UtahDinersGuide.com

Review by Dan Purdon

Angels of Philly is a fresh-faced new addition to the downtown Provo dining scene, housed in a prime location right between Comedy Sportz and Los Hermanos, two of the most popular date spots in the area.  I had no idea they had snuck in there until just last Friday night, when my wife and I were conveniently searching for a place to eat on Center St.

We walked through the glass doors and were struck by the spacious high ceilings and the small fountain next to the entrance.  You could tell that one wall was the original building’s antique brick, which worked fabulously for the atmosphere.  It felt like walking into a downtown sandwich shop that had been there for twenty years, not just two weeks.

We walked up to the counter and looked over the menu.  I knew I wanted the classic cheddar cheesesteak, which was of course Angel’s pride and joy.  I just didn’t know whether to get the regular or the large.  When I told this to the owner/grillmaster, he held up a package of normal-sized hoagies, and then a bag of huge loaves that probably exceeded a foot long!  I was pretty hungry, but that was an awfully big bun!  (And there was quite a price difference, too - the large was close to $9.)

Sensing my inner turmoil, the owner smiled and said, “Once you taste it, you’ll regret not getting the big one”.  That was all I needed.  I ordered a large cheddar cheese steak and an order of beer-battered fries to split, and my wife ordered a hoagie.  Incidentally, beer-battered fries are a delicious luxury that I really would like to see more of around here!  Kudos to Angels for evangelizing these crispy tubers.

I watched as the owner and his assistant head back into the grill area to prep our meat and veggies.  Then I noticed there was a whole additional sitting room back there, so I decided to go explore.  They had set up the grill area to be viewable from the outside, so customers could watch close-up as their juicy steaks were being chopped and fried with onions, peppers, and cheese.  Both the owner and his assistant were very friendly, taking time to chat with me even as they worked the grill.

Soon our food was ready, and I got back to my table.  I was impressed anew at the sheer magnitude of my sandwich, which was now stuffed to the hilt with grilled onions, peppers, and fresh steak.  It looked beautifully messy like a good Philly should.  And one bite was all it took to convince me of the owner’s advice - I was definitely going to polish this off.  The cheddar was tangy, the steak juicy, the veggies savory, and the bread was not too soft, not too hard.  The whole thing was hot, melty, meaty, and good.  It was one solid sandwich!

The beer-battered fries didn’t disappoint, either - other than the fact that we didn’t get a whole bucket of them!  They were crisp, flavorful, and cut thick like a steak fry.  I’m used to thin-cut battered fries, but the thick cut seemed to work just as well.  In fact, it makes them even better at handling sauces.  We had plain ketchup (which was still mighty tasty on them), but I bet they would be epic with some kind of gourmet specialty sauce.

We had a great experience at Angels of Philly, and we’ll definitely be dining there again.  If you’re on a lunch budget, check out some of their awesome specials - you can get a regular cheesesteak sandwich, fries, and a drink for $7.00, which is pretty hard to beat!

Pricing: Inexpensive - under $10 per person

Angels of Philly - 22 W. Center St