A Philly Cheesesteak is the ultimate comfort food. You have thinly-sliced pieces of steak and melted cheese in a long roll combined with cheese, onion and any number of tasty food stuffs.
Over the past 24- months Melbourne has experienced an influx of eateries selling Philly cheesesteaks with mixed levels of success. It would seem from sampling both the good and the bad that Beat Eats has deduced that the key to a good cheesesteak is freshly cooked steak, rich cheese, fresh ingredients and chilli sauce.
Sparrow’s Philly Cheesesteak that operates out of Catfish Bar at 30-32 Gertrude st. Collingwood gets the cheesesteak right and also enhances the basic concept with a range of flavour innovations. All cheesesteaks are $12 and come with your choice of American or Provolone cheese, and grilled onions.
The menu consists of seven flavour enhanced cheesesteaks that begins with the basic Cheese Steak; Mushroom Steak; Pizza Steak (pizza sauce, black olives, mushrooms); Sweet Pepper Steak (Italian sweet peppers); Hot Pepper Steak (Jalapeno peppers); Hoagie Steak (lettuce & tomatoes); and the Nearly Philly Vegetarian Chilli Cheesesteak.
The reality is that cheesesteak’s are not the best looking meals but as soon as you sinks their teeth into the white hot dog bun and the first rush of melted cheese and thinly slice strips of steak enter your mouth it is heaven.
The olives and sauce of the Pizza Steak coalesce with the hot cheese and steak to offset the richness with a profound saltiness that numbs the mouth from the heat of the main fillings.
The Sweet Pepper on the other hand is like rich and delicious steak and cheese flavoured desert – yes, that sounds mental but the pickled Italian peppers are amazing.
There are two sides that can be ordered with the cheesesteaks and that is either a basket of fries ($7) or a basket of onion rings ($8). The simplicity and the deep fried nature of the sides ring true to the origin of the cheesesteak – hot dog vendors in Philadelphia.
Sparrow’s Philly Cheesesteaks are all ordered from the kitchen window at the back of Catfish from 5pm til late Monday to Thursday then for lunch and dinner on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Most days you will see the smiling face of chef Sammy Lynch who happily retells the story of how Philly Cheesesteaks came were created.
“These brothers owned a hot dog stand, and on one occasion, decided to make a new sandwich using chopped beef and grilled onions. While one of the brothers was eating the sandwich, a cab driver stopped by and was interested in it, so they made him a hotdog with all regular fillings, just chopped steak instead of the dog. After eating it, the cab driver suggested that they quit making hot dogs and instead focus on the new sandwich,” smiles the bearded cook.
Catfish Bar is the perfect home for Sparrow’s Philly Cheesesteaks because the bar is renowned for its boutique beer selection. A tasty beer that is the perfect compliment for the spicy Hot Pepper Steak is the Epic Pale Ale from New Zealand that comes on tap or in the bottles.
BY FAT PRESTON
Sparrow’s Philly Cheesesteaks is located at Catfish Bar at 30-32 Gertrude St, Collingwood. Open 5pm ’til late Monday to Thursday from 12pm on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Visit thebeaufort.com.au or call 03 9347 8171 for more info.
