The Hoagie Shop – $$
1440 Mentor Ave.
Painesville, OH 44077
440-352-5353
Do you have a secret place? You know what I'm talking about. A [tag]restaurant[/tag] or bar that you've come to love so much that you only share it with those closest to you as not to ruin it by making it popular? The people that know about it only refer to it as "there" or "the place", but always in hushed tones. It's definitely not a chain restaurant and its probably not as clean as you would like it, but that is what makes it your own. Most people would walk by the unassuming place looking for the glitz and glamor of the chains. The kind of place you wouldn't dare take your mother to for fear of her breaking out the Mr.Clean . I have one of those places. And I'm going to share it with you. My secret place is the Hoagie Shop on Mentor Ave. in Painesville . By just looking at the outside you'd be hard pressed to decide whether or not they were in business. There are no advertisements or flashy lights, just a simple sign that says "Hoagie Shop". However, were you to drive by at lunch time during the week you would find a parking lot filled with Painesville locals who are much wiser than yourself.
Even after walking inside you might wonder if they are actually in business. However, don't let the bare bones crew and lackluster decorating fool you, the place makes a mean Cheese steak sandwich. As it is their specialty, I always order the Cheese steak , but they do offer a number of other sandwiches and grinders. They also have fresh cut french fries which are a real bonus in my book. Unfortunatley, the day I visited the frier was broken, so there won't be any pictures of the fries.
WARNING: The following description and images may be hazardous to your health. If you are on a diet or think that [tag]greasy food[/tag] is "disgusting" or "gross", stop reading this right now and go eat some spinach.
For those like myself consider the value of a meal to be determined how much grease could be wrung out of it, the [tag]cheese steaks[/tag] at the Hoagie Shop are worth their weight in gold. These sandwiches are by far the greasiest items I have ever handled in my life as you can see by the pictures:
These look like they would be pretty healty to eat.
We purchases two items that day, a half Cheese steak with onions and mushrooms and a half Cheese and Chicken with mushrooms. Before I get into the cheese steak I'll tackle the chicken and cheese. It was ok. I personally did not like the thin-sliced chicken lunchmeat that was used. It didn't lend any appreciable flavor and the texture was less than appealing. Not only that, that's a pretty cheap route to go considering the sandwiches cost $8 a peice. If they had used real chicken it might have put this sandwich over the top.
Would have been better with some real chicken.
Now for the reason I and so many others pay homage to the Hoagie Shop, the cheese steak sandwich. In a word, amazing. The cheese literally coats every nook and cranny of the meat. All of the grease and juice is soaked up by the nice fresh hoagie bun. While the meat might be a little bit chewy, it is chopped pretty fine so you don't notice it, but in a bite or two. And definitely go with the onions they add so much flavor. I could take it either way with the mushrooms as they were canned and pretty tasteless.
Yeah, I'll have the cheese steak hoagie and a referral to a cardiologist.
All in all it was an excellent meal and I'm glad I was able to share it with you. Make sure to bring cash if you are going to visit as the Hoagie Shop does not accept credit cards. I've led a pilgrimage to Philadelphia for some real cheese steaks and they were the best I have ever had, but if you don't feel like driving 8 hours for an excellent cheese steak sandwich the Hoagie Shop in Painesville comes in a close second.
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