Philly Cheese Steak at Delilah's Steaks

Blizzard number two this winter season and we had a Greenpointers field day turned mission to check out the new Philly cheesesteak joint called Delilah’s Steaks, literally a narrow triangular outpost on a stretch of McGuinness Blvd deep in Greenpoint.

Technically not on “the other side,” the address is 55 McGuinness Blvd So. at Engert Ave –  out there. It had us thinking up ridiculous neighborhood hybrid names, like SoMc? Or NoBQE?

Tommy Ferrick, Owner Delilah's Steaks

Being from New York, my homemade version of cheesesteak goes like this: caramelized onions, sautéed roast beef and american cheese on a hero. Shop owner, Tommy Ferrick, who YES was born and raised in Philadelphia, called my version homemade Steak-ummms. There is a reason why there are three Ms! But I was about to be enlightened.

When I asked Tommy if there are any good cheesesteak spots in NY, he said, “There is now,” (I like this guy) and went on to say “it’s not being done right in Brooklyn.”

For him cheesesteak is a fast food science and he has learned from the best, literally. He apprenticed at Best Pizza, where he was schooled in “the fast service game” and has been coached on sourcing from Brian Leth, former chef at Vinegar Hill House and Jersey shore buddy.

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“It’s all about the meat and bread,” Tommy said. He gets his rolls from Rocco’s Kings Highways Bakery and organic strip steak from Paisanos Meat Market – which is grilled to order.

Don’t forget the cheese. You can order your Delilah’s Cheesesteak with either American or Cheese Whiz and both are “liquefied” and kept warm in a steam bath and poured over your sandwich just before serving. He was very specific in his explanation about how a slice of unmelted American cheese will lower the temperature of the sandwich – not a good thing.

There are additional topping options of sautéed onions and/or tomato sauce plus a self-serve side board with peppers, pickles and condiments.

View of McGuinness Blvd from Delilah's Steaks

Gina and I split the Cheesesteak with onions and American plus a side of cheese fries. We didn’t talk, we just inhaled while watching the snow fall heavily on yellow school buses. After we finished we sadly agreed we wished we didn’t split it.

The steak was juicy. It was sliced thin with a nice real meat flavor (as compared to the cold cut salty nitrate flavor I am accustomed to.) The onions – just translucent, not caramelized – gave it a satisfying crunch and yes the liquefied cheese held it all together on a not too doughy crusty hero.

The crinkle cut cheese fries were just like Shake Shack‘s, maybe even better, which means they were perfect.

I asked Tommy why he chose Greenpoint for Delilah’s. Conveniently he lives right around the corner. But he knew the place was perfect when he happened upon it after other spots fell through because of it’s triangular shape.

“Tons of cheesesteak shops in Philly are all triangular buildings,” he said.

Mural by Isaiah Zagar

The brightly colored and intricately assembled mosaic tile mural that runs the length of the wall would be claustrophobic if not for the huge windows looking out onto one of Greenpoint’s least favorite streets. But sitting there enjoying a cheesesteak is a hell of a lot better than dodging speeding garbage trucks.

For Tommy, McGuinness Blvd reminds him of home.

“It’s similar to lot of intermediate highways in Philly, like Delaware Ave,” he said.

Isaiah Zagar Mural Close-Up

The story behind the well known mural artist Isaiah Zagar is special too. Brooklyn born and Philly raised, he has completed over 50,000+ square feet of murals in Philly. His mural in Delilah’s, which only took him 2.5 days to finish, is his first piece in NY.

There is also a documentary about Zagar that Gina raved about called In A Dream.

I know you are all wondering, who is this Delilah, anyway? It’s a strip club in Philly.

Delilah's Menu

If you’re not feeling like cheesesteak, Delilah’s serves other meaty and vegetarian sandwiches, too, like a meatball hero, eggplant parmesan, roast pork with broccoli rabe and healthier sides of caesar salad and Pringles. And if you come in on Sundays, Tommy’s Mom Janice comes all the way from Philly to make “the gravy” for the meatballs.

Did we mention that they serve breakfast sandwiches, too?

Soon they will have Tastykake for dessert and ice cream shakes in the summer, all which can conveniently be purchased through a serving window, which I can really appreciate now that I am a dog owner.

Delilah’s is open Tuesday through Sunday and open late on the weekends until 2am. I heard there was an impromptu dance party there this past weekend. They also deliver from noon until one hour before close.

Try Delilah’s Steaks and let us know what you think.

Join the Conversation

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  1. My husband and I are super excited about this being from Philly ourselves and living only 2 blocks away. Wish he was using Amoroso rolls though, I’ll have to go bust his balls about that. Thanks for the review.

  2. Regarding neighborhood names (“Technically not on “the other side,” the address is 55 McGuinness Blvd So. at Engert Ave – out there. It had us thinking up ridiculous neighborhood hybrid names, like SoMc? Or NoBQE?”): for those of us who live on the “other side” we like to refer to our neighborhood as OSOM (pronounced Awesome). Even though Delilah’s in not quite in OSOM, the cheesesteaks certainly sound awesome! I’m looking forward to trying one.

      1. I believe I went on the first and last official tour of OSOM when Lorraine began her campaign to lure me to Greenpoint in December 2012. As someone who now loves living on the other side of McGuinness I’ve fully embraced the name OSOM, so that makes at least five Greenpointers out there actively using it.

  3. Tommy and the Ferrick family are great! I’ve worked for Tommy before, he’ll be sure to please his customers. And don’t be afraid to bust his balls! He is passionate about what he does, so this is sure to be a great hit. Brooklyn is lucky to have an Isaiah Zagar mural, the man is incredible! I can’t wait to go try one!

  4. As a Philly transplant that’s lived in Brooklyn for over 10 years… this makes me extremely happy. I seriously never thought there would ever be a cheesesteak place in Greenpoint. Now all we need is some decent Chinese food delivery. Somebody get on that !!

  5. Just started going here and this place is insanely good. Twice in five days now. Kinda wish they had a little more going on beer-wise, but the food is so on point that I’ll take it.

    There seems to be a lot of delivery / seamless orders. I highly recommend just going there and sitting. It’s a cool space, and a nice break from the plethora of reclaimed wood restaurants that are in fashion now.

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