Uncle Gus’ Steaks has opened in the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia, bringing together three Philly recognized restaurant owners to make a sandwich which immediately jumps into every conversation of “What’s the best cheesesteak in Philly?”.
UPDATE: YouTube Uncle Gus’ Steaks Experience Video – Keep Scrolling!
This new cheesesteak focused shop trio-partnership includes two reading terminal veterans; DiNic’s and Pearl Oyster Bar. The third big name in the group is Angelo’s Pizzeria of South Philly!
And the moment you learn that Angelo’s Pizzeria is providing the rolls for Uncle Gus’ (as well as having a big input on the steak’s ingredients and preparation)… likely your response is “ohh I have to try that”.
Plus Angelo’s brings a little bit of a South Jersey connection to Uncle Gus’!
To explain what likely will make Uncle Gus’ a must-try sandwich for cheesesteak lovers, you need to understand Angelo’s of South Philly (9th Street).
Angelo’s are ranked by many as having the best pizza and cheesesteaks in Philadelphia, particularly after Dave Portnoy of Barstool Sports gave Angelo’s top scores (for both) on his “one bite pizza review” social media channels. YouTube
Five years later, the YouTube version of the pizza review has 2 million views and Angelo’s South Philly has a constant line of customers waiting down the sidewalk for their orders This then lead to a review of the Angelo’s cheesesteak, also earning a top score. “That’s Spectacular”
The popularity of course is not simply about the review.. it takes an amazing product made with tons of care… Like I said, Danny makes all of their cheesesteak rolls inside the small shop!
And the connection to South Jersey? Angelo’s owner Danny DiGiampietro originally started his shop in Haddonfield before relocating it to 9th St. Philadelphia back in 2019… Plus Danny is a Gloucester County resident!
With the same rolls and a similar style preparation available at Uncle Gus’ in the Reading Terminal Market… maybe the lines will start balancing out between the two cheesesteak hotspots.
Well at least for my mid-week visit to Gus’ on Day 3 of opening was a fast experience!
And let’s just get this out of the way up front for my South Jersey readers. If you’re thinking of driving over to the Reading Terminal Market and Uncle Gus’ Steaks… Check the Reading Terminal Market website for details on reduced parking!
The currently show these two parking garage options:
2 HOUR DISCOUNT PARKING
With $10 Market Purchase & Merchant Validation
- $4 – 11th & Arch St. Hilton Garden Inn Garage
- $7 – 12th & Filbert St. Parkway Garage
Another good option is to make a day of it and take the Patco train over. This time of year there are many holiday oriented activities in the area including the Macy’s light show and the Christmas village at City Hall.
Uncle Gus’ Steaks – Reading Terminal Market
I first heard about Uncle Gus’s Steaks from the Inquirer’s Michael Klein who wrote about them on November 18th, and I knew had to stop over and check them out! (Michael’s chats with all three owners and offers great background on all of the restaurant partners)
As mentioned the location is in the popular Reading Terminal Market in Center City, which is on 12th St. between Market and Arch (Convention Center across Arch, and the Downtown Marriott across 12th)
Uncle Gus’s takes over a prime spot along the 12th street side of the market (next to Bassetts Ice Cream), in a unit which was previously Carmen’s Famous Italian Hoagies and Cheesesteaks. The space became available when owner Carmen retired after many decades of serving delicious food.
The three partners moved quickly to open Uncle Gus’s which offers the simplest of menus which comes down to a “12 inch steak made on an Angelo’s roll”… with the only options coming down to a variety of cheeses and three add-on choices.
There are no French fries. No “cutlets”. No hoagies. Just delicious 12-inch steaks.
The name Uncle Gus’ Steaks? According to the Reading Terminal Market Directory Page:
Uncle Gus’ is named after Gaetano “Gus” Pollizz, who was a great uncle to Joey Nicolosi of Tommy DiNic’s. Gus was a fixture in the Market for nearly 30 years, known for singing opera for customers as he worked the register at DiNic’s.
Reading Terminal Market – Uncle Gus’ Steaks
I stopped in three days after the opening on a mid-afternoon Thursday to find a surprisingly very busy Reading Terminal Market… but fortunately i was able to order my sandwich at Uncle Gus’ Steaks quickly.
I image that at the time most people weren’t aware that they were walking past future cheesesteak greatness!
While it was clear to see that they were making cheesesteaks at the stand, there really is no fancy sign yet for Uncle Gus’, just a small 12-inch chalkboard with a few lines of the menu… Which as I said comes down to “steak with a few options”.
They did take credit cards, and for my order I went with a Cooper Sharp Cheesesteak, with a little bit of fried onions.
Simply your options are steak at $15, cheesesteak at $17.00… and of course fried onions are available at no additional charge.
The cheese options come down to Cooper Sharp, Provolone or Whiz.
There are three add-on options for the sandwich; long hots and mushrooms were priced at $2.00 each, and cherry peppers were priced at $1.00. Drinks are soda or water.
Another likely reason for my quick service is that they had five employees on the clock, with one counter person and four preparing the sandwiches. They had a nice flow with each person handling a different segment of this steak preparation and packaging.
Also, like most popular steak shops they are able to keep a constant flow of meat cooking on the grill… just knowing there is a steady stream of customers coming.
As the steak moves down the assembly line from “freshly placed”, to cooking and then ready to “roll”… the grill chef closest to the register prepares your final steak ingredients before handing off to the last person in the chain who packages the sandwich.
If you’re unfamiliar with the Reading Terminal Market it has dozens of restaurant options, and to support the customers eating on site there are several general seating area… including the large open space in the center.
And even with all of the food options available I was very surprised to find it difficult to locate a seat in the main dining area at 2:30pm on a Thursday!
So finally to the key aspect… I found my seat quick enough that when I opened up my Uncle Gus’s Cheesesteak it was steaming hot… with clouds of delicious heat and flavors billowing off the top of the sandwich.
The Angelo’s rolls are simply incredible. It’s a seeded roll with a very slight crispy outer shell surrounding the soft interior bread. It’s not a dense interior bread.
Clearly Danny designed the Angelo’s Roll with cheesesteaks in mind as it’s just the right amount of height to the roll, so that you’re not getting overwhelmed by 3 inches of bread.
This steak is prepared in what I call a a medium chop… which still leaves a texture to each bite.
What I mean by medium chop is, one end of the cheesesteak spectrum you have Geno’s (9th and Passyunk) which is more of a full-slab slice of steak, and on the other end you have Jim Steak’s (South Street) which chops the beef up very fine, almost like a cooked ground beef… And Uncle Gus’s steaks sits right in the middle of that range of chop.
That final preparation on the grill includes completely blending the cheese and onions throughout the entire steak, so that when you get your sandwich every single bite has all of the flavors blended in… and the cheese acts as binder to hold the beef together in the roll.
Two-thumbs up from me on Uncle Gus’ Steaks. High quality ingredients in a focused menu… prepared with thought to how the sandwich comes together.. makes for a delicious sandwich and dining experience.
Links and Location
Uncle Gus’ Steaks
Reading Terminal Market
1136 Arch Street
Philadelphia PA
Open Daily 10am-6pm
Uncle Gus’s Steaks Reading Terminal Website Page