepper steak they made – adding black pepper to the sirloin.

3)     Their best sandwich – the steak and everything – has tomatoes and green peppers, and have served them ever since they opened.  The ingredients work nicely together (although the above 3 COMBOS are better in our opinion).

If there were a 4) it would be the amazing buns used the first few years till George, the original owner, mysteriously disappeared (see story below).

8. Dominoies (steak C-, bun B+) total B

9. Quisnos, with their new prime rib, built like a cheesesteak: B

OTHER CHEESESTEAK PLACES that are fair . . . 

a)  Arby's, national chain (C bun, B steak), total: B-

b)     Charlie’s Philly Steaks in the Orem University Mall

c)    Great Steak Sandwich Co. on West Center Street in Provo (rated the 2^nd best clam chowder on our first blog entry),

d)    Cheesesteaks Shop (in downtown SLC, hidden in a food court of an office building on North Temple St.),

e)     Cheesesteak shop, Ft. Union Blvd, and 700 to 900 E, on north side of road. 

f)     Jerry’s Sports Grill, Orem (check this out under regular steak sandwiches, below, which I personally think it is, and a decent one at that) P.S. Their breakfast sandwiches were our favorite!
g. Great Steak Sandwiches, Provo

These are all better than the restaurants like Denny’s, IHOP, Shoney’s (no longer in Utah), Wingers, on and on, who serve cheesesteaks, including the sandwich shops like Subway, Blimpies, etc. all of which we’ve tested (as well as a lot more). 

See "regular" Steak Sandwiches below, at the end . . .

AMAZING STORY BEHIND ITALIAN PLACE

 In 1970 a guy from the East Coast was called up out of a devotional assembly at BYU in the Smith Fieldhouse by the speaker, Elder Paul H. Dunn, and asked to share his feelings about his beliefs. (I later heard the tape.)  He had a strong Brooklyn accent, and his background story was that he had been mixed up with organized crime before serving time in the Walpole State Prison in Massachusetts.

During or after his prison stay he became interested in the Mormon faith and, after his release, was baptized.  He left the crime family, snuck out to Utah (literally), and changed his name to George Asparso.  He gave a memorable, short talk that day. I remember from the audio tape a tough guy with a strong accent and his voice slightly shaking, speaking before 12,000 people.

About 1972 he started the Italian Place in Provo where J Dogs now is on 9^th North and 7^th East.  It had people’s names and “grafitti” (clean versions) written and carved all over the inside wood walls, and only a few stools on which to sit.  Every Friday during the 70’s some of us would stand in line to eat there.  The sandwich was unusual for Utah at that time, and the buns were amazing.  The sandwich, if compared today, may have been as good as DP Cheesesteaks, maybe not, but it was great.

The first few years that George ran it, the sandwiches were the best they would ever be in it’s thus far 41 year history.  Even after it went through two more owners, it remained king of cheesesteaks until DP came along.  (It even beat out cheesesteaks on the east coast we tasted, including in Philly (not including the famous Pats and Genos, which we didn't try.)

Then one day, George mysteriously disappeared.  His business partner, whom he either started it with or became a partner with after he launched it, continued the place, but the bun was changed a couple times over the years, and never returned to its days of glory with King George.  

What happened to George?  Rumors went wild – that he had left his faith and gone back East, even to rejoin the crime syndicate, or that he had simply disappeared with no one knowing what happened, or that he had been discovered by the mob coming to Utah hunting for him and he was rubbed out by hit men. 

A fellow associate of his involved with the restaurant later told me the real answer.  One day this fellow – don’t remember his name – said he was visited by a couple of New York toughs in suits, asking about “George.”  The fellow did not give them any answers, so the guys pushed him around and threatened him.

The thugs left, and the next day George never showed up for work.  The fellow telling me this said he had no doubt that George had been rubbed out, as he was still strong in his faith and loved the restaurant and would not have just taken off to rejoin his old lifestyle.

So George’s business partner continued it, sold out, and had to re-take it when the new ownership didn’t pan out. And after years of struggling he has now flourished and spread to several locations.  This part of their history is actually on their menu/brochure.  While no longer in Provo, their place is an institution in Orem and other spots, and rightfully so. It’s a good place to go for variety, as even the very best cheesesteak places can get old unless you try different ones occasionally.  And this one is good for that variety.

Wo.  How many Cheesesteak Shops can give you that kind of story?

BEST STEAK SANDWICHES IN UTAH
Note: unlike many of our tests, these items were not tested side by side; if they were, the order might be different. Also, we have tested another 20 that were merely C-grade, and did not make this list.

1. Station 22, Provo. Uses a combo BBQ and French dressing, great focacia bread, tomato, spring mix, red onion, well-seasoned tri-tip. A
2. La Jolla Groves, Provo and the Gateway/Salt Lake City A
3. The Habit, regional chain, several in Utah, California chain. Tri-tip sandwich rates an A-, but the tri tip is a select grade (lower end) beef made better if you order it with teriyaki sauce on the beef; the sandwich is served on a terrific, butter-grilled sourdough, mayo, lettuce, tomato; order the fresh red onions for a nice touch. The whole package pulls it up to an A-. Check out this place for low-cost, super burgers! Fresh, high-quality beef, charbroiled. (See our "Best Burgers In Utah" site.) A
4. Cafe 300. Tri-tip. Thick, good meat. Grade B+
5. Cubby's, Provo, Lehi. Tri-tip sandwich. Leave off the carmelized onions, is our recommendation: A- (first and third tests rated A-, but our second test rated only a C-. We learned from that, after asking the cook how to avoid it in the future: ASK for medium or medium rare, and they'll go out of the way to give you a better slice or two of whatever they have. Comes with spring mix and bacon. Optional sauces: buffalo sauce grade B+, or use a little BBQ sauce grade B+, or no sauce, still a grade grade B+
6. Carrabba's Grill, national chain. B+ (up from earlier B- with its Sizzler-like cardboard tasting Sirloin now upgraded). 
7. Iggy's. Utah chain. Prime Rib sandwich (we add here under steaks because prime rib, which they use, is really ribeye, of course). Their select grade beef rates a C-, but it's pulled up a notch by the wonderful butter-grilled sourdough bread. Total B/B+
8. Jerry’s Sports Bar, West Center St., Orem.  They call it a cheesesteak but it has things that really make it a fine steak sandwich, including lettuce  The meat could be a higher cut or perhaps higher grade, but that would shoot the cost up.  Their bun is better than most places. (These guys have excellent breakfast sandwiches, rated among the best in Utah. We’ll post a breakfast sandwich review in the future, since we’ve tried them already at every café and fast food place we found that sells them in Utah County, as well as some in Salt Lake County.) Grade B
9. Quisnos, national chain. New prime rib sandwiches are much better than average for       fast-food places. Rates at B (also listed under Cheesesteaks).