JJ’s Cheesesteaks

Food was so good. But the customer service sucks they need an customer service class.

These people treat all their customer like family. As a person visiting from Houston, we have a certain taste for food and people. They keep up with the evolving market to keep up with trends in foods. I enjoyed trying out new samples to see how they went over with customers. I enjoyed the cheesesteak made with beef a lot. The onions and bell peppers were cooked to perfection. The chicken was high quality and best of all, I like how I could see it being cooked. I wish that they offered more savory sauces like curry loaded or Caribbean savory blends to top everything off. Great food, good prices, and great people to support in your home town.

I used to LOVE this place, and would affirm it as the best place to get a cheesesteak in DC. However, I’ve been thrice since the guy from New York (I apologize, I can’t remember his name) left, and this place has gone down hill. Old, hard bread, less than yummy sandwiches… It’s not the same JJ’s anymore. The grill is rarely clean or hot on both sides and the oil and water/​seasoning isn’t added until the meat is overlooked. The result is a dry sandwich that takes far too long to be delicious, or worth the price. And be mindful the prices have increased from $ 7.75 to over $ 8. Heightened prices for old dry bread and even more dry sandwiches with slow service? JJ’s had lost a weekly customer in me and my friend base. When the food is fixed and brought back to its previous quality, we will be back.

In case you didn’t already know, the U street/​14^th st corridors is littered with hidden gems from bars to late night eats. Nestled right next to where Black and Orange used to be I’ve probably walked by the place at least 100 times and never gave it a thought. A few days ago that all changed. Walking by looking for a late night bite and that finally changed.
I stopped by JJ’s on a Thursday night around midnight and there was no line. All the subs are 8″ and you can pick from a variety of sandwiches or freestyle it. I went with the Champ which came with all the fixings but subs Pepperjack for Cheese Whiz and adds in green and banana peppers. I also included a side of steak fries.
I’m not an expert on steak and cheese but it was a pretty solid cheese steak. There was a good steak and filling to bread ratio. The flavor was similar to some of the cheese steaks I make at home. The steak was pretty good and had some solid flavor. I could taste Worcestershire sauce, the garlic… pretty tasty. The fries were pretty good and not overly salted.
A friend of mine ordered the Ben Franklin and they enjoyed their sub as well. I can’t comment on how this place is when packed but I can say on a leisure weekday if you’re in a mood for a cheese steak on 14^th st give JJ’s a try.

The best cheesesteake, this side of Philadelphia. The seasoning is perfect with the Ribeye steak that is a perfect compliment for the always fresh Philadelphia Amoroso roll

We had one with steak, onions, and cheese whiz (the Ben Franklin), and another with steak, onions, lettuce, tomato, mayo, and provolone (the George Washington).
Both were bland and unimpressive, but didn’t taste terrible. The steak could have used more seasoning. The tomato didn’t taste fresh. The bread was cold.
They have all the ingredients for a really great cheesesteak, and I think they just need to work on the details: freshness, seasoning, and little things like heating up the bread.

I keep going here wanting the cheesesteaks to be just a little bit better. They’re almost to a point where I could eat them once a week, but somehow just end up a bland. I feel like the ingredients are there, the variety is good, the specialty items are well conceived, but the execution just isn’t there. It’s great late night drunk food, but I won’t go out of my way for it.

they are under new managerment and you cant order online. But they still have it online that you can order. the new owner name is joe. i am at work and you have a time limit. and to order and then they say oh hey the internet to order online is down. this was so damn upsetting. lost me as a customer. thanks.

I stopped here with a friend as soon as we got into town… well, after wandering around trying to figure out what we wanted. The place was bright and clean and the menu was sufficiently extensive, but too much for my sleepy mind. I kept it simple with The Capitol and I loved it. I loved it so much I was really sad when I couldn’t finish it and had no way of saving the leftovers. The fries were good and ample, as well.
As far as customer service, the owner (I suppose) was an intimidating man. I needed something and was scared to ask. He was very nice about it, though (I am southern if that gives you any indication of my «Sugar Scale») and even almost cracked a smile.
I will definitely be returning, but I’ll be sure to have either an empty stomach or an empty cooler with me next time.

One of the weakest and disappointing cheesesteaks I’ve had for a late night meal. It’s cheap quality steak, greasy, cheesy, it’s a formula that’s very hard to get wrong. Here, somehow it’s unsatisfying, even if you are drunk, the cheesesteak is pretty bad. The bread sucks, the meat is not great, and the cheese isn’t very flavorful. While their specialty cheesesteaks sound good in theory, they come up flat. I’m avoiding this place next time.

