Phillies Phamous Cheesesteak

We had the pleasure of visiting this food truck while they were at Jailbreak Brewing Company in Laurel, MD today. My husband has been craving this food truck for awhile, so we killed two birds with one stone today with their stop at this establishment. We shared the 6 inch Original Philly for $ 7… it was the bomb dot com! So flavorful and spicy… this sandwich definitely served a kick with it! Not to mention the workers were super friendly and fast! I’ll be on the lookout for them in my area again!

It was a bit pricey, but definitely delicious. The guys were really nice and helpful explaining the way their menu and ordering process works. Loved it. Would definitely eat here again.

The cheese steak is pretty good but at $ 15.40 for a large with a can of soda, I feel phrustrated and taken advantage oph. The missing apostrophe in the truck’s name must be found.

Best cheesesteak truck I’ve tried in the District. Super friendly staff and fast service. Granted, I was the only person in line at my most recent visit, but the whole process was 5 minutes start to finish. I imagine they only have so much grill space so it could get hectic when they’re busy, but I’d say it’s worth the wait. The other cheesesteak trucks I’ve tried don’t even compare.
UPDATE 9÷16÷15: I have now experienced the 30 – 45 minute wait people were bitching about and agree it’s rather ridiculous. However, I’m not taking off a star because my cheesesteak was still excellent. While I appreciate freshly MTO food, certainly the existing process can be streamlined for efficiency. Currently, the «we’re super busy» process is: patrons order via filling out the order form themselves and handing it through the window to one of the two line guys. A third gentleman (Guy #3) receives the completed order and calls out the name on the order and takes payment at that time. (In my previous «I’m the first customer there» experience, Guy #3 filled out the form as you tell him what you want and he makes the ticket handoff.)
My suggestions: while it’s nice having patrons fill out their own order form (saves your time and gives customer a bigger sense of control), the form is missing many relevant fields (what kind of drink/​chips?) that can seriously speed up the order expo process. During «oh shit we’re busy time,» Guy #3 receives a completed order with corresponding ticket, and calls out the name. Guy #3 hands the box to the customer and then asks what kind of drink/​chips the customer wants and dig through the corresponding cooler/​box for about 30 seconds to locate the customer’s selection. Next he asks if the customer wants a bag and then an awkward handoff occurs where he hands you a bag while you’re juggling a soda and napkins and simultaneously trying to hand him a credit card for payment. My point is it’s slow and inefficient.
However, I would have even harsher criticism for this bungling expo job if poor Guy #3 had a line of cheesesteaks ready to be delivered to hungry customers (who at that point had been waiting in the hot sun for over 30 minutes and convened a kind of ad hoc town hall meeting trying to ascertain who ordered before who and if it really was taking this long), but the real sticking point seemed to be the two other guys on the line. As I mentioned, there were two of them: one operating the grill and the other ostensibly providing line expo support, prepping sub rolls and assembling orders. Like I said, I appreciate food made to order, but maybe get your ticket organizing game tight and when it’s busy start consolidating orders? For example, if you see 5 orders for cheesesteak, put 5 times the amount of steak on the grill and portion when they’re done, with customized cheese while the other guy preps the rolls. Steaks done? Boom-​boom-​boom-​boom-​boom, 5 cheesesteaks. Order up!
As you might imagine, I have experience as a line cook, specifically a cheesesteak cook, and I honestly can’t imagine how it can take 30 minutes to make and deliver ~12 cheesesteaks when you have someone else prepping buns for you and assembling the order. Still, it was tasty as hell. Don’t skip the cheese fries.

I was out on my break and decided to take a walk around chinatown. As I was making my way back to the office, I see this food truck and decide to take a peek at the menu. It was a bit late in the day, so all they had was an end of day menu. It simply consisted of a $ 5 philly or chicken cheesesteak with onions and cheese.
I ordered up a the philly with onion and it came out quickly. It was cooked up fresh per order. The quality and flavor of the meat show that they care about their product. the roll was soft and the meat was juicy. There was plenty of cheese to help bind the cheesesteak together.
I will definitely be back for another!

Truck was stopped across from the Verizon center ⁶⁄₄. Tried the nine dollar meal. 6 inch Cheesesteak (think it’s a little bigger than that), fries, and a drink.
The food came out fairly fast (considering the number of orders ahead of me).
The cheesesteak was good overall. Decent bread and a good serving of well seasoned meat. The fries left a bit to be desired but it’s a cheesesteak truck not a fry truck.
For 9 dollars, definitely a good value and tasty. Worth a try if you are in the mood for cheesesteak.

