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Category: Sandwiches [Edit]
Neighborhoods: Murray Hill, Kips Bay33rd St-Park Ave (6)
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Great stuff. $7 for a huge and packed cheese-steak is a great deal imo. I haven't had many cheese-steaks in the pass, but this one will set the bar for future ones pretty high.
Great late night place, it's very greasy though. I think I might have taken a few years of life away by eating one, but who cares, right?
If you want a cheesesteak sandwich - gotta go to Philly!
It was descent, but not the best.
Not enough cheese, too greasy!
Night #2 of NYC food and what do I get, Philly Cheese Steak.
I was trying to find a pizza place, failed, and then saw a light shine from above on Carl's Steaks. The inside was tiny, not a place to sit down and eat with the crew. I attempted to order a cheese steak with onions, hot peppers, provolone, and whiz, fail. They wouldn't do both cheeses for me! In Philly and LA (the only two places I've had many cheese steaks) I've never had that problem. They offered to give me whiz on the side, but it's just not the same if it isn't cooked into the meat. Oh well, I just got the whiz.
I sit and a few minutes later my cheese steak arrives.
http://www.yelp.com/bi...
First thing I noticed (not evident by my pic) was that there was plenty of meat and cheese in there, but the peppers had some issues. Well one issue to be exact; they gave me at least three pepper tops complete with hard crunchy stem. I only noticed when I bit into one and wondered what that horrible texture in my mouth was. Once I picked them out, I started to really enjoy the sandwich!
The meat, cheese, and bread all reminded me of what I loved about true Philly cheese steaks. For me, this was better than all the crap in LA they try to call "Philly" cheese steaks, and was just about as good as any of the off the beaten path cheese steaks I've had in Philly.
With the exception of the pepper tops, this was almost as good as it gets.
Did I just order a cheesesteak or a steak sandwich? Cheese was pretty much missing from the steak, I found it to be quite dry and was frankly craving for every bite with some hot peppers that I added to it just to get some more flavor.
The major plus? I was able to work the rest of the day without locking myself in a bathroom or enduring a food coma.
I have no idea which cheese steak is better, Shorty's or Carl's. I've been to both dozens of times, and whichever one I'm in, I think it has the edge. If you're ever in Carl's when they bring out a tray of beef for the grill, you'll see why theirs is so good. Carl's also has excellent Chili, if a bit $$$. What is certain is that you'll get a first rate sandwich at either place. But Carl's is a real hole in the wall. If you want a drink, a place to sit, and excellent fries, go to Shorty's.
NOTE: They also have a stand at one of the stadiums, but I forget which.
It's 12pm. Do you know where your greasy lunch is? I do! And it's at Carl's Steaks.
I trekked 16 blocks for a philly cheesesteak today (whiz, onions, pepper) and it was so worth it. The sub was a good size, full of meat, cheese, and not overloaded with onions and peppers.
The meat is moist, which is a PR way of saying fatty as all hell. You could go through a whole roll of Brawny trying to dab the grease up. But why would you do that? If you wanted healthy you'd be at the Just Salad across the street. This is real comfort food.
Best cheesesteak I've had in years. Go eat one now.
Oh yeah. $10.30 for the above mentioned steak AND an order of delicious, crispy, lightly salted french fries.
This has got to be the place for a cheesesteak in Midtown East/Murray Hill, if not Manhattan. I recommend the Works with cheese whiz, but you can get it without sweet & hot peppers and onions, or with provolone instead, maybe some other options. I'll be sticking with the above -- don't know why you'd get, say, chicken there or even think about going if you don't have a red meat craving.
It doesn't make sense to order in from Carl's unless you're getting a few subs, since the delivery minimum is well above a sub and cheese fries. Plus, now having been there in person, the people were pretty friendly when you actually interact face-to-face. That said, your choices are pretty much delivery or takeout as there's not a lot of great seating there. If you do take out, find a place nearby and enjoy.
