Owner Gino Epifani opened Gino's Cheesesteaks at 458 S. Main St. in North Syracuse in June 2012. Gino's serves a variety of sandwiches, including the classic cheesesteak, using bread "imported" from Philadelphia with beef sliced by hand at the shop and Cheese Whiz (or American or Provolone if you prefer).
But they also offer several variations: There's a Steak and Egg for breakfast, or a "Utica' Philly topped with Utica Greens, for example. The "Valley" is filled with onions and mushrooms.
Cheesesteaks should be pretty easy and delicious, right? Steak with some cheese on bread. But for some reason, I've never been able to find one I really enjoyed. Every one I've had I've found to be bland and underseasoned and just lacking in the flavor department.
I decided to try Gino's after a friend recommended them. I went on a lunch break and went for the Fireman's Special, a cheese steak with Whiz and hot peppers. Sandwich was made fresh and quickly while I waited. Grabbed a side of fries to go with it as well.
The inside of the restaurant is decently kept. You can watch the cooks make your food as you wait, and there's a bar that wraps around the cooking area, with a bunch if chairs around it to eat at. I found the chairs to be too high compared to the wrap around table to comfortably eat ear, so I decided to take my food out front to the picnic tables since it was a nice day.
I got a whole sandwich, and they are a definitely a decent size. I was not able to eat it all, especially cause they completely pack the bread with meat and toppings. But, I wasn't too impressed, for a couple reasons.
First off, it was EXTREMELY messy to eat. Yeah, I know it's a cheesesteak and they're not exactly the cleanest meal to eat, but this was even worse than normal. On top of it being pretty greasy, the bread was far too soft to hold the amount of filling they pack into the sandwiches. It's great that they don't skimp you on filling, but it makes it almost impossible to even pick up the sandwich without it completely falling apart and making a mess when the bread just isn't sturdy enough.
Secondly, the hot peppers were very hot. Which was partly my fault, as I asked for hot peppers, but they were almost unedible for me. Now, that's on me, but aside from the heat from the peppers, I had the same problem I always have with Cheesesteaks...there just wasn't any flavor. It was just bland, underseasoned steak meat, and even the cheese whiz itself didn't lend much in the flavor department.
Employees were alright. Weren't rude, but weren't exactly extremely welcoming either. Prices were decent. A whole sandwich, side of fries, and can of soda came to around $12.
Overall, I WOULD try them again. The bread was decent, though it wasn't strong enough, and they had great fries. I think I may enjoy another option more, something with some sauce to maybe give the meat itself some flavor, like their pizza steak option. But a plain old cheesesteak from here simply isn't giving me what I want. read more