Steaks & Sandwiches Month-Week 4

Lee’s Hoagie House

220 S. West End Blvd

Quakertown, PA
(215) 538-7875

While Lee’s has been voted Best in Philly, Bucks & Montgomery, the “best” does not include service at the Quakertown location!  The regular cheese steaks and chicken cheese steaks are worth the “guilt trip” we experienced as we seemingly hassled the employee who took our order.  It was comical as she gave us an inconvenienced sigh in response to our straightforward order of steaks, fries, and fountain sodas.

In exchange, they are serious about their sandwiches and steaks.  Lee’s is a franchise, whose original storefront opened in 1953 in a Philadelphia neighborhood.  As far as an authentic product, this is a good sign for the current 17 locations in the Philadelphia, Bucks & Montgomery County locations.  Besides Quakertown, another local Lehigh Valley store is Emmaus, a hopeful redeeming alternative if you value a friendly face to take and deliver your order.

If you are skeptical by outward appearances, the Quakertown store is apparently under new management and the restaurant has a clean, standard appearance.  If ambiance concerns you, it obviously has a huge take-out business.   

I recommend the buffalo chicken cheese steak, light on the blue cheese.  I enjoyed it because it emphasized the roll vs. meat.  It depends on your preference.  (For you meat lovers, don’t be deceived by a woman’s review.  Lee’s has my husband and nephew’s approval, the latter self-proclaimed as a new “regular” of Lee’s.)  The roll is ideal with its tough exterior and soft, dense interior.  The meat is a good consistency—not too finely chopped that it seems crumbly, but not as thick as the strips at some local Philly spots like Pat’s & Geno’s.  

They additionally offer a full sub menu —for meat-lovers try the “Cheltenham”—named after a Northeast suburb of Philly, packed with at least 4 meats and 4 cheeses.   For the health-conscious, more reviews to come during other months , but Lee’s does offer salads as well as a large variety of wraps, including some vegetarian options. 

Steaks & hoagies come in 3 sizes: mini, half & whole, not including party option of a 3 foot hoagie, a classic find at an Italian occasion.  One more downside to our trip:  $.50 for refills.  No thanks. I’ll end my meal chomping the ice on the bottom of my cup instead.

If you are interested in a genuine Philly cheese steak or hoagie, be sure to consider Lee’s.

Would I return?  Occasionally. The product is worth it, but I guess my experience of ambiance & tone affect my vote more than I realized.