I heard about cheesesteaks.. but never really went out of my way to try them, but someone bought a bunch at work.. and I wasn't really quite sure what to expect. I was like "my sandwich has cheese whiz on it.. is it supposed to be like that?" believe it or not.. I'm a fan.. I don't think I've ever been so full until after one cheesesteak from Carl's. He definitely DOES NOT skimp on the meat... I only got to sample a couple of fries.. since all the guys at work gobbled them up before I could get to them. I guess I'll have to try them again(haha) to make sure I can give them a more thorough evaluation *wink* *wink*.
I made a pledge recently to get my stomach muscles back. Secretly, Carl's somehow desperately wishes for me to break this pledge, as I had another one of their sandwiches today. I will defeat you Carl.
This tiny cheesesteak outpost pumps out tasty shaved steak sandwiches just as good as you'll find in… Read more »
The cheesesteak at this Carl's reminds me of a better version of Pat's and Geno's in Philly. Unlike Pat's (stale bread) and Geno's (undercooked meat), Carl's was the opposite of these two.
BUT, I've tried Shorty's cheesesteaks and I like that one better. The Steak just taste much better and they put a lot of cheez whiz...and what makes it so much better is the baked hoagie.
Carl's aint bad and it's waaaay better than the ones down in Philly, but I'm not around 3rd ave a lot and unless I was, that's the only time I would eat at this place again.
Great cheesesteaks, 3 stars as far as greazy dives go. I've been to Carl's several times and it's always been very good for what it is.
I recently got "the Works" which is cheeze whiz, onions, mushrooms, peppers, etc and it tasted great. However, I think the double meat option for $3.25 is smart if you want a good size cheesesteak sandwich. To be honest, there's never really a heap of meat on there, it's mostly big soft chewy roll. Another option is the low carb platter which is essentially a double meat sandwich without the roll, quite a good deal.
Also, the fries are perfect every time too; light, crispy, and fresh. I think I like them more than the cheesesteaks actually. Definitely check them out.
Finally, they're really really fast, even for a hole in the wall with a tiny menu. When I walked in it was about 3 minutes from order to getting my food with a sizable line. Via Seamless Web they made a delivery in about 10 mins.
One of my favorite cheesesteak places in the city and the fries are fantastic. Ordered from them on Seamless all the time until I moved out of the delivery radius. One oddity is that on Seamless (not sure if this is the case in the restaurant too) they stopped offering soda, instead only giving you options for bottled water or Red Bull.
You ever get a craving and you so badly want to fulfill it?
Well if you're ever craving a Philly Cheesesteak-- this is definitely the place to get it. I've been to Pat & Geno's down in Philly and this place comes SUPER close to that.
The bread is SOFT (which is one of the key ingredients to a good philly cheesesteak!)
It's located by the popular bars in the area, so if you're wandering around and have the munchies-- your stomach will be very pleased if you order a sandwich from here.
I've also ordered delivery-- and they're pretty quick!
By the way, I always get the Cheesesteak with Cheez wiz & grilled onions. It's GOOD. :-)
Late night eats at a good price. How an you go wrong?? The perfect location, next to Joshua Tree on 3rd - this place is smart to stay open late for all the "happy people" to come and get their grease fix!
With a variety of ways to have your sandwich, I choose the most plain and boring - just meat and cheese - no onions, no spread, nothing. ... and I think it just perfectly! The sandwich is fairly large - too large for me to finish - and was ready in just a matter of minutes. What's not to like?!
Hands down the best cheesesteak that New York offers. The rolls are soft, the meat is flavorful, and the whiz tops it off. I recently had a Carl's cheesesteak at the Yanks game and it was delicious. I just wish there were more locations in New York.
The only reason I did not rate "As good as it gets" is because Philly still has the best cheesesteaks,.
Guess what everyone, I just made a $10 donation** to this establishment this evening, ..here's what happened:
I go to the ATM and withdraw some cash, my husband and I order one sandwich (because I can't finish a whole greasy sandwich like that by myself!)...I tell my husband to get a fountain drink, and the guy rings me up for $9-something...as I was handing him a $20 bill, my husband tells the cashier "Hey we heard good reviews from this place" and he starts going on about "we're from LA" blah blah...
The cashier jokes with him..."Well I guess the pigeon made it all the way to California" or some s#it like that, ha ha..and he hands me my change and receipt. I felt wierd as he gave me such little change, but I didnt want to start shit with anybody that night...my non-confrontational side kicked in and disregarded it.
