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| - Yelp ratings and reviews really let me down with what to expect from this place. I'm going to give it a 2 star rating; it's a below average sandwich shop, and they don't have cheesesteaks.
My first impulse was to give it a 1 star, because zero wasn't available, and it was the worst cheesesteak I've ever eaten. I have had all kinds from around New York, New Jersey, and Philly. Philly's Best on Central here in Phoenix makes a passable cheesesteak, not the greatest, but at least you can tell what it's suppose to be. Then I realized Phoenix Cheesesteak Factory doesn't make cheesesteaks. Anyone can Google and confirm, it's obvious by looking at the sandwich it's not a cheesesteak. And if anyone has ever tasted a real Philly cheesesteak, it's unquestionable that this is nothing like a cheesesteak.
Two of the three main ingredients are not in this creation. They use flavored cheese (like southwest flavor in cheese, not cheese flavor). You can opt for what I believe is generic Cheez Wiz, but they don't use the brand name. And the meat wasn't what you are suppose to put in a cheesesteak. You can't substitute something completely and call it the same thing. "Can I have a Rum and Coke, but with Sprite and Vodka please? And an eggless omelete please."
To be honest, I was so distracted by the horrible meat that I didn't even notice if they actually used Amoroso or Vilotti-Pisanelli rolls like they should have. Most important in a cheesesteak is the super-thin sliced meat that is fried and browned perfectly to give that magical amazing cheesesteak flavor and texture was NOT anywhere to be found in this restaurant. Instead there were big thick hunks for something, sorta grayed, that looked like how you chop up meat to feed to your dog.
Saying the creation by Phoenix Cheesesteak Company is a "Philly cheesesteak" is like throwing sun-dried tomatoes and a slice of American cheese on a tortilla and calling it "Chicago Deep-Dish Pizza." The choice of ingredients, and every step of the preparation is important in how food tastes. That's why baked potatoes are different than mashed potatoes, ground chuck is different than new york strip. All this is lost on the majority of Phoenix, or at least the Yelp reviewers here who seem to say it's the best Philly cheesesteak they ever had.
Then, they take it a step further, and they season the meat excessively. The reviews here brag about the "range of sauces" and green chilies, jalapeños, and avocado. Clearly you are talking about a sandwich, maybe some sort of hoagie. But that's not a cheesesteak.
What they make at Phoenix Cheesesteak Company is a sandwich of some sort, with cheese on it, and some meat on a long bun. That alone does not make it a cheesesteak. Not all meat and cheese on a long bun are cheesesteaks.
Calling that sandwich a cheesesteak was like using sliced tomatoes instead of tomato paste for a slice of New York Pizza (which is very different than Chicago Deep Dish, BTW). You can argue all day about if it's better or worse, but you can't even begin to pretend they are the same thing.
Even for whatever it was, it was disgusting. The meat was gristly and had hunks of fat I had to spit out. At least the "plain" one I had was covered with enough seasoning that it tasted like it was freezer burn meat that someone was trying to use jalapeno and chili to hide the taste of the meat gone bad. I'm not sure what the seasoning was, but whatever it was I had an allergic reaction or something and had extensive ulcers on my tongue before my third bites, but I've never had big sore circles like that on my tongue before. I ended up throwing whatever that sandwich was into the trash, then had to smell the disgusting thing for an hour by my desk until I decide I'd take the trash out to the dumpster to get rid of the smell.
But in the end it was the name of the thing I ordered, and the name of place itself that were totally misleading. It's not a "cheesesteak company, in Phoenix" at all. It's a place that has invented something they call the "Phoenix Cheesesteak" that bears very little resemblance to Philly cheesesteak. If you don't know what a cheesesteak is suppose to be like, maybe think about craving McDonalds french-fries with your Big Mac, and having someone serve you over-seasoned home fries instead, sure, it's a fried potato, but it's not french-fries.
What's next "Phoenix Burger Company" that only serves fish and sliced beef, but no ground beef?
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