I like the clear menu with easy-​to-​read prices and a wide selection of cheesesteaks. Even chicken, and mixed-​meat cheesesteaks.
The place had everything I could have wanted: place to sit, tv showing an NBA playoff game with the sound on, good food and free refills from the fountain on my drink. The cheesesteak reminded me exactly of what I used to eat as a kid, so for me it was perfect.
I don’t know about all these Philly snobs, I’ve had some cheesesteaks from there and that doesn’t mean these suck. It was so good I stuck around and had some cheese fries after. They were decent, not great. Reminded me of the high school cafeteria.
I see what other reviewers are saying about the service. There was a cook and a cashier and they weren’t exactly that friendly, but it didn’t even bother me enough that I remembered it until I read these reviews. All I took away was that I had a great cheesesteak.
I suppose I could deduct one star because they didn’t fawn all over me, but that sounds silly. The food was excellent on this trip and that gets my 5 stars.

Wanted to try something new, and try a cheesesteak in DC. Here are my thoughts:
Quality: Average. Does not compare to Philadelphia cheesesteaks. It’s something I would eat after a night of drinking if it was convenient.
Customer service: below average
Price: Average

Stopped by out of desperate pangs of hunger and getting out of the cold. This was my first cheese steak (ever), and although I had a feeling this wasn’t the best place to get one, I just couldn’t wait to get something to eat.
The sandwich wasn’t necessarily horrible– it was just bland and boring. I asked for a sandwich with cheese whiz, because I wanted to go all out with the experience, but I ended up with a sandwich that had provolone instead.
For $ 10, including a drink and fries, it wasn’t «bad», but it wasn’t good either. Not someplace I would return or recommend.

When in DC it’s always possible to find late night food, especially between the U Street corridor and Adams Morgan. A jumbo slice of pizza was out of the question so we landed at JJ’s. I ordered the veggie patty something sandwich with pickles, banana peppers, tomatoes and lettuce. It was not terrible but not good either. Just good enough to absorb the wine I drank. My friend took one bite of his sandwich and never returned for another. The processed cheese whizzy stuff left much to be desired and obviously a bad taste in his mouth based upon the facial expression. He tossed it and he opted for a jumbo slice place down the street as a resolution.

Perfect for late night food cravings when you don’t feel like pizza. Nice big chunks of chicken on the chicken cheesesteak, but I could do without the mayo.

They were closed early on a monday at 7? came back, got the «all american» chicken beef, and cheese on a great roll, took while for the dude to make, but the amount you get is humungus, it falls out, just been to philly, had some bad cheesesteaks, this way better

HEADLINE: EXTREMELY RUDE TO CUSTOMER AND DISRESPECTFUL TO THE GAY COMMUNITY
To start out, I’m not gay, but I (like many people in DC) are supportive of the gay community. The next 4 paragraphs are a clusterf*** of what happened with my Grub Hub deal. If you are interested, in the rude service, skip ahead to the 5^th paragraph.
BACKGROUND WITH THE GRUB HUB DEAL:
To make a long story short, I had a Grub Hub $ 5 off deal. You had to order online, spend at least $ 10, and use a credit card. I had problems with getting the promo code discount and had to call JJ’s and Grub Hub to resolve this after my credit card got charged 3 times from my attempts failing.

When I called JJ’s, and spoke with the cashier, he did not seem to know about it. I asked if I could speak with a manager, and he said that the manager was not here, but he did give me the # to call Grub Hub. I told him to cancel the order and told him that it was under $ 10 pre-​tax and I would need to add a drink and that might work since there was no option to cancel the order.