I had $30 in my wallet and I could have sworn I gave him a $20...by the time I was 100% sure of this, we were already on the subway.
But that cashier won't ever have the balls to admit this, as I know he will just slip that $10 in his pocket...I just hope he's reading this.
So my idea of travelling to NYC to try to help out the tourism industry is destroyed because of this incident. New York I love you, but I won't be coming back. I'll be travelling somewhere else where people are have a higher moral standard.
LESSON: Watch your cash here at all times.
**If an NY cop is reading this, pls feel free to pay a visit here and get your free sandwich and drink ( shld be abt $10 worth )...tell the gray-haired cashier I sent you.
I've never been to Philly, but I never empathize with folks who chide cheese steaks for being 'inauthentic'. It's grilled steak topped with melted cheese, for fancy's sake. Or, if it's Carl's 'The Works', it's caramelized onions, sweet peppers and grilled steak topped with melted cheese (or cheese whiz). Lowbrow, maybe. But baby, there be no wrong turns on this avenue.
Can someone explain to me the hype about Carl's steak? I order from this place quite often only because its cheap fast and OK. But I dont see the HUGE hype of how its the BEST steak in town. I think its comparable to 99 miles to philly. Both of these places are just OK nothing great about them. Ive tried every single one on the menu, the regular philly, chicken, etc. I think the chicken one is pretty gross. The chicken is so bland and i cant even describe the texture its unappetizing and gross looking. My sandwiches are always soggy by the time i get it. I also feel the sandwiches are not over flowing. The meat and onions have no problem staying within the bun. I personally would prefer overflow of meat but the bun itself is also extremely small. Almost comparable to the size of a hot dog bun but a little longer. I recommend the regular steak with onions and cheese.
I have to admit tho the staff is awesome and are extremely friendly. They also try to accommodate you the best they can.
This place is a good place to get a philly cheese steak. The sandwiches are decently priced and they are tasty but im always left starving. I usually have to eat 2 and a set of fries to get somewhat full off Carls steaks.
I gone got a philly cheesesteak here with the cheeze wizz just like they do it in Philly, I hear. It was good. Greasy shitpile of steak it was. Nothing I couldn't make on my own griddle, but you know what? I don't have one. and I don't have onions simmering on the griddle side for an hour. Just don't got it. The rolls are nice and soft, nothing artisan about it. Just lots of throughput in there. I mean there's a lot of people in this big city in this small store in this big world and a bunch of them are getting philly cheesesteaks from Carl's steaks. Why would the rolls be stale? they're not, that's why.
Supposedly 'the best Philly steak in town.' I'm not a connoisseur of the intricacies of the 'authentic' Philly, so all I can say is that mine (provolone+onions) was good... although I don't think I can notice any incredible difference with the average deli in the city -- at the end of the day, at least for me, a Philly steak is a Philly steak; there is not that much science to it.
I probably like 99 Miles to Philly a smidge better, but this place is nearly tied for my top cheesesteak place in NY. Also, its a reason to like Murray Hill, so thats a pretty nice bonus.
DELICIOUS! now this is what i'm talking about--i once did a tour of the two famous philly cheesesteak places, pat's and gino's and quite frankly i hated both of them.
NOW Carl's is a completely different experience... this place is incredible, the prices are right and the flavors are explosive.
fortunately i work 2 blocks from Carl's so i can fix my cheesesteak craving anytime i have one. if you're hungover or in the mood for a cheesesteak or a satisfying bite--Carl's is the place you want to visit
Apparently, when it comes to cheesesteaks, my friends and I are ghetto. We never seem to leave the house for it, so this is a review of just their delivery. Is it authentic? No. Do we care? No. Why? Because it's pretty good.
It's great for a philly cheesesteak hankering, but it doesn't quite take you to full satisfaction level. For some reason, I just can't get into the bigger chunks of steak slices. I kind of like my cheesesteak steak in smaller bits so that it melts with the cheese and onions better. Am I being too picky? Probably.
One thing is for sure. They're freaking huge, so be sure to be hungry!
