MENU GUIDES • 5 min read
What to Order on Your First Visit
Sixteen sections and about a hundred and twenty items. Here is the one order that tells you what this place is.
Order a plain Cheese Steak Philly with provolone. On a weekday, order it as A10 — a 7-inch with five wings, fries or onion rings and a drink. Boneless wings if you are eating a sandwich at the same time. Rolled ice cream after.
Sixteen sections and something like a hundred and twenty items. It is a lot to land on cold, and the honest risk on a first visit is ordering something perfectly good while missing the thing you would actually have liked.
So: what to order the first time, and what to leave for the second.
Order this first
If you only have one order to spend, spend it on a Cheese Steak Philly. Freshly sliced ribeye, chopped on the flat top, with your choice of cheese, on an Amoroso roll. Plain, with nothing else on it.
The reason for plain is that with nothing else in it you can taste what the ribeye and the roll are doing, and that is the thing this place is built around. Britannica traces the sandwich to 1930s Philadelphia, and the definition has barely moved since: thin-sliced beef and melted cheese in a long roll. Every other Philly is a variation on it. Once you know what the base tastes like, the other eight make sense.
Which cheese
Seven to choose from: white American, provolone, mozzarella, Cheese Whiz, pepper jack, Swiss and yellow American. This is not a throwaway decision — it changes the sandwich more than any topping does.
- Provolone — the safe, slightly sharp default
- White American — the meltiest, and the mildest
- Cheese Whiz — the Philadelphia answer, and worth trying once deliberately
- Pepper jack — if you want the sandwich to have an edge
Our explainer on what makes a cheesesteak goes through all seven, and chicken versus steak covers the other choice you will be asked to make.
One more thing on the sandwich: it comes in a 7-inch and a 12-inch, and the 7-inch is the right first order. It is a full adult lunch, it is the size every special is built around, and it leaves room to try something else. The 12-inch is close to double rather than a bit more.
Order wings with it
The two things this kitchen is set up to do are cheesesteaks and wings, and the combination is the point rather than a compromise. On a weekday there is a special built for exactly this: A10, a 7-inch cheese steak with five wings, with fries or onion rings and a drink.
That is the single best first order on the menu. You get both of the things worth trying, at sizes you can actually finish, with the side and the drink in it.
Bone-in or boneless
Bone-in is the traditional cut and holds sauce better in the folds around the joint. Boneless is breaded chicken breast, more meat per piece and far easier to eat alongside a sandwich.
First time, and eating a cheesesteak at the same time: boneless. Putting a sandwich down to deal with a wing does neither any favours. Once you come back for wings on their own, bone-in. The comparison is here, and if you have a preference between drumettes and flats, you can order all of one.
What to skip on a first visit
Not because any of it is bad — because it is a lot for a first impression:
- The seafood boil — excellent, and an evening rather than a meal. Come back for it
- The Tiger Steak — jalapenos and blackened beer sauce, with a warning on the menu
- The 12-inch — the 7-inch is already a full lunch
- Loaded fries as well as a side — they are a shared plate, not a side dish
- Ordering four fried things — easy to do here, and they all blur together
First time and eating in? Order the food, then order dessert separately when the plates go. Thai rolled ice cream is made fresh on a cold plate and starts softening immediately, so ordering it up front means eating it melted.
If cheesesteaks are not your thing
Three routes, depending on what you do want:
| If you want | Order | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Something lighter | A gyro or chicken wrap | Raw salad and cool cucumber sauce; the lightest thing on the menu |
| Seafood | The shrimp po’boy, dressed | Fried shrimp with the salad and mayo that balance it |
| A burger | The 5-ounce Cheeseburger, plus one addition | The Double is ten ounces and comes fully dressed |
| Nothing fried | A grilled chicken salad, or a wrap | Cheesesteaks are griddled, not fried, so those count too |
There is more on each of those in our guides to gyros, po’boys and what to order when you do not want fried food.
If you are ordering for more than yourself
The single most useful thing to know on a first visit with a group: ask for 12-inch sandwiches cut in half. Two 12-inch Phillys in different builds, cut, give four people a choice rather than a compromise, and cost less than four 7-inch sandwiches would.
Add wings by the count rather than adding more sandwiches — they scale further and split across a table better. Five pieces per person alongside other food is about right, ten if wings are the main event. More on sizing here.
Finish with the ice cream
Thai rolled ice cream is made to order on a freezing plate — poured, mixed, spread thin and scraped into rolls in front of you. Ten flavours. It takes a few minutes and it is worth the wait, and it is the thing most people do not realise is here.
After something hot and sauced it is exactly the right counterweight. How it is made and what is in each flavour.
The short version
A10 on a weekday: a 7-inch plain cheese steak with provolone, five boneless wings, fries and a drink. Rolled ice cream after. Leave the boil, the Tiger Steak and the 12-inch for the second visit. Start on the full menu.
Start here
Nine Phillys, wings from 5 pieces to 200, and a good deal in between.
Frequently asked questions
What should I order on my first visit?
A plain Cheese Steak Philly with provolone. On a weekday, order it as A10 — a 7-inch with five wings, fries or rings and a drink.
Which cheese should I pick?
Provolone as a safe default, white American for the meltiest, or Cheese Whiz if you want the Philadelphia version.
Should I get bone-in or boneless wings?
Boneless if you are eating a sandwich at the same time. Bone-in when wings are the whole order.
What should I leave for a second visit?
The seafood boil, which is an evening rather than a meal, and the Tiger Steak, which carries a warning on the menu.
Is there anything people miss?
Thai rolled ice cream. It is made to order on a freezing plate and most first-time visitors do not know it is here.
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