Karley B.
Yelp
A person we respect, who grew up in Philadelphia, insisted that we try Chubby's, upon hearing that we were trying as many of the cheesesteak shops that we could find. Not only that, but we were instructed that we should get the pizza steak with onions and green peppers.
This is the first place we've gone where we had a waitress, which isn't really the vibe that we've experienced elsewhere. While we have eaten inside many Philly cheesesteak restaurants, it's always been more order at the counter and seat yourself. I like it that way. Truthfully, as long as my beverage isn't empty, I want to be left alone while I am eating. I'd much rather return to a counter to get another drink, or to fix any errors. I like doing this on my time, instead of waiting for someone to come check on me. And, truthfully, I'm crap with carrying cash, so it's easier on me to not have to leave a tip. Because I WILL tip if there's table service of any kind. Thankfully our group had a fiver, or someone was going to have to go find an ATM. I wasn't expecting table service.
And, sadly, our waitress got our order wrong and didn't come check on us, and because the place is ALL booths, we were seated in the very back and my companions were trapped in the booth by my wheelchair. If I had used any of the other booths, other patrons and the waitress would not have been able to squeeze behind me to get to the other tables, or even to the bathroom. It's a very narrow space, and I crashed into some sort of cabinet on the way out because I couldn't see it behind me as I tried to back away from the booth.
When she finally did come back to see how we were doing, were were all pretty much over it. She checked her order and did admit that she hadn't put in our order correctly (we asked for onions but didn't get any, and in my opinion, the grilled onions is the most necessary part of a cheesesteak, after the cheese) but she didn't give us a discount or anything.
It was an okay sandwich, but since it was a pizza steak, it really didn't measure up to what we normally order. The meat was alright, the cheesepull was nice. But again, I prefer American or whiz, and this one had provolone. None of us cleared our baskets (instead of plates).
We went across the street to their competitor (which is amongst my top 3) to pick up a sandwich to ship to my boyfriend's dad in North Dakota, where we met an older woman who claimed to live in the neighborhood. She said that all the locals eat at Chubby's. This makes sense, considering it takes close to an hour to get a sandwich at Dalessandro's. I wouldn't wait that long either, if I were simply trying to satisfy a craving. But when it's a special trip/adventure the wait is expected and part of the story that you will tell others. So really, the locals aren't necessarily eating at Chubby's because it's better quality. Is it the local money that keeps Chubby's open? Maybe. I do think that they could offer a decent cheesesteak, but I also think it's interesting to know that our friend did NOT get the pizza steak, and he wasn't particularly thrilled with his sandwich either. His #1 is By George's in Reading Terminal, BTW.
All told, if you're going to try as many cheesesteaks as you can in Philly, Chubby's should definitely be on your list, but be aware that it's a whole different experience. It's a DINER experience, not fast casual.