Cheese Steak Trenton Style (Pete's Steak House)
Pete’s Steak House 1855 N Olden Ave Ext, Ewing (609) 771-6747 Open 7 days, 11AM-9PM
(Directions)
It’s a testament to how wonderful Philly cheese steak sandwiches are that even lousy ones are pretty good. But the authentic ones are truly out of this world.
The real ones have specific characteristics that are hard to find outside of the city of brotherly love. You’d expect Trenton to be able to muster a truly authentic version, being only 40 miles away, and you’d be right, only too late if Pete’s is where you wanted to get it. Unfortunately, while Pete’s started on Hudson Street, serving steak sandwiches to Roebling Steel workers, time and the transition of Chambersburg to a predominantly Hispanic population means that you have to go to Ewing (though check out JoJo’s and the Original Freeway Steakhouse for Trenton cheesesteaks). Pete’s claims to have independently invented the steak sandwich, when the founder was an Army cook during WWII. Whether it’s true or not, Pete’s delivers a REALLY GOOD Philly Cheesesteak even if it is in Ewing.
- First and foremost, an authentic sandwich can’t be made from some frozen slab of shaved beef. No, it needs to be fresh-sliced, high quality steak – and Pete’s passes this test.
- The cheese can be either Provolone or Cheese Whiz. Nothing else. Pete’s has both of these, plus they’ll do it with American or mozzarella. Not authentic, but forgivable. Especially since the Provolone has a lovely, sharp kick, and costs no more than American.
- Traditional fixings are onions, mushrooms, and peppers. The mushrooms can’t be canned. And again, Pete’s makes the grade. I’ll quibble slightly with the onions, which I prefer grilled raw. Pete’s pre-grills the onions, then warms them on the grill before serving.
All that said, Pete’s sandwich is great, if a tad small. Hungry guys will probably want to order the larger sizes.
In addition to cheese steaks, Pete’s serves authentic tomato pies (by the slice, or made to order). They’re not as good as Papa’s, but still pretty good. They also have burgers, fish and chips (freshly batter dipped fish filets, Wed-Fri only), and do a variety of other sandwiches including an Italian roast pork with broccoli rabe.
Prices are reasonable for the quality.
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Pete’s has delicious steaks, the best outside of Philly. The fish and chips (Wed-Fri) are made fresh to order, hand battered, and some of the best I have had in the USA. Plus their tomato pie is surprisingly good as well. Recommended.
Sorry folks. Pete’s Cheesesteaks are vastly overrated. I tried them several times, they were light on the meat (processed) and very greasy. Service was pretty lame as well.
Maybe they were having a bad day (or days), but they are to good cheesesteaks as Olive Garden is to real Italian food.
Editors Comment: We’ll have to check into Pete’s to make sure standards haven’t fallen. I know for sure every time I’ve been there, the meat was real beef, not processed. I do agree with the comments about the size of the steak sandwich. Pete’s aren’t big, though you can pay extra for extra beef (recommended). This means for hearty eaters Pete’s isn’t a bargain, it’s priced about where most places are. For light eaters, however, it’s a great deal.
You do know that Pete’s Steak House on Hudson Street is closed, don’t you? A great loss to what’s left of the Burg.
Editor’s comment: Marge, I wasn’t aware and I’m sad that it’s closed. However, I think it would be more accurate to speak of “what’s left of the ‘old’ Burg”. There’s actually a lot of good stuff happening there, though none of it is Italian.
I’ve gotten restaurant food dozens of times in the last year just around the corner from Pete’s on S. Clinton at the Guate Rico Deli. It’s truly extraordinary, and is much better value than Pete’s. Not as nice to sit down in, though you can comfortably sit down at MiTierra on the next block, and its food is really good too, and still better value than Pete’s, though not as mind boggling reasonable as Guate Rico. Of course we’re talking tacos, tostadas, and pupusas, not steak sandwiches and tomato pie.
When I did have a hankering for a cheesesteak (and with my cholesterol levels, it is thankfully not very often) I would head up to JoJo’s. When I want a tomato pie, I go to Papa’s (as do you). In thinking back over the past three years, I think I’ve eaten at Pete’s twice following the initial review in Hidden Trenton. So while part of me is sad that Pete’s is gone, I guess I’m not going to miss it much. Anyway, one can always go to Ewing and pretend you’re in Chambersburg (not!).