Take-out: Yes Accepts Credit Cards: Yes Bike Parking: Yes
Price range.
$ Price range Inexpensive
8 reviews
Aron Sweetser
The Cheesesteaks here are actually pretty good. They still don't really hold a candle to the real thing though.
I stumbled upon this truck parked at South Street Seaport, mostly serving the people settling in for the free outdoor movie showings. The line wasn't very long but we waited an incredibly frustratingly long time for our single cheesesteak and onion rings.
Why would your order Onion Rings ($4) do you ask? Because they were out of fries. This was especially unfortunate, because these onion rings were particularly bad. There were four or five of these massive things sitting in a brown paper bag. Before the grease ate through the entire bag, I opened it up to find the big brown rings of batter with tiny slivers of onions somewhere deep inside. I took one bite and was pretty much done with them.
On to the Cheesesteak ($6.50 for the smaller 6 inch size), things were much better. I went with White American Cheese (as opposed to Whiz) and added the onions (free of charge), and left it at that (kept it classic without choosing any of the add-ons at 75 cents each). It did actually have quite a delicious flavor, and was reminiscent of the taste you get in Philly, if not as good. The bread was a major problem as it was way too soft, but not soft in the good chewy way that the bread usually is.
If the line is short and you aren't a Cheesesteak snob, by all means give this place a shot, as they make a pretty tasty sandwich at a decent price.
Sometimes, you're at work and you just want something incredibly unhealthy for you. And sometimes, Fooda brings Carl's Steaks to your office. I did their half sandwich and chili combo. The portions on the half sandwich were still pretty generous, with onions and whiz. Exactly what my fat ass needed after a few hours of mind-numbing work. The chili was also fine, but I wouldn't go out of my way for it. Standard stuff. If you want a cheesesteak, just order one. Live without regrets, guys.
Tried this truck for the first time after hearing a coworker rave about this for a little while. Let me start by saying this is literally a heart attack in the making. The amount of grease and cheese alone would give any cardiologist nightmares.. While I will admit it is not as good as Jim's steaks in Philly it is a wonderful substitute in the NYC. The portion was more than enough and the cheesesteak alone was worth the price. I definitely recommend that if you are in the mood for a good Philly you try this truck out.
I was walking around during lunch time and saw a line of food trucks at 55th and 7th Ave. Carl's Steaks caught my attention since I haven't had a good Philly Cheesesteak since, well, in Philly! What convinced me to try it was the menu option. They have a variety of options (steak, cheesesteak, chicken steak, etc) and then you get to choose the kind of cheese and whether to put onions or not. I decided on the 6" cheesesteak, no onions, and with cheese whiz. The order was quick and then there's a list of sauces which I only went for good ol' ketchup. I am pretty impressed with it. It was pretty close to what I had in Philly. The bread was soft enough but also sturdy enough to hold the sauce and juices. The steak was pretty flavorful although I think I've had more flavorful meat in Philly.
This is pretty close to what I had in Philly so I would definitely give this another try. They also have fries loaded with a variety of things. If I had a bigger appetite or I could share with someone, I would try the fries as well.
It was ok, not great but not bad. As a Philly area native I do love me some cheesesteak. I think Shorty's kind of reigns supreme here in the city for a solid authentic steak. Carl's was pretty good. You have the option of a 10in or 6in steak, $10 and $7.75 (cheesesteak) respectively. It was a bit overpriced for what it was. The bread can make or break a cheesesteak and I found the bread maybe a bit stale or on the verge of it. I like mine "wiz wit". Plenty of wiz thankfully but if there were onions on there I'd be surprised.
The fries were very disappointing. Small, a little burnt and they didn't put any ketchup in the bag. So that wasn't worth it at all. For the cheesesteak and fries, dropping $14 really wasn't worth it in my opinion.
I may get a sandwich from here again, but it wouldn't be my first cheesesteak choice and I'd definitely skip the fries.
