The Best Cheesesteaks in the Lehigh Valley
The Cheesesteak is a sandwich of epic lore. The Philadelphia area has been pumping these out longer than nearly anyone who reads this has been alive (1930), and other areas in Pennsylvania are trying to catch up to the delicious sandwich that is king of Philadelphia. This list will change. This will be updated. I have not tried every steak in the entire Lehigh Valley. Out of the 10 or so that I have had though, these are the 3 best (in no particular order).
The best Cheesesteaks are HERE
Wiz Kidz – Bethlehem, PA – For my 39th birthday there was one single thing I wanted to do. I wanted to travel into the Lehigh Valley and find a cheesesteak worth talking about. On this birthday, I got the present I was after! Wiz Kidz offers a fun old school kids’ themed décor filled with ninja turtles, Legos, and other items of the like. I’m obviously already excited for this stop but I then realize they cut their own fries which makes me even more happy. I normally get cooper sharp if it’s available for a steak and if not I’ll settle for American, but Wiz Kidz boasts a cheese sauce they make in house so I opt to check that out. I quickly find out that this place belongs in the conversation for best steak in the Lehigh Valley. The meat was fresh, cut in house, and seasoned quite well. The house made wiz sauce was leaps and bounds better than the radioactive colored, canned brand name counterpart used in most steak shops. The roll was sturdy enough to stand up to the sandwich but also soft enough to have a nice mouthfeel. The onions were a smaller dice and sautéed properly. Last, and not least of course, the house cut fries were crisp and delicious. Wiz Kids is a clear cut contender for the top spot and easily lands in the top three in the Valley at this time.
The Pizza Joint – Allentown, PA – Pizza Joint is a spot I wouldn’t have even known about if it wasn’t for belonging to a fun group on Facebook known for talking about drinking and eating (Honest Trav’s Dive Bar – in case anyone was curious and wanted to join). Travis himself spoke about The Pizza Joint quite a few times and then I began seeing others posting about it and sharing drool inducing photos and it wasn’t long until I knew I must get here and try out this steak (and maybe some other stuff).
Pizza joint uses chopped ribeye steak with a smaller dice sautéed onion and they make their own cooper sharp driven cheese sauce. It’s like this steak was custom made just for me! The roll was also quite good, after asking I found out that they had them shipped in from a bakery in New Jersey. This steak had a ton of flavor, lots of cheese and onion, and it was just overall extremely enjoyable. The only other thing I can say about this place to sell it any more, is that they’re in a shopping plaza conveniently off Airport Road so there is ample parking and an easy off/on from a major road. Also we tried a Chicken/Bacon/Ranch grandma slice that was very tasty as well.
Giacomo’s Italian Market and Grille – Easton, PA – Please note, there is another business called Giacomo’s in Quakertown and they are not related in any way to each other. With that said, I have not visited the Quakertown location yet, but I do hear it’s very good. This was a fun stop for me because it was actually purchased by a complete stranger as a gesture to their friend (or maybe romantic crush) and they sent me some money on Cash App to come here and try this out. Similarly to the other locations, this sandwich had some really high quality meat. Add in some really tasty onions and a sturdy roll and you’ve got yourself a sandwich worth talking about. I wasn’t aware that I could get Cooper Sharp at the time (one of the employees sent me a message later on) so I went with American on this and it was very good. I can’t wait to get back and see just how much better it will be with the Cooper on there!
… And what the heck, how about an honorable mention/place that is “often” a Lehigh Valley Stop !?
Hang Over’s Cafe – Roaming Food Truck, PA – We attended an event in Parryville, PA where the entire location was rented out so the kitchen of that establishment was closed for the night. Hang Over’s Cafe was more than happy to come and offer some options for the adult’s enjoying libations in a completely safe and mature manner. I had chatted a few times online with the owner of the food truck and had heard tales of a delicious cheesesteak that was being served from this grill and I simply had to know for myself. There were awesome looking burgers available as well as some other tasty offerings, but I had set my mind and my heart on that cheesesteak. I was not disappointed. This sandwich was downright massive. The heft was only overshadowed by the strong amount of Cooper Sharp mixed throughout the meat and the tasty onions. This steak just missed this “top 3” list (and barely) solely due to the roll from the other 3 spots being better suited for my preferences for a cheesesteak. That is not to say this roll was bad, because it was in no way bad, it just struggled a bit more to hold up to the sandwich and caused it to fall apart a bit while eating. The sandwich as a whole was delicious and I’d surely recommend it to anyone.
Summer 2022 – The Best Cheesesteaks in the Valley
There you have it folks, our top “3-ish” spots to grab a cheesesteak in the Lehigh Valley! What other lists do you want to see next?! Send us an email here or check us out on TikTok here to let us know! If you saw it here, then you know it Didn’t Suck!
Heading to Bethlehem Sunday for a minor league game and was interested in trying Wiz Kidz, and now I’m definitely going. Thanks for all the great Tik Tok content!
Thanks so much for the kind words and for following along! Let me know how the cheesesteak was!