Dalessandro’s Steaks and Hoagies

When the New York Times covered Philadelphia food, they kept coming back to one thing: the cheesesteak. When Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon — a known fan — welcomed the city’s new #1 NBA draft pick, he brought a Dalessandro’s Philly cheesesteak on air. Michelin’s inspectors showed up eventually too, and gave us a Bib Gourmand. Sixty-six years in, we still haven’t changed a thing.

We’re a mom-and-pop shop on the same corner in Roxborough — just up from Manayunk — where William Dalessandro opened in 1960. Pull up a barstool. Watch ’em make it.

Deliveries don’t come once. Meat, bread, and produce show up throughout the day because that’s what fresh actually means around here. Listen for the spatula on the grill. That sound hasn’t changed either.

The meat’s finely chopped so the cheese and onions get into every bite. Serious Eats called it “the real prize.” Sixty-six years of regulars agree.

Soft roll. Grilled onions. Cheese. Same way, every time. That’s the guarantee.

Start with what’s on the grill: fresh-cut rib-eye. Worth knowing before you even think about toppings.

Three cheese options — American, Sharp Provolone, or Whiz — and if you want all three, that’s four bucks more and nobody’s stopping you. Then the counter: crushed hot peppers, banana peppers, sweet peppers, fried onions, roasted green peppers. Most of it’s free. All of it’s there to be used.

Not a beef person? Chicken steak is 100% white meat, same care on the grill, same build-your-own logic. The Buffalo Chicken Cheese Steak — hot sauce, blue cheese, American — goes its own direction. Worth a try.

We pour too. Domestic, imported, specialty, and seasonal beers — more than 20 options. A Dalessandro’s cheesesteak and a cold one. That’s the Roxborough way.

The sign out front says Steaks and Hoagies. Not for nothing. Italian, Capicola, Genoa Salami, Imported Ham — proper Italian deli hoagies. The burgers are Angus. And if you’ve got room for dessert, the Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie isn’t something you expected to find here. That’s the point.

First visit? Cheesesteak. Then come back for the rest.