NYC Food Truck Lunch: Pepper Steak From Phil's Steaks

Perry, the founder of New York Street Food, brings you his latest review on New York City street food.

The first food truck to hit NYC with authentic Philly cheese steaks, back in January 2012, was Phil's Steaks. We haven't been to Phil's for lunch in a few years, so it seemed like a good time to check back in.

Prices have obviously gone up in 3 years, with basic cheese steaks going for $10.75 and specials going for $11.75 for 10" heros. If you have a smaller appetite, all the 6" heros are under $10. They even have a veggie version on the menu, if that's your thing.

For those interested in the quality of the beef, one of the owners previously told us they tried 3 different brands of beef before settling on one they liked. We're not experts on Philly cheese steaks, but the beef was thinly-shaved, not fatty, grilled, and tasty, especially with the cheese.

We chose provolone cheese, which has more of a bite than American cheese or Cheez Whiz, the other options. The provolone cheese stood up well to the hot and sweet peppers, and is actually cheese, unlike Cheez Whiz, which is a "cheese product'.

Phil's uses Amoroso's bread for their heros, which is brought in from Philadelphia on a regular basis. These are soft but solid rolls, but the bread can get soggy from all the steam coming off the beef. Eating the sandwich quickly is recommended.

The combination of sweet and hot peppers was good, with the hot peppers taking over on a couple of bites, and the sweet peppers imparting a nice accent on the other bites.

In addition to the cheese steak, we found a little dessert surprise in the bag. That's something we didn't get last time we went to Phil's.

You can find Phil's Steaks on Twitter here, on Facebook here, and their website is here. They make the rounds of the regular food truck spots in midtown and downtown, and also serve at events and festivals like the Governor's Ball last weekend.