Yes. Best steak in town. The folks behind the counter are far too friendly to be authentic south philly folk, but this is NYC where we are much nicer. This is the place I come to when I am heading home at midnight from a night downtown. The catch is, I usually have to offer 1/2 my sandwich as a sacrifice to anyone else awake in my place at that hour!
Carl's was the first place to come close to getting it right in NYC. When it first opened I used to send my assistant there for pick-up for lunch. subway fare to get there, cab fare on the way back - for freshness, of course!
Awesome cheesesteaks! I think Carl's may have been the first place in NYC to make me a cheesesteak just the way I like it. There is a menu with your sandwich options, which you order. Be warned, there is a 10 dollar minimum on credit cards, so make sure you bring cash.
The cheese steaks here are pretty good. I usually get my sandwich with onions and cheese whiz. It can get messy, especially if you get cheese whiz instead of provolone. I tried it once with sweet peppers but the peppers weren't heated up on the grill, just thrown in the sandwich.
The pizza sandwich is OK but I didn't like the chicken cheese steak. Get the regular cheese steak instead.
The fries are also pretty good.
They had a Carl's Steaks at Yankee Stadium. I hope they'll be at the new Yankee Stadium.
This place was great. Since I live in DC and cant get a decent cheesesteak anywhere, this place made an impression on me.
Not much to say here, since it's a cheesesteak joint. The guys working here were cool. I would give it more stars if they had a bigger seating area.
Good place for a quick bite (sober) or what I imagine to be one of the best hangover cures possible.
The greasy fat mother F*Cker who works here and prob owns the place is the biggest douchebag i have ever met. i order here semi-regularly for lunch...everytime I get the cheesesteak with both American and provolone cheese...everytime I pay $.50 extra for both cheeses, as extra cheese is that much more. Tonight, i decided to go grab one after the bars. I walked in for the first time instead of getting delivery and some fat, greasy, gray haired guy with a goatee refused to mix 2 cheeses for me. Even though i told him I ALWAYS order both and was willing to pay the extra money, he refused to do it for me. I have always liked this place, but he seemed like he was the owner and was a huge loser...I now will never buy a cheesesteak from this establishment again...if you see this guy, call him out on being the loser he is...way to drive away loyal customers douchebag
Very good place to stop for really good cheese steaks late night especially when you had a bunch drinks in the area .
I had read somewhere that Carl's had "the best sandwiches in the city", so during my lunch break one day, I decided to give it a try. Carl's is famous for their cheesesteaks, so I ordered one with provolone and fried onions. However, I wasn't that impressed by it. There wasn't anything wrong with it, but for some reason, it just didn't hit the spot. I'm guessing it's because there really wasn't any seasoning on the steak, which is something I'm used to from the cheesesteaks over at NY Bagels & Cafe a few blocks east.
The place is small, so you can't really eat there. I also waited more than I would have liked.
I visted this Carl's Steaks after a friday night Yankees game when I was in New York on vacation last July and it was yummy, I had a regular cheesesteak with cheese whiz and a coke and I will be back Im sure when I visit NYC again this year.
Okay - so I usually only get delivery from Carls. We are on the boundary of the delivery, so it takes about an hour to get to us most times. The cheesesteaks are typically good, however sometimes we get some duds (i.e. not enough cheese, food is cold due to long delivery time, the bread isn't that fresh). The price is a little on the expensive side but otherwise it's a great place to get cheesesteaks!
Let me give you some perspective:
Dec. 30, 2007 -- I have been in NY for 2 days visiting a friend for the New Year's weekend. Flew in from CA. Promptly at 8pm I become violently ill and probably coughed up a few major organs and perhaps every meal I'd eaten over the past week.
I was bedridden for a day and could barely stomach a single drink on New Year's Eve. Total bummer. But somehow, some way, on Jan. 1 I mustered the gumption to down a steaming, spicy cheese steak from Carl's with onions, peppers, cheese and hot sauce. And French fries. It was the the most painful sort of pleasure I'd ever known as I savored every lasting drop of grease from the bun while simultaneously convulsing from the warfare that sandwich waged on my still ailing digestive tract.
Carl's, you complete me.
