The Bellevue’s New $100 Cheesesteak Comes With a Butler and a Silver Platter

The Bellevue’s new $100 room service cheesesteak / Photograph courtesy of The Bellevue

Howdy, buckaroos! And welcome back to the weekly Foobooz food news round-up. Just a few quick things to get through this week — including (but not limited to) the Bellevue’s $100 cheesesteak, cake shakes, a new steakhouse overlooking Independence Hall, victory declared in the annual Herr’s potato chip wars and (maybe) some news from Sao. So let’s get right into it, shall we? We’ll kick things off this week with …

Yeah, I Said a $100 Cheesesteak

I know, I know … Stunt cheesesteaks in Philly are nothing new. Every few months it seems like someone out there comes up with some kind of bright idea to cash in on Philly’s iconic sandwich in an attempt to shake a few bucks loose from the rubes and tourists. But for whatever reason, I also feel duty-bound to report on these cheesesteak shenanigans — if only to remind myself (and all the rest of you) of the purity and simple perfection of a sandwich done well by holding it up against whatever surreal or luxury variant is currently being foisted on the unwitting public.

So this new one? It’s aimed SQUARELY at high-end travelers who want a cheesesteak “experience” without ever actually going out onto the streets of our fair city and, you know … purchasing an actual cheesesteak. It is a “Cheesesteak Maître D’ Service” being offered on the room service menu at The Bellevue in Center City. For a hundred bucks, your cheesesteak will be delivered to you personally by the Bellevue’s white-gloved concierge — literally handed to you on a silver platter — for you to enjoy at your leisure.

The sandwich itself is not the most ridiculous version I’ve ever seen. It’s wagyu steak (wasted in this application, honestly), caramelized onions, cremini mushrooms (really?) and aged provolone on a seeded roll from Sarcone’s, topped with shaved truffles (of course …) and served with long hots, pickles from Fishtown Pickle Project, fries with garlic aioli and a cold Pennsylvania Dutch birch beer.

Preparing the Bellevue’s $100 cheesesteak / Photograph courtesy of The Bellevue

To its credit, there are no bell peppers on it, and the Sarcone’s roll is a nice touch. With the FPP pickles and the birch beer, it is a solid attempt at offering some kind of local experience to hotel guests — or at least something more local than your standard room service cheeseburger and milkshake.

Arguably, one could say that you’re paying to have a cheesesteak, glorified. Some idealized form of this humble working man’s sandwich, presented amid the kingly trappings which it so richly deserves. Really, though, you’re just paying to not have to leave your room at the Bellevue and rub elbows with any actual working men or women at whatever the closest cheesesteak joint is to Broad and Walnut.

So anyway, if you’ve got some rich (and gullible) friends coming to town soon — or maybe know someone with a very generous per diem that’ll cover the room rate at The Bellevue (which is something like a thousand dollars a night), plus an extra hundo for your very own cheesesteak butler, then sure. Go for it. If nothing else, it’ll probably make for a good story.

But otherwise, I think you’re safe letting this one go. I mean, it’s not like you gotta go far in this town to find a good cheesesteak.

Now what else is happening this week?

Oh, Right. Speaking of Steaks …

Rockwell & Rose / Photograph by Cody Aldrich

While we’re on the topic, how’s this for news? It looks like Phil Scott and the team from P.J. Clarke’s are looking at opening a brand-new steakhouse concept called Rockwell & Rose at the Curtis this October. As a matter of fact, they’re basically looking at splitting the existing P.J. Clarke’s on Washington Square in half to do it.

Here’s the basics:

“Rockwell & Rose will blend elevated dining with old-fashioned hospitality, offering prime steaks, fresh seafood, and stellar cocktails in a setting that favors warmth over formality. Think softer palettes, genuine personalities, and experiences that linger long after the last bite. While honoring P.J. Clarke’s Americana legacy, Rockwell & Rose ushers in a modern era of comfort, craft, and connection.”

What that all means is basically a modern, mid-range steakhouse. Less leather and horse paintings, more rose tones, gold highlights, community tables, happy hour specials, lots of plants, and jazz on the playlist. There was a very deliberate decision made to make Rockwell & Rose unlike those “dimly lit, dark, hard-edged and stoic steakhouse[s]” (as described above). Rather, this place would be warm and colorful, welcoming, easy and approachable. Which, honestly, is kinda revolutionary for a steakhouse. I mean, it’s not an entirely original idea. But I like that the team is at least leaning in a different direction on paper.

