Getting to Philadelphia from Brooklyn only takes minutes thanks to a new food truck serving the so-called sixth borough’s most famous local specialty.
The Philadelphia-born, Brooklyn-reared food truck, Phil’s Steaks, cooked up its first meaty cheesesteak last weekend on Bedford Avenue in the heart of Williamsburg’s already bloated snackhole.
The City of Brotherly Love is only 100 miles away, but authentic Philly-style sandwiches have been hard to find in Brooklyn since 2008, when Prospect Heights’s High Stakes Cheesesteaks closed.
Phil’s Steaks founders Jim Drew, JJ Jensen, and Kevin McConnell hope to change that by focusing on cheesesteaks and cheesesteaks alone.
“We didn’t want to be everything to everybody — people should want to come for one thing,” said Drew, who modeled the franchise after the world-famous South Philly cheesesteak joint Pat’s King of Steaks. “If you want a salad, you don’t want to come here.”
The recipe is simple: grill thinly-shaved premium loin tail beef from America’s heartland with onions, lightly toast a 10-inch loaf from Philly breadmakers Amoroso’s Baking, and put it all together with some provolone or American cheese, or a dollop of Pennsylvania’s favorite dairy product, Cheez Whiz.
They’re already making Keystone State transplants yearn for home — serving up 200 cheesesteaks on Saturday and running out of meat by 11 pm.
A half-sandwich costs $5.50 while a full sandwich, roughly a half-pound of beef, sets diners back $8.50 — a price affordable to Rocky Balboa back when he was just a hardscrabble pugilist from Philly’s Kensington neighborhood.
“They’re meaty steaks,” said Drew. “I don’t think anybody has eaten two yet.”
Phil’s Steaks, Bedford Avenue at N. Fourth. Street. 6 to 11 pm. For schedule, visit philssteaks.com or follow @PhilsSteaks on Twitter.
Reach reporter Aaron Short at ashort@cnglocal.com or by calling (718) 260-2547.
