Big Joe's Sandwich Shop

Fantastic Philly cheesesteaks and a hidden gem!! I highly recommend trying this place! I've been there more than once and will keep coming back for more!!! You won't leave hungry like some of the other places!!

Don't expect a sit down place. Go in and order your food and take it to go. Although they do have a couple of stools at a counter if you want to eat there. this is a favorite with neighborhood locals it seemed. Owners were very friendly. They are not big on organization or tidiness but make up for it in hospitality. The owner found out we were from out of town and took time to give us suggestions for places to eat in Wilmington. The version of a Philly cheesesteak sandwich is made with real cheese!!! Not whiz, Yuk. Large portions in the orders. My husband also ordered scrapple and loved it. I could never it again be just fine it. Ha

Any time that I am in Philly for work I make it a priority to come back to this place! Hands down the very best Philly has to offer when it comes to cheesesteaks! My go to is a 12" steak with grilled onions, mushrooms,jalapeños and extra wiz. I'm already watching my schedule to see when I'll be back.

Oh man, where to begin....This is a no frills, all good, come here with a purpose cheesesteak place. The service is homey, the food is amazing and the portions are huge!If you're in Philly staying near the airport, this is a must go to place before you leave. You can thank me later.

The cheesesteaks were the best I've ever had! It's a small shop in the middle of a small town, but don't judge the book by its cover! Food was delicious! And the owners are so nice! The lady overheard our 6 year old saying she wants chicken nuggets (but we didn't order it), so she cooked some chicken nuggets as a surprise for my daughter! It was such a nice thing for her to do! Thank you!

This place is the kind of place I want to really like. It's a corner shop run by a husband and wife, and that's it. No pretense. Just a grill and a few refrigerators. Big Joe runs the grill and his wife made the hoagie. (I assumed it was his wife. I didn't ask. My bad if it isn't.)I root for places like this. Maybe it's because I used to work for such a mom and pop place many years ago. But nothing matters if the food isn't good. So here goes. The wife and I split the Special Italian hoagie, which is Prosciutto, Hot Capicola, Genoa Salami, Pepperoni, Sharp Provolone, Hot Pepper Spread, onion and tomato with oil. I decided to get a small cheesesteak with fried onions to sample. The boy got his chicken fingers because he's 8 and that's what they do. I broke open that cheesesteak in the car first. I wanted to get that taste straight from the grill to be fair. They use Liscio's rolls which is a good start. Their small is basically a half a full sandwich where they cut the roll in half. And then they load up that half with a really good amount of meat. This roll was good and soft, although I usually like it a little crustier. Having it hot right off the grill made the roll come off softer. But it holds together well. The amount of meat gave it a juicy, slightly greasy but not in a bad way feel. I devoured it happily. It's better than the majority of Delco cheesesteaks out there for sure. I opened the hoagie at home and on the first bite I did notice something. The roll seemed to be a little more on the chewy side this time and the crust was a little more defined. With the cold sandwich it just behaves differently. But I liked that. The Special Italian definitely has more flavor than most regular Italians because they're using the spicier meats. That pepper spread had a powerful zing to it that takes it up a notch. This sandwich dances in your mouth. I will say that the provolone didn't come across to me as overly sharp in this mix. The taste of the meat and pepper spread kind of keeps the cheese more subtle here. For me, it definitely sits in the above average category for Delco. My boy gave a thumbs up on his chicken fingers. That's all you need to know there. As you can see by the photo they load up the plate too. Big Joe gives you a lot of food. For me, the hoagie is definitely above average. I've had better ones in my life but the better ones came from places where they were doing things like using crustier rolls that I prefer or using higher end meats. But this sandwich beats a lot of what's out there in this area. You have to be really on your game to beat this sandwich. I put the cheesesteak in the very good category. I've had better but this is on par with a lot of good ones. Now my wife really loved the hoagie. She loves that pepper spread and thought the ratio of everything was perfect. She's digging what Big Joe gave her tonight.Big Joe deserves your attention too.

Special Italian is awesome I got the lil and could only eat half it was so full of meat!!

Food was amazing. Sandwich was big enough to last all day definitely will return. I ordered big Joe Philly steak cheese sandwich loader with grilled onion, jalapeño peppers

Good place to stop for takeout after leaving Philly airport smartpark.Hot and fresh sandwiches, ours took 5 min. We got the italian chicken cheesesteak- broccoli rabe, provolone, long hots, and juicy chicken. The long hots and red pepper flakes do make it fairly spicy. Bread was fresh. They have sodas you can buy when you're picking up your sandwich.

Being originally from the Philly burbs but living in in FL now, this is my go-to place when flying in/out of the area for cheesesteaks and other hoagies. Used to come here when I worked summers in DE when it was Jim's Place. Big Joe does it right and you will not leave hungry! Give it a try, support local businesses! As other reviewers said, its a no-frills place but easy in/out in Essington coming up or down I-95.