The menu is … less revolutionary. It’s steaks. Also some seafood. The raw bar is a central component here, so it’ll be kind of its own thing, with the shuckers working full time building seafood towers and assembling plates of oysters. Plus, the bar is doing a split menu: one side “Rockwell” (the classics), the other side “Rose” (experimental floral cocktails), alongside eight taps and a sommelier-led wine program.

The main dining room at the new spot will seat nearly 50, with 45 more in the “Walnut Room” (with views of the park), 20 banquet seats in the oyster bar, plus 17 at the rail. There’s also some private dining space, so we’re looking at space for 146, all told. Not huge, but not small by any means. And when it opens, the place will have its own dedicated entrance on Walnut Street.

Right now, opening day is set for October 8th. And as always, you’ll know more when I know more.

And This Year’s “Flavored By Philly” Herr’s Chip Champion Is …

Photograph courtesy of Herr’s

As of this morning, we have an official winner in this year’s Herr’s “Flavored By Philly” tournament of champions.

For those of you not closely following the twists and turns of this most local of dramas, over the past four years, Herr’s, the Pennsylvania-based snack company, has been running summer-long chip contests, pitting various Philly chip variants against each other in a massive, market-based taste test. There’ve been flavors like Wiz Wit, Mike’s BBQ’s Korean BBQ Wings, John’s Roast Pork’s Pork Sandwich, Mom-Mom’s Kitchen Potato Pierogi, Talluto’s Cheese Ravioli and others. Three of them a year, all Philly-focused.

This year, though, the diabolical chip overlords at Herr’s decided a “Crunch Off” was in order — a no-holds-barred battle for ultimate Philly chip supremacy that would pit former winner against each other to see which chip would win a coveted slot on the Herr’s everyday product lineup. No longer a special flavor that can only be found hidden away in a Delco Wawa at 3 a.m., the winner would be available everywhere, for all time.

Or at least for a while.

The three former champions gathered together for this year’s contest were Corropolese Tomato Pie, Long Hots & Sharp Provolone, and Romano’s Special Hot Stromboli. And when all the voting (and snacking) was done, the clear winner was …

Long Hots & Sharp Provolone.

Described as, “Inspired by a local Philadelphian, this potato chip brings the heat with bold roasted pepper flavor, sharp provolone undertones, and a gradually building mild spice,” it will now be available year-round, starting in January of next year, wherever fine potato chips are sold. 

Now who has room for some leftovers?

The Leftovers

Borromini, the new Italian restaurant from Stephen Starr on Rittenhouse Square. / Photograph by Laura Swartz

In case y’all missed it, we did a big run-down last week on everything we knew about Stephen Starr’s new $20 million Rittenhouse temple to classic Italian dining, Borromini.

The good news? If you’re interested in checking it out for yourself, now you can! It opened last night, so …

Oh, wait a minute. Maybe you can’t. Swear to god, I checked 10 different nights between now and the middle of next month, and it doesn’t look like there’s a single reservation available. Which is nuts. And yet not entirely unexpected.

I’m gonna keep checking, though.

Meanwhile, how about an Ember & Ash and DiBruno Bros. end-of-summer collab dinner? Because that’s happening this Thursday, August 28th, at 5 p.m. The crew from Ember is basically shopping for dinner at DiBruno and assembling an à la carte menu of raclette tart with nixtamalized and roasted cherry tomatoes; grilled Ragusano cheese with salami XO and pickled squash; fig leaf Lenora with roasted figs and Modera balsamic; corn croquette with cheese, fermented cherry, and Lady Ellison; La Tur stuffed pasta with grated truffle cheese and more. Plus, blackberry galette with Old Chatham Creamery ice cream for dessert.

Reservations are recommended for this one, too, but you can snag yours here. Also, you can just walk in. Check out the details if you’re down.

And there’s also this: A Kampar takeover at Jet Wine Bar. Ange Branca will be doing Malaysian chili crabs (plus sides) in the garden and oyster-and-cocktail pairings in the bar, featuring six local oysters paired with six shots served right in the shell.

There’ll be a few walk-in slots for this one, but if you want to guarantee yourself some chili crab, you really need to pre-order. The fun starts at 4 p.m. on Sunday, September 7th and runs ’til 9 p.m. at Jet on South Street.

Goldie x New June Bakery cake shake / Photograph by Liz Wissmann

Over at Goldie, they’re doing tehina cake shakes in collaboration with New June Bakery. It’s basically the O.G. Tehina Shake that Goldie has been doing forever, cut with chocolate olive oil cake from New June, whipped cream, tehina caramel, and Oreos — which honestly sounds kind of