REVIEW OF THE CHICKENSTEAK Perhaps my mistake was ordering the chicken cheesesteak, but regardless, this was pretty bad. It tasted like canned chicken that had been microwaved with lots of salt. Very little flavor (aside from the salt). Resulting product was unappetizing. All for the price of $11 (peppers and mushrooms are extra). Server was not friendly.
Overall a pretty bad experience on the food, the cost, and the service. There is pretty much nothing positive to say about the Carl's Steaks truck.
I swear, it's been years that I've been trying to eat at this truck! When it first randomly appeared on the street corner near of one of my offices (70th and York, an area usually not visited by most food trucks, despite thousands of hungry hospital workers that would LOVE it), it was December 2014. It stayed for a few days, then on the day when I went to finally get a cheesesteak for lunch, it was gone! With Murphy's Law in full effect, it would show up one one, days, I had brought my lunch, or two, days when I was working at a different hospital campus. Then, one fateful day, it showed up while I was on the Upper East Side…and though I had my lunch, I saved it for the next day. Ha!
A group of six people from my office, including myself, ordered. The options are decent: cheesesteaks, chicken cheesesteaks, and steak sandwiches. There are plenty of cheeses and add-ons to pick from. However, by 12:30 on a Tuesday, they were already out of provolone and were out of green peppers. Booo. I ordered a cheesesteak with American cheese, grilled onions, and sweet peppers. My co-workers followed suite with a changes of add-ons.
Once I got to eat the sandwich…I was a bit nonplussed. I guess I had been building it up in my head for so long. It wasn't bad, and I enjoyed it, but it was a bit bland. To the chagrin of any true cheesesteak purist, I took some of my co-worker's dipping sauce from her onion rings and spread it on my sandwich to give it a little bit more flavor. Still! The meat was tender, as were the onions and peppers. The roll held up well and was soft and chewy. The onion rings, actually, were quite phenomenal! I would go back to the truck just to get another batch! So…after that long wait, I wasn't quite disappointed, but I suppose I had built it up in my head too much. Haaaa.
Overall, I was satisfied; next time, I may go a bit earlier to make sure I get provolone, and I would definitely get more onion rings to go with it!
The Cheesesteaks here are actually pretty good. They still don't really hold a candle to the real thing though.
I stumbled upon this truck parked at South Street Seaport, mostly serving the people settling in for the free outdoor movie showings. The line wasn't very long but we waited an incredibly frustratingly long time for our single cheesesteak and onion rings.
Why would your order Onion Rings ($4) do you ask? Because they were out of fries. This was especially unfortunate, because these onion rings were particularly bad. There were four or five of these massive things sitting in a brown paper bag. Before the grease ate through the entire bag, I opened it up to find the big brown rings of batter with tiny slivers of onions somewhere deep inside. I took one bite and was pretty much done with them.
On to the Cheesesteak ($6.50 for the smaller 6 inch size), things were much better. I went with White American Cheese (as opposed to Whiz) and added the onions (free of charge), and left it at that (kept it classic without choosing any of the add-ons at 75 cents each). It did actually have quite a delicious flavor, and was reminiscent of the taste you get in Philly, if not as good. The bread was a major problem as it was way too soft, but not soft in the good chewy way that the bread usually is.
If the line is short and you aren't a Cheesesteak snob, by all means give this place a shot, as they make a pretty tasty sandwich at a decent price.
Sometimes, you're at work and you just want something incredibly unhealthy for you. And sometimes, Fooda brings Carl's Steaks to your office. I did their half sandwich and chili combo. The portions on the half sandwich were still pretty generous, with onions and whiz. Exactly what my fat ass needed after a few hours of mind-numbing work. The chili was also fine, but I wouldn't go out of my way for it. Standard stuff. If you want a cheesesteak, just order one. Live without regrets, guys.
Tried this truck for the first time after hearing a coworker rave about this for a little while. Let me start by saying this is literally a heart attack in the making. The amount of grease and cheese alone would give any cardiologist nightmares.. While I will admit it is not as good as Jim's steaks in Philly it is a wonderful substitute in the NYC. The portion was more than enough and the cheesesteak alone was worth the price. I definitely recommend that if you are in the mood for a good Philly you try this truck out.
