Philadelphia, PA
- After 40 Years of driving up and down Route 73 in New Jersey, I finally stopped at The Jug Handle Inn and Jay's Elbow Room. It was a day of cheesesteaks and drinking with Amigo Dan and special guest eaters' oldest daughter Jordan and her Karl. The first stop was The Jug Handle Inn, Cinnaminson, NJ.
The Jug Handle Inn and Jay's Elbow Room Cheesesteaks
The Jug Handle Inn was pretty much what I expected. They have a nice piece of property and use every bit of it. The parking lot easily held the COVID-19 January Thursday lunch crowd cars. Still, I can see the spots filling up quickly on lovely days with outdoor activities. Inside, you instantly get the feel of a long-standing neighborhood bar and restaurant. They have specials for every day of the week.
We ordered the Cheesesteak special: mushrooms, onions, green peppers, marinara, and cheese. It came on a traditional roll that held up nicely to many marinaras. It had a fair amount of meat that held its own with many different flavors. There was a fair amount of cheese with a good melt. The fried onions, mushrooms, and marinara played nicely with everyone else.
Our next stop was Jay's Elbow Room in Maple Shade, NJ. I always thought Jay's was a 'drinking' bar. I imagined old-timers in slacks and blazers drinking their lunches at lunchtime and college-aged people packed into Jay's at night. I was shocked and happy at how much effort they put into excellent service and food.
We ordered the cheesesteak special: onions, mushrooms, peppers, and sauce. Phil knew we were sharing the cheesesteak, so he served it on four plates. It shouldn't be, but it is still surprising how two cheesesteaks with the same description can be very different. This cheesesteak had more extensive pieces of fried onions and green peppers. They added a lot of flavors. This cheesesteak also had more cheese and less sauce than our 1st one. The most significant phenomenon about Jay's cheesesteak is that we each had a different flavor stand out—two good stops.
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The Philadelphia Cheesesteak Adventure - Hi, my name is Jim Pappas, and I have eaten hundreds of different cheesesteaks in the last year. A year ago, on May 16, 2018, I started my Philadelphia Cheesesteak Adventure to find the ultimate cheesesteak. To see more great cheesesteak places, check out my website at The Philadelphia Cheesesteak Adventure.
