Back East Cheesesteaks

Back East Cheesesteaks is a place you have to root for... It's a guy from Philly that wanted to bring his home city's claim to fame to the City of Salt. And its a local place, with the odds against success the place always seems to be busy.

I've been here a number of times since it opened and I probably go once every other week. Its across from the busy "Family Center" in Midvale so its not hard to spot on while driving on Ft Union. I often have to park on the street because the lot doesn't hold more than 5 or 6 cars at a time. And its a place the Cottonwood Heights Police love to frequent and double park their crew cab F-150 monster trucks in, so parking can be hairy in the noon lunch hour.

The place has the adornments of all things Philadelphia. If you want to talk Phillies, Eagles or Flyers this is the best place in town. The seating is area is limited and you might wait for a table if its in the noon hour.

I like the cheesesteaks. I'll admit I don't discriminate against most cheesesteaks. I've been to Philly a number of times and I've eaten them with Wiz and without all over this great country. The meat seems to be cut the right thickness and I've never had the meat overcooked. The application of cheese seems to be light. If you don't get the wiz, I've had a few times I've wondered if there was cheese at all. They don't put a lot of onions and peppers in too. I'm sure you can ask for double but they're holding back a little on the veggies with the standard applicaiton. But saying all of that, I can't discount that the cheesesteak is always hot and always fresh.

I've had the fries, they vary in their quality. I'm not a huge fan of steak fries to start. The times I've had their fries and really enjoyed them was when they were cooked nice and crispy. Other times I've had them when they're busy and it looks like they dropped them in the fryer and pulled them right back out keeping them very soft. If you aren't a fry person, just grab a bag of chips.

In conclusion, you should stop buy the place. In a city where Subway and Jimmy Johns rule the masses, its good to have a hot fresh cheesesteak as an option in the slow suburbs outside I-215.

I was very skeptical of Back East when my co-workers first suggested it for lunch. I'm not a big fan of meat so I assumed I would end up eating lettuce and bread at a Philly cheesesteak place. Luckily for me, they had some options available that I could work with.

After I quickly dismissed any idea of ordering a salad, I found that they have a vegetarian sandwich. It seems lame at first (just veggies of course) but add on some mushrooms and provolone cheese and you've got a decent plate of yummyness!

The only downside to Back East is the prices. I think $7 for a sandwich would have been perfect if it included fries but alas, it does not. When I pointed this out to the employee at the register, he attacked me with "we'reactuallythecheapestphillycheesesteakplacearound!!" Not wanting to develop any enemies, I quickly agreed and handed him my credit card.

Oh and I almost took off another star for the Eagles memorabilia but then decided that Eagles fans deserve at least one place to feel loved.

At Back East Cheesesteaks the menu is small and what is on the menu is done well. And most importantly, their signature item (the cheesesteak) is good.

Provolone, peppers and onions are the traditional toppings and you can also add bacon, jalapenos, marinara, mushrooms or garlic to your cheesesteak. The Classic Philly (with the traditional toppings mentioned above) is $6.49 and the premium (anything else added) is $7.19. My personal belief is that all things are made better with mushrooms and garlic. Cheese options include the traditional cheesesteak provolone or optional swiss or CheeseWiz. I was surprised by the question of whether we wanted mayonnaise on our cheesesteaks (which we did of course) but it's a nice gesture for those uncomfortable with those types of calorie-containing condiments. The steamed Italian roll each cheesesteak is served on was firm and held up well under the meat and toppings.

This place is getting cheaper and cheaper with their meat. Even after ordering double meat and paying extra still is sad in comparison.

I will stick to Moochies as they make the best Philly in the wasatch front.

I am not a cheesesteak snob. I have no idea if their cheese whiz is the right shade of nuclear orange, or if the beef was sliced a bit too thick.

What I do know, however, is that regardless of how Back East measures on the authenticity scale, their sandwiches are delicious. I got the classic cheesesteak with cheese whiz. They "messed up" by also putting provolone on my sandwich. I put "messed up" in quotations because it's debatable whether or not you can actually call that a mistake. The meat was tender and the cheese was plentiful. The bread wasn't too crusty, either

The guys running the place seem pretty relaxed as well. Seems like they really enjoy what they do.

I really enjoyed their fries. Usually I don't like the wedge-cut fries because nine times out of ten they are dry, powdery, and bland. But I really liked their fries here. Perfectly crisp on the outside, and moist on the inside. Their fry sauce was tasty as well.

Great food. Friendly relaxed service. Best cheese steak sandwinch around. Try the cheeze-wiz! The yelp listing says closed Saturday, but actually open saturday.

The meat was flavorful, the bun was crisp toasted and had good flavor and chew, the cheese was AWOL.

The fries really had potential, maybe even earlier in the day. Thick wedges that had been refried so many times the outer crust was tough and an unhealthy looking greasy brown. I'm sure the constant refrying with the salt is mucking up the oil so a good product is being destroyed by stupid.

Bizarre service. Friendly, but it was like a concession stand at a skate park. Tables were grubby but the kid behind the counter was busy texting and watching tv.

Oddly enough, I'd give them another shot since it had potential but my expectations will be lowered.

Big sandwich with plenty of meat.
Loved the perfect chewiness of the bread along with the crispy steak fries. I got the California premium with lettuce, tomatoes, and a smudge of avocado. Will probably just stick with the classic next time.
great lunch to kick off a day full of shopping at the various shops in the area.

I've been here several times and it's always good and consistant. The owner is always there cooking away and always freindly. I took my wife a few months ago and the guy brought out her sandwich with a punch card with all the wholes punched and said he felt bad cause the sandwich was missing something and here's a card for a free sandwich for next time. My wife said she couldnt tell anything was missing and loved it.

Oh ya, almost forgot to mention Tuesday is double punch night.

Update: They are out of business!!!

Some of the best Cheesesteaks in town. The fries are awesome and go for the cheese wiz on your sandwich it's great!