Review of Danville’s “Phi-lly Cheese Steaks & Things”

I finally got the time to try Phi-lly Cheese Steaks & Things. It was very well worth the wait. Awesome food!

The restaurant is now located at 1050 Riverside Drive in Danville (across from Woodall Chevrolet). That’s in the old Fender’s location… or the very-old Rax location if you can remember back that far. This is the third location for the restaurant and they’ve made significant location improvements each time. They started out at the mall then moved into the Restaurant Death Spot at the top of Main St. They survived that and now have the space and parking to turn this into the big thing that it deserves to be. The restaurant configuration is the same that Fender’s had, where they took out a lot of seating but made it more comfortable for dining. That was a bit of a shock for me but it actually worked well. When you add the traditional dining room to the solarium which was creatively set with bistro-style tables, you had a lot of choice on how you wanted the dining experience to be. I had already taken a sneak peek at the menu that was posted on the drive-thru board so I already knew what I wanted. (CAUTION: Do NOT be alarmed at the relatively high prices on the menu… I’ll tell you later that it’s well worth it for the amount of food that you get.)

It’s always a good sign when you’re warmly greeted at the door so that started it off well. I bounced between tables to check them out and finally landed in the solarium. Good, prompt table service helped me get my order placed. Bonus points go out to having the other person waiting tables check on me to make sure that I had placed my order. Service time was awesome even with the food being cooked to order. I started with the basic cheese-steak combo for my first meal there and got a giant-sized sandwich and a large basket of fries. As I posted on Instagram & Facebook… if you thought the food looked delicious, it tasted even better. I was only able to eat half of what was delivered for me so I got the equivalent of 2 meals for less than $10. That’s why I say that the menu prices are quite deceiving if you think they’re high. Again, good table service to check on me sealed the deal for the service grade, but that went over the top as I was ready to pay the check (I’ll talk about that in the Service score).

Let’s go to the numbers!

Service: As said above, it’s hard to ask for more. However, when I was standing by my table waiting for my change (it took some time due to a register malfunction), one of the owners and wanted to know if anything was wrong and he really wanted to make sure that there was no problem. Wow. You don’t get that at many places, folks. consider me highly impressed. Score: 96 (A)

Food: This is a real Philly cheesesteak made by real Philly people. Real Cheez Whiz, too. I have no doubt that their other food items are going to be anything else than the quality of my first selection. Score: 97 (A)

Atmosphere: That’s the only bizarre thing about the place. Right now, it’s almost too fancy having just been a three-diamond type of restaurant. Even so, that’s an amazing problem to have and it doesn’t count off one bit. If they had taken the place over from Rax, the place your order, pay for it and eat in the dining room would have been easy to pick up from. Here, they’re adapting the current build-out to a system that works well. Two TV’s on the walls and the solarium adds to the dining experience. Score: 91 (A)

Intangibles: The food’s authentic. ‘Nuff said. The owners were smart enough to move to a location that’s got plenty of parking and is easily accessible. They’ve added creative seating ideas at a low cost and made that a feature of the restaurant. The menu is huge and there’s something there for everybody. The prices are quite reasonable for what you get based not just on the quantity, but also the quality. I can’t say enough about ownership coming over if they sensed the slightest bit of a problem, and that proactive approach will surely roll over to the food quality. As of now, this place is a “Hidden Treasure”, but I’m putting the word out now and hope others will as well. This restaurant deserved all of the praise that I had heard before and SouthsideCentral is glad to add to that praise. It’s very rare that you can’t think of anything that would be a big improvement to a place that’s only been open for a few months in a new location, but I’m stumped right now. Score: 96 (A)

Overall: Go eat at Phi-lly Cheese Steaks & Things for lunch or dinner. Or both. You won’t be disappointed at all. SouthsideCentral gives Phi-lly Cheese Steaks & Things our highest recommendation and we hope that they continue to expand.

Overall Grade: 96 (A)