We need to talk about Captain Harvey's...

Submitted by DeathStarVet t3_11avj3l in baltimore

I've been having a serious craving for a Captain Harvey's steak sub. The last one I had was in ~2003, when they only had one location and the shit was still amazing. Over stuffed, steak and onions. I salivate thinking about it.

I've heard the new place on Merrit isn't great. I've also heard that the management at the original place in Logan Village is different and the subs have suffered.

Can anyone give me a rundown about the two places over the past 2 decades? Is it worth it to try them these days? My wife is from Philly and complains that there aren't any good cheesesteaks in Baltimore ("they all have lettuce and tomato and mayo on them", "the bread isn't any good"), so I'm not going to go to one of the Captain Harvey's's and tell her that they're awesome just to realize that the subs are a shadow of their former selves. I refuse to be embarrassed by a shitty steak sub.

For the record, I don't fault her for not liking Baltimore "cheesesteaks". I wouldn't order a crab cake in Philly, so I get it. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

EDIT: Also, if you have any suggestions for legit, Philly-adjacent cheesesteaks in Baltimore, I'm all ears.

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Comments

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mrm0324 t1_j9uf99g wrote

Magerks in fed hill has a great Philly cheesesteak. They are a philly bar.

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jarandhel t1_j9uh5nk wrote

I'm from South Jersey and I share the same opinion as your wife on the quality of most cheesteaks in the entire DC/MD/VA area. So far, the best Philly Cheesesteak I've found in Baltimore is Sunshine Carryout in Park Heights, but if she finds a better one please let me know!

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Mindfulhydration t1_j9v80af wrote

In Philly a cheesesteak with lettuce tomato and mayo on it by request was referred to quite specifically as a "cheeseteak hoagie" by some family members who live there.

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jarandhel t1_j9vp5y3 wrote

Replying to DeathStarVet (#1,969,972)

Glad that I could help!

Oddly enough, the best Philly cheesesteak that I have ever had in my life was not in Philly or Jersey - it was at a little gas-station grocery store in Shanghai, West Virginia back in 1999. I have no idea what exactly made it so good, but every cheesesteak I have had since then has simply failed to measure up.

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Bogiebruce t1_j9w016k wrote

Foodgitive (aka the steakout) in Cedonia/Rosedale has the closest thing I've found to back in the day Captain Harvey's. Huge huge huge cheese steak subs! Very tasty subs!

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S-Kunst t1_j9w6bet wrote

Such a simple concept that seems to be too difficult to replicate except around Philly. When I live in Philly & Glenolden (1979), there was a carry out cheese steak shop on every corner. They also did not put a lot of stuff on the cheesesteak like other non Philly places do.

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wirelesswizard64 t1_j9w9rz0 wrote

The Real Thing in Towson is as close as it gets around here, it's a hole in the wall run by a sarcastic but loveable Philly native named Tony and they don't use frozen meat in their subs. They switched up their bread game a year or two ago and they improved it quite a bit! I've tried almost everywhere else and there's really no great cheesesteak places in the city proper.

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I will say, when I'm lazy and close enough is good enough, I do like Mikie's on Fort Ave for delivery. Won't knock your socks off but its good enough to scratch the itch if you put your own whiz on it.

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PS Real Thing is cash only, no card or tap to pay!

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ObviousGazelle t1_j9xi9ei wrote

Average beef price in 2003: $2.45 Average beef price today: . $5.31

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ObviousGazelle t1_j9xifvc wrote

Ok next do Pizza John's, before the fire vs. after the rebuild

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TheSchneid t1_j9y6l7f wrote

Replying to S-Kunst (#1,980,415)

There are no good rolls here. It's all about the bread.

Like you can make a killer Italian sandwich with just boar's Head meat which you can get anywhere. But man the the bread in Philly and jersey is just different.

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ArtVandaly560 t1_j9ycuqe wrote

It’s really more about the bread/roll, and it’s difficult to find a place that has a good sub roll. The bread in Philly, Jersey and Delco is on a different game.

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rockybalBOHa t1_j9yjwab wrote

It's all about the bread.

Magerk's uses Amoroso, which is good, but not as good as Liscio's or Sarcone's. Those two bakeries provide 90%+ of the cheesesteak bread in Philly. I don't understand why a restaurant can't have that same bread delivered here. Often thought a Philly cheesesteak carryout would be a great business opportunity in Baltimore, assuming the bread could be obtained.

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UptownHiFi t1_ja0tqwc wrote

Baltimore cheesesteak = lettuce, tomato, mayo & fried onions. Hots optional.

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doingoodnhappy t1_ja3eyeq wrote

There are 2 sub shops on Merritt Blvd in Dundalk. Merritt Sub (in Merritt Park Shopping Center) is owned by the Filetti family and Filleti's is owned by someone else.

Merritt Sub was voted Dundalk's best cheesesteak by readers of the Dundalk Eagle. There is so much meat on it, it is not possible to keep all of it on the roll when you try to eat it. And it's only $8.

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