Walked by about a dozen food trucks lined up t the steps of the Portrait Gallery. Chose Phililies Phamous by a process of elimination.
I placed our order with an adorable little boy. Then proceeded to wait. Yes, it did take a bit long. But my food was being prepared fresh, and not sitting under a heat lamp. I sat on the steps of the NPG and enjoyed my lunch along with a bunch of other humans and several birds.
I ordered the 6 inch with provolone, mushrooms & onions. In hindsight, I should have added mayo. The chopped up meat was different, but did not affect the taste. The cheese was minimal though. I would have liked more cheese in my cheesesteak. It was tasty though and more than filling. I got the special for $ 9 which included my sandwich, fries & a bottle of water. Which I found reasonable. Plus I was full after ½ my sandwich. So technically, I got 2 meals for my $ 9.

Sandwich was just ok — nothing spectacular. For the money ($ 13), it’s way too expensive. There are many other better and more reasonably prices food trucks to enjoy so I’ll prob skip this one in the future.

Had the steak with provolone. Decent but not wowed. Friendly service. Not in a rush to return

So I just recently came from a trip to Philly and had the most amazing cheesesteak and was still on a cheesesteak fix so I decided to try out a truck.
Now I know a lot of the reviewers were not happy about the chopped up meat in the these phillies but it honestly didn’t bother me. Why? Because I just bought this off of a truck outside of my office and I’m wearing my work clothes. The chopped up meat made it easier and cleaner to eat. The bread was soft making biting into this goodness easy.
Was it the best cheesesteak I’ve ever had? No. But was it enough to quickly satisfy a craving? Yes.

I got the cheesesteak with american cheese, onions, and mushrooms. The guy selling me their cheesesteak said that it’d be the best cheesesteak I’ve ever eaten, and I responded by saying that I’m pretty critical given that I grew up in Philly and have eaten plenty of cheesesteaks throughout my life. The cheesesteak overall was just ok, but the meat lacked flavor and seemed more minced than sliced, and was a bit more light-​gray than I’m used to seeing. I’ve gotten better cheesesteaks at food carts half this size in Center City.

Phillies Phamous puts the steak in cheese steak. A lot of steak, but not much else.
On the plus side, the meat is very moist and flavorful. My steak had a very beefy flavor and was not greasy at all. I ordered the extra meat on my 6″ steak and it was overflowing — there was another sandwich’s worth of meat at the bottom of my container after picking up the sub. Good thing they gave me a fork.
Service was fast & efficient. I tend to go on the earlier side so the line wasn’t bad and I got my sandwich very promptly. They use an outside order taker with pre-​printed slips to speed things up & increase accuracy.
The main minus is unfortunately common in DC — soft rolls. Soft rolls might work for some low-​moisture cheeses (especially with the mostly grease-​free steak I got), but if you’re doing Whiz, you need a roll crusty enough to stand up to it. By the time I got to the second half of my sandwich, it was a soggy mess.
It didn’t help that the Whiz was only spread on the roll. When I first opened mine, I couldn’t even see the whiz. It was there, but the resulting sandwich was way more steak than cheese. Same thing with the mushrooms — there was only enough for a real mushroom taste in about every other bite. If I go back, I’ll pay the extra $ 1 for more cheese, and ask to have some on top, too. I don’t know how I’ll get them to use enough mushrooms.

Phillies Phamous makes a phuking decent chicken cheesesteak, no phooling!
It may take a while to get it, but it’s not due to indolence — the chef was slamming away at the grill for 20 minutes straight while he was preparing mine and two other patrons’ orders. I am assuming this time consumption is due in part, because he grills the meat fresh from the fridge to the fire, which means that he doesn’t have a massive pile of meat that has been sitting around for hours that he scoops up and throws into a sub roll, but I have no way to confirm nor deny this business’s method of operation.
After patiently waiting, my 6 inch {I can’t handle putting 12 inches down my throat} chicken cheesesteak arrived in it’s full-​everything-​but-​the-​mayo-​glory. Indeed, it was a glorious mess of finely diced chicken meat, melted provolone, tiny bits of grilled onions, hot peppers, and a mesh of other condiments that tasted…
like any other chicken cheesesteak that I could have gotten at any other local grill, deli, or corner liquor store.
Maybe the steak is better, but I wouldn’t know since I don’t dig cow. I’ll leave that one up to you’s cow eaters to ponder over.
If you’re in the mood for a cheessteak — give these guys a visit. It’ll cure what ails ya, but don’t expect to be awestruck by the final taste.
As for the *true* Philly experience… well, I didn’t get stabbed in the back, so I can’t give this truck a full gold star for bringing a little piece of Philly into the District, but I can give them — one valiant effort!

I visited the Phillies Phamous food truck recently and I will say while there are some things I do not like about the truck, the majority of the the things I do like and I enjoyed my visits.
Let me start with the negatives.
The wait time is ridiculous long, I spent a good 20 minutes in line waiting for my food. Part of it was the line was very long that day letting me know this is a popular truck or at least a popular idea for a truck.
My sub was soggy at the bottom, it was fine and sturdy at the top but for some reason the bottom of the sub was wet.
They were a bit stingy with the cheese, there just was not a lot of cheese throughout the sandwich, also they were a little stingy with the ketchup, when I ask for ketchup I want you to drench my sub with ketchup.
With that said here are the many positives.
First the price is right for the size of this sub and the amount of meat, 7 dollars for the 6 inch sub alone can’t be beat. Add an extra dollar and you get a soda and a bag of chips, great deal for a food truck.
The staff is friendly, the line is long but the guy taking the orders talks to you an explains why the line is long and their process for taking orders, it all makes sense when he breaks it down to you.
The meat is cooked to order right there and there are a variety of toppings you can add to you, tomatoes, mushrooms, sliced onions, mayo, ketchup etc. There is a laundry list of toppings that you can add.
Finally and most importantly, the sandwich is pretty good. Nice taste, the bread appears to be fresh other than the sogginess it was good quality.
Definitely worth a visit if this truck stops in your area. Please enjoy!

Decided to check out this food truck for the first time on one of the hottest days of the year, it had to have been at least 105 degrees. But I was hungry, and after seeing the crowds at this truck a couple weeks earlier near L’Enfant Plaza, I figured I’d give it a shot.
Fortunately, the hot weather deterred the long lines and I was able to walk right up and place my order. Phillies Phamous serves the standard Philly-​style cheesesteak and you can choose either beef or chicken. What I appreciate most about them is the various toppings you can choose … mushrooms, fried onions, pickles, sweet/​hot peppers, etc. And for the cheesesteak purist, you can simply order a plain steak with cheez whiz.
My favorite combination is a ribeye steak with provolone, mayo and pickles. I only order a 6″ but it’s packed full of delicious flavored meat that’s NOT GREASY! That makes such a huge difference between a great cheesesteak and a bad one in my opinion. It also means after I walk back to my office, I don’t have to worry about soggy bread (gross!). Overall the cheesesteaks don’t blow your mind, but they are very tasty if you’re craving one.
For $ 8 you can get a 6″ steak, chips and a soda, which is a great deal for downtown DC. When the lines are longer, they have someone walk thru the line to place orders and carry a little credit card machine if you don’t have any cash on you. The workers are pretty friendly and patient. I’ve been a few times and no matter how many people were in front of me, they always get my order right! Lord knows if I walk all the way back to my office without pickles, I’d be a little pissed lol
If you want something filling for a decent price, choose Phillies Phamous!

This is the kind of sandwich that stays with you for awhile because it is a delicious sandwich!
This truck’s ordering system is a bit different. Someone comes to you and takes your order on a pad of paper and then you wait. The guy taking orders is really friendly and explains the whole process very well. There was a line on Thursday and the guy said that chicken orders are quicker than beef. I ask the guy about this and he explained that not as many people order chicken and the chicken is precooked so it’s just getting warmed up. The beef on the other hand is cooked right then and there and takes a bit longer. He said that they don’t taste all that different and the chicken is healthier. Sounds good enough to me!
I order my 6 inch chicken sandwich with tomato, mustard, grilled onions and american cheese (I think) and pay my $ 7 cash (not sure if they are cash only). I wait to receive my order and it wasn’t exactly fast, but that’s ok because this sandwich is worth the wait.
1) It is huge and it will keep you full. 2) The ingredients are really good. The chicken was juicy, the mustard was straight up yellow mustard, the onions were cooked well and the cheese was perfectly melted. The bread is soft and tasty and yes it could be crustier. If not a different bread, how about throwing it on the grill for a few moments so that the interior gets a little toasty. Introduce some of that maillard reaction on the bread! Yeah, I liked that sandwich.
Breakdown:
The food: Really good. If you want a good sandwich that fills you up, you gotta hit them up.
The value: I think $ 7 isn’t bad at all for a massive sandwich!
The experience: It can be a long wait, but the guys there are friendly.
4 stars?: Gotta get that bread a little heartier!
Would I return?: If I want a nice filling sandwich, then I sure would!

Caught the Phillies Phamous outside of Nats park after the Yankees put on a baseball clinic the first night of the series. Not a long line and a hell of a way to wait for metro lines to clear the digestion.
With one person ahead of me and two behind me it took about five minutes to get a steak sandwich. I got sweet peppers, grilled onions, tomato, mayo and provolone. I split a foot long with a buddy. I was surprised, not only at the portions (a foot long was 4 servings) but the amount of meat that they piled high. 13 $? IF this were lunch, I would be upset, but it’s a post win, waiting for the metro lines to go down ballpark snack. Initial thoughts, not super greasy like some philly steak places try to do. The meat seemed to be lean, the peppers TASTED as though they weren’t from a can /​jar.
I’m seeing a great debate over the bread of the sandwich in other reviews. My bread was on the skinny side. To handle the amount of meat, pepper, onions, and cheese the chef piled on to my sandwich, the breads gotta be a little bit thicker. If you’re going to be generous, you’re going to have to make sure she can handle all that. So a ‘crustier’ bread would make for a BETTER sandwich, but I’m not going to say that is a deficiency in the current marketing of the food.
Overall, would I eat here for lunch? Personally, no, but because I feel like I would end up getting the ITIS and my boss would put it on me for falling asleep at work. Post-​event snack? Yes. Delicious.

Good lord! 14 food trucks out in L’Enfant today. And Phillies Phamous was the one that caught our eye, mostly because our office had an argument why there didn’t seem to be a cheese steak truck. Ask and you shall receive I guess.
We left super early figuring it was going to be a busy lunch and had a pretty easy time ordering. I got the 6 inch steak with lettuce, tomato, mayo, provolone, and sweet peppers. After waiting what seemed a bit longer for smooth food truck service they called my number and picked it up. One thing I noticed before even taking a bite was how well the sandwich held up after waiting for my coworkers orders and the walk back, the bread did a nice job.
The sandwich itself was very tasty, nicely filled with what seemed like quality finely chopped meat. The 6″ did a good job for my appetite. A coworker who’s from South Philly who’s opinion on these matters means a lot thought the sandwich was pretty legit also. Only real complaint was he felt it was a bit on the expensive side, $ 12 to get the foot long. But for $ 8, I got a half, chips and a drink, the sandwich itself was pretty full.
If I get a craving for another one, or just a sandwich in general from a food truck, I’ll probably hit up this one again.

16 trucks in L’Enfant by the time I got my lunch!
45 mins I waited until I got my food.
13″ of sandwich that was meh.
0% chance I’ll wait in line that long again.
The folks manning the grill seemed to be working their butts off but they’re going to need to figure out how to be more efficient to keep the line moving. Good luck to them.

I guess I’ll be the first to review.
For your meat options, there is either chicken or beef. I chose beef, along with provolone, mushrooms, onions, and mayo. For the 6in it cost $ 7 and for the footlong it costs $ 13. I went for the $ 13 because I’m a big eater.
The wait was long and took up pretty much all of my lunch break, but these guys are new so I can tolerate it a bit. I figure, this sandwich better be amazing cause I’ve been waiting way too long for this sandwich and it costs $ 13, but I was very much DISAPPOINTED when I received it. It was in a container that clearly wasn’t meant to fit a footlong sub in, but I’m still gonna judge the sandwich regardless of appearance.
I get back to the office and I’m not expecting much. However, after eating it, it was a tasty sandwich, but I was also starving. The saving grace of it was the bread, but the sandwich as a whole wasn’t anything spectacular to warrant the prices. You might as well just go to Subway and get double meat, there are also many Deli’s out there that provide a equal or better cheesesteak for much cheaper. Heck, you might as well go to CarnivoreBBQ and get the brisket for $ 9 (I know, not comparable, but much better value for your money).
So if they want me to consider them to be worth my time, they need to improve their prep time, get better packaging, lower their prices or make the sandwich worth the money.