I was walking around during lunch time and saw a line of food trucks at 55th and 7th Ave. Carl's Steaks caught my attention since I haven't had a good Philly Cheesesteak since, well, in Philly! What convinced me to try it was the menu option. They have a variety of options (steak, cheesesteak, chicken steak, etc) and then you get to choose the kind of cheese and whether to put onions or not. I decided on the 6" cheesesteak, no onions, and with cheese whiz. The order was quick and then there's a list of sauces which I only went for good ol' ketchup. I am pretty impressed with it. It was pretty close to what I had in Philly. The bread was soft enough but also sturdy enough to hold the sauce and juices. The steak was pretty flavorful although I think I've had more flavorful meat in Philly.
This is pretty close to what I had in Philly so I would definitely give this another try. They also have fries loaded with a variety of things. If I had a bigger appetite or I could share with someone, I would try the fries as well.
It was ok, not great but not bad. As a Philly area native I do love me some cheesesteak. I think Shorty's kind of reigns supreme here in the city for a solid authentic steak. Carl's was pretty good. You have the option of a 10in or 6in steak, $10 and $7.75 (cheesesteak) respectively. It was a bit overpriced for what it was. The bread can make or break a cheesesteak and I found the bread maybe a bit stale or on the verge of it. I like mine "wiz wit". Plenty of wiz thankfully but if there were onions on there I'd be surprised.
The fries were very disappointing. Small, a little burnt and they didn't put any ketchup in the bag. So that wasn't worth it at all. For the cheesesteak and fries, dropping $14 really wasn't worth it in my opinion.
I may get a sandwich from here again, but it wouldn't be my first cheesesteak choice and I'd definitely skip the fries.
Some of the best Cheesesteaks I've had in Manhattan. Get the "wiz" and enjoy a good sandwich!
REVIEW OF THE CHICKENSTEAK
Perhaps my mistake was ordering the chicken cheesesteak, but regardless, this was pretty bad. It tasted like canned chicken that had been microwaved with lots of salt. Very little flavor (aside from the salt). Resulting product was unappetizing. All for the price of $11 (peppers and mushrooms are extra). Server was not friendly.
Overall a pretty bad experience on the food, the cost, and the service. There is pretty much nothing positive to say about the Carl's Steaks truck.
I swear, it's been years that I've been trying to eat at this truck! When it first randomly appeared on the street corner near of one of my offices (70th and York, an area usually not visited by most food trucks, despite thousands of hungry hospital workers that would LOVE it), it was December 2014. It stayed for a few days, then on the day when I went to finally get a cheesesteak for lunch, it was gone! With Murphy's Law in full effect, it would show up one one, days, I had brought my lunch, or two, days when I was working at a different hospital campus. Then, one fateful day, it showed up while I was on the Upper East Side…and though I had my lunch, I saved it for the next day. Ha!
A group of six people from my office, including myself, ordered. The options are decent: cheesesteaks, chicken cheesesteaks, and steak sandwiches. There are plenty of cheeses and add-ons to pick from. However, by 12:30 on a Tuesday, they were already out of provolone and were out of green peppers. Booo. I ordered a cheesesteak with American cheese, grilled onions, and sweet peppers. My co-workers followed suite with a changes of add-ons.
Once I got to eat the sandwich…I was a bit nonplussed. I guess I had been building it up in my head for so long. It wasn't bad, and I enjoyed it, but it was a bit bland. To the chagrin of any true cheesesteak purist, I took some of my co-worker's dipping sauce from her onion rings and spread it on my sandwich to give it a little bit more flavor. Still! The meat was tender, as were the onions and peppers. The roll held up well and was soft and chewy. The onion rings, actually, were quite phenomenal! I would go back to the truck just to get another batch!
So…after that long wait, I wasn't quite disappointed, but I suppose I had built it up in my head too much. Haaaa.
Overall, I was satisfied; next time, I may go a bit earlier to make sure I get provolone, and I would definitely get more onion rings to go with it!