This is the best cheesesteak I've had in the city. Have done delivery, eaten at the place, and had it at yankee stadium - and never been disappointed.
I'd recommend onions, cheese whiz, and sweet and/or hot peppers but friends speak well of every variation. Well, I don't know anyone that tried the chicken vs. the steak...I'm sure it's fine but why would you choose it?
We came to Carls after hitting Happy Hour and in my opinion, something like a cheesesteak is the best after a nite of drinking. Whoever told me that Carls was the closest thing to a true Philly cheesesteak hasn't been to Philly for ages.
First off.. lets run down the rules to "a great cheesesteak".
1. Bread-must be soft, a long roll and none of that multi grain stuff. Health and fiber does not come into play with this sandwich.
2. Steak-tender, flavorful, plenty of it but not too much. Must be given enough, but not an overwhelming amount of meat
3. Cheese-whether you like it with Cheez Wiz, provolone, american, it must be fresh and melted for the right amount of time on top of the meat
4. Extras-thats up to you.. whether you like grilled onions, peppers, etc.. but it should at least be an option
Ok, so the bread was good.. not the best but still soft and fresh. However, what lacked at Carls had to do with the core of this sandwich.. the meat! It was dry, stringy and very little of it.. perhaps it was cooked too long but the quality and tastelessness of the meat did not impress. With the huge roll enveloping what very little there was, it was underwhelming.. hence the dryness of the sandwich. I had to drench it with ketchup in order to keep the moistness factor decently present. Carls offers all the varities of cheeses you might want so no criticism on that end.. and they offer the extras such as grilled onions and peppers.
A nice touch was the inclusion of ketchup packets and some mints. Maybe if they provided better steak and more or it, there wouldn't be the need to use so much ketchup! Ah ha, they must have known...
After writing a review for 99 Miles to Philly, I realized I hadn't reviewed this place. Carl's is an experience- Philly steak, but true NYC gruff behind the counter. For a while its been one of my favorite hangover foods and with good reason- they use top quality ingredients from the steak to the bun. But Carl's is not very generous with portions and if this is your meal, you're gonna be left a tad hungry. And in comparison to 99 miles, it really comes up lame about 49 miles short on the portion.
Went to this place after the bars and it was just OK. My stepbrother specifically said "No onions" to several of the people behind the grill and guess what? Onions galore. He was pisssssed. The people here are very incompetent and it isn't very appetizing when they have a 2 foot pile of meat sitting in the corner of the grill. My cheese steak was ok, but definitely not up to standards with some of the others I've had in my day.
A good cheesesteak? Yes The best cheesesteak? Probably not.
When I haven't visited Philly in a while I hit this hole in the wall up before my movie at Kips Bay because after consuming this greasy mess I am in no mood to walk around I would rather sit on my arse!
I hear this is the best outside Philly, and it's DAMN good.
I love this place. The actual place is tiny and fun. The staff is friendly and fun. This whole place is fun. ESPECIALLY LATE AT NIGHT WHEN YOU NEED SOME GRUB.
The cheesesteak itself is fantastic. The roll is good (not the best, but very good). I thought it was a little tough (Wogie's rolls are just to die for). The steak with onions, cheese and hot sauce just rocked. You could tell the steak had some good flavoring in it.
I am a huge Philly Cheesesteak fan. I have been to a lot of them. Wogie's is still my fave in the city. Tony Luke's is also impressive. Still need to try 99 Miles to Philly.
Carl's lived up to the hype. It's just not my favorite one in NY.
Overall a pretty good cheese steak. I could have gone for a little more cheese (I got Whiz naturally) and a little tougher bread crust, but it is better to soft rather than too hard, so I can live with it. They dose the steak with water to keep it moist, and it may drip a little when you eat it, not the most awesome, but still. The pizza steak is supposed to be rather good, but I went for the regular, I would have liked to try the peppers and onions, but I I cannot eat them, and I had to go take a test afterwards and I didn't want to chance it. The fries were okay, crispy and soft, so it was a nice combination, the barbecue sauce is very Asian, and tastes great with the fries.
Very small overall, and I think the restrooms are for employees only, so plan ahead...
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