South Philly Experience - Los Angeles, CA

Being a cheesesteak fanatic, one of my first missions when I arrived to Los Angeles was to find a great cheesesteak.  Now, growing up close to Philly, I was raised on the originals, and that meant whiz was the cheese of choice.  The problem is that few places in Los Angeles offer up a cheesesteak with whiz as an option.  I did, however, hear of a food truck that offered a fairly authentic cheesesteak accompanied by good reviews.

Thanks to the age of technology, I became a Twitter follower of South Philly Experience.  When I caught wind of the truck in my neighborhood, I decided to check it out.  The cheesesteak was convenient for a quick lunch break, as it only took a few minutes to prepare.  As for the flavor, I found the cheesesteak to be appetizing, but a bit lacking.  The bread was an amoroso roll, the classic Philly style.  South Philly Experience claims to import it, which is a bonus.  However, it was just average and lacked the pizazz required in one of the key ingredients.  The meat was pretty good, chopped as is usual in a cheesesteak.  It did have some type of seasoning that I could not quite put my finger on.  Being accustomed to a classic cheesesteak, I found that to be a minor blip, but others may enjoy it.  As for the cheese, it was in fact whiz, giving the sandwich a boost.  Unfortunately, the sandwich overall, while not cold, was not piping hot, which decreased the gooey liquidity that makes whiz so appealing.

South Philly Experience offers up a pretty good cheesesteak, better than just any average cheesesteak spot.  It does not, however, separate itself above the pack.  I would and have returned, but would not go out of my way to get it.

Price: 6.5

Food: 6.5

Speed: 8

Overall: 6.5

Steel City Sandwich - Los Angeles Food Truck

As an avid viewer of the food programs featured on the Travel Channel, it would be hard to miss the legendary Primanti Brothers, holding a spot on nearly every food-related show the channel offers. Primanti Brothers first opened its doors in 1933 in the warehouse district of Pittsburgh, where the famous Primanti Brothers sandwich was born. The idea behind the sandwich was to give truckers that needed to get back on the road their meal in an all-in-one package. Hence, the idea to include the fries, cole slaw, tomatoes, meat, eggs (if desired), and cheese between two slabs of Italian bread, and you have a Primanti sandwich! The sandwich could be eaten using one hand and combined all the elements needed.

Having long craved one of these sandwiches and never having the opportunity to make it to Pittsburgh, I was enthused to find a Los Angeles food truck based on these Steel City staples. Although often across town, I checked Twitter one day to find that it had ventured over to the Burbank vicinity. Naturally, I headed over for lunch to get my first taste of the sandwich that had so long eluded me. After juggling menu decisions for a few minutes while waiting in line, I stepped up to the counter and was greeted by a friendly girl taking orders. I settled on the The Champion, which packs double meat (I chose capicola), a fried egg, and provolone cheese along with the typical slaw, fries and tomato.

One bite in and I was already impressed, the sandwich tasting even better than I was expecting. The hot, salty mixture of the meat and fries is offset by the cool touch of the tomato and vinegar-flavored cole slaw. One tip to really add to the flavor, not that it needs any more, is to add some hot sauce to the sandwich. The fries are the perfect style for this sandwich, soft with a strong flavor. The oil and vinegar in the sandwich serves as the perfect complement to the delectable fries. It must be noted that the sandwiches must be consumed quickly, as they fall apart quite easily if you let them out of your grasp. It is also important to get a bit of everything in each bite for the full effect of the sandwich.

Although the Steel City Truck does offer some other options in addition to sandwiches, such as pierogies, you really probably do not need any sides considering your sandwich already includes them! The prices are acceptable, but not great. My sandwich was $9, though you can get a Yinzer, which has single meat and no egg, for $7.

Bread: 6

Fries: 10

Slaw: 8 (Not usually a fan, but if I had to get it, this was up there)

Meat: 7

Egg: 7

Overall Taste: 9.5

Value: 6