After talking to Grub Hub, the girl told me asked if it would be ok if the credit card got charged the full amount, and we would credit you the $ 5 on your credit card statement, which I said would be fine.
I called JJ’s back and explained what happened. He told me that he was told by Grub Hub not to put in the order, but I explained to the guy what happened and I wanted just the one order. I had to argue with the guy saying that they charged my credit card and to please start the order. I told him I was hungry and that it might take me 15 minutes to find parking anyway. Finally, he said that he would. While he was polite and wanted to help, he did not know how to handle this situation. I really wish a manager had been there.
BEGINNING OF THE COOK’S RUDE BEHAVIOR:
After walking in, the cashier was on the phone with what appeared to be Grub Hub, and I told him that I was the Grub Hub person. The cook abruptly confronted me saying that I was the one who had been holding him up with other customers and confusing the cashier. I said that I’m sorry, but I was already committed because my credit card had been charged, and I didn’t want to waste this much of my time.
‘YOU’RE GAY COMMENT’:
Then, the cook called me GAY… that’s right, gay. He said, ‘You’re gay. I don’t like that you wasted an hour of his time.’ The cashier told him stop, but he continue to berate me. He argued with the cashier despite there being other customers waiting for their food or to order. The cook called me gay several times, and I fired back raising my voice only slightly saying ‘What’s your problem calling me gay?’
The cook said, ‘I mean you are acting gay as in stupid,’ which is how I took it. Either way, it is really disrespectful to the gay community and just plain offensive and appalling behavior to any customer. As a representative of the restaurant, whether it is the manager, cashier, or cook, they should never ever call a customer gay regardless of which context it’s being used.
DENIED WATER:
The cook continued to berate me, and after my food was ready, since the cashier was on the phone, I asked him for a cup of water. The cook lashed out in anger saying we don’t have cups. Then, explained that ‘there are only regular cups. Are you going to pay for a soda?!’ Regardless, of whether of not there were water cups, the customer should NEVER be denied water. So, I went to the cashier, and said may I just have a soda for the stress, which he gave me. Out of sweet tea and 2 other sodas.
TIP:
The cook essentially called me cheap saying ‘For all the trouble you put him (the cashier) through, you aren’t going to leave a tip.’ I exclaimed, ‘I’m not leaving a tip because of your rude behavior.’ He said, ‘I don’t want YOUR $.‘
OTHER PARTS AND LEAVING:
Almost in tears but also anger from my experience, I ate my food quick. To add insult to injury, he put onions on mine, which I picked off and apparently left out the mushrooms. I didn’t want to deal with complaining about it and ate it with a few onions. Luckily, I’m not allergic to onions; I just don’t like them.
Normally, I would clean up after myself throwing away my trash, but I was feeling hot and did the opposite I turned my trash upside down on the table, which included the onions I picked off.
The cook said, ‘Are you going to clean that?’ And I said, ‘No, I’m pissed off with you.‘
He tried to make amends by apologizing, but the damage was already done.
CONCLUSIONS:
As for the taste of the food, it DOESN’T matter. I don’t care if it was the best cheesesteak in the world or DC, which it’s not, because the fact is that the cook burned a bridge, and I will NEVER come back.
Also, there should have been a manager there instead of the cashier, who was not trained to handle these types of situations.
Anyone who is gay or cares about the gay community should seriously consider this when thinking about eating here

It’s 2am. I’m out on U Street, drunk ‘n hungry. The bright lights of Black and Orange call to me. But what’s this? Who’s this little guy next to Mr. Popular being all dark and mysterious. Why is no one paying him any attention?
World Cup fever makes me root for the underdogs. From the outside JJ’s looks like a crap shoot. And cheesesteaks aren’t really a DC thing, what are the chances this’ll go well? But I took the risk and walked in.
Their menu is cute. Ben Franklin, the Capitol, the Leaning Tower of Pizza, the Mayor of Istanbul are just some names off their specialty menu. Prices fall around 7 bucks and the servings are huge. And it’s good. It actually tastes delicious. And now that I’ve had it, I definitely see myself craving it next time I’m drunk.
But there’s no seating, and the guy who rung me up was miserable. I asked him what was wrong and he said he was ready to go home to be with his children. I would like to assume that JJs is a great place to work and he was just tired, but MAYBE if management spruced up the place and empowered their employees a bit, they’d be happier to be feeding drunk idiots at 2 in the morning? Seriously my heart goes out to him and all the wonderful, hard working folks who deal with customers late night, and actually during the day too. But I digress…
Anyway, 3.5 stars because it’s cheap and delicious and I have no clue where else I could get a decent cheesesteak in my neighborhood. I rounded up because again, WC fever, underdogs, etc…

Ok so I gave this place 3 stars for the following two reasons– they don’t offer a half sub options and the bacon they put on my sub didn’t look like bacon, more like ham :-((unless the guy making it screwed up and really put ham).
I ordered the Champ cause I was in the mood for a Cheesesteak with something extra and I couldn’t get to the place of my choice (Jerry’s subs n pizza). Was ok, the meat was thinly sliced eventhough I had one big piece hiding in my sub. All in all yea I guess I’d go back.

DC Cheesesteaks. I was asked by one of my fellow coworker’s parent’s to find the best DC cheesesteak place, so when I searched to Unilocal… This popped up. Let’s get to it.
So, with fellow cheesesteak lovers I have to say, this place wasn’t bad but it wasn’t the best that I’ve had. No doubt though, I will visit this place again if I am in the mood for a nice cheesesteak in DC, unless I find somewhere else that trumps this restaurant. Neatly settled in a college-​esque atmosphere, this place is definitely a restaurant to try out.
I had 2 cheesesteaks. One was the the George Washington, and the MLK. One was steak, one was chicken. Which one did I like better? Of course the steak. It was pretty hefty as I picked it up it was full of lettuce, tomatoes, and provolone cheese. Now, you must be thinking: «This guy doesn’t know what a cheesesteak is if he has lettuce with it!» Well, I guess you’re probably right in the sense that I didn’t go to Philly to just have a cheesesteak, but when that happens I’ll come back and compare. Until then, I can only compare to what I’ve had. Plus, eating a cheesesteak with lettuce and tomatoes made me feel better in a «health» kind of sense.
The MLK. It was okay, I would have rather had another Washington as I didn’t really feel that the taste of the mild-​spicy marinated chicken was really any special. I guess the lesson here is to stick to steak considering they are a steakhouse.
If I’m in town again and feel like I have a craving for a cheesesteak this is a place where I’m going to stop by.