Dalessandro's Steaks
Dalessandro's runs counter service, cash only, and the sandwiches are built with a generous hand on the meat. The cheesesteak with whiz, onions, and peppers is the move here, and the roll holds up to the load. It draws a split crowd: regulars who rate it among the city's best and skeptics who find it overrated. The record leans toward the believers. Know before going: bring cash and expect a line.
What to orderCheesesteak with onions and peppersCheesesteak with whizCheesesteak with provolone Call DirectionsFull review & visiting detailsRead the full review & visiting details
Roxborough's Locals-First Cheesesteak Counter
The house version loaded with griddled onions and peppers, on a roll that holds without going to mush.
Whiz wit, done straight, the way Dalessandro's has been doing it for decades in Roxborough.
Sharp provolone cuts the richness of the ribeye and gives the sandwich a cleaner finish than whiz.
Dalessandro's Steaks sits in Roxborough, well outside the tourist triangle at 9th and Passyunk, and that distance is part of the argument for it. This is a counter-service room, cash only, and the line moves the way a serious cheesesteak counter should: fast, no ceremony, no menu navigation required beyond the basics. The menu explains the order clearly, which matters at a place where the transaction is the ritual. The signature build is a packed roll: meat loaded to the edge, onions and peppers griddled in, cheese pulled across the whole thing. The roll holds the weight without going soft, which is the baseline test no bad cheesesteak passes.
Whiz is the traditional call, provolone for those who want something sharper. The pepper option pushes the sandwich into a different register, a little heat against the savory meat, and regulars treat it as the move here rather than an afterthought. The cheesesteak is the only serious subject on the menu, and the kitchen keeps its focus there. This is not a room for deliberation. The crowd is Roxborough and Manayunk neighborhood traffic, working people on a lunch break, and the occasional out-of-neighborhood diner who has done enough reading to know the tourist corner is not the whole story.
The price is moderate, the format is counter-service and walk-in, and the cash-only policy is not negotiable. Opinions on where Dalessandro's ranks among the city's cheesesteak arguments are strong and divided, as they are everywhere in this conversation, but the sandwich itself is substantive: serious meat quantity, a roll that does its job, and cheese applied with conviction. For the neighborhoods north of Center City, it is the local answer to a question the tourist map never bothers to ask.
© OpenStreetMap
Philadelphia, PA, 19128
Cash only, no exceptions; bring bills. The cheesesteak with onions, peppers, and whiz is the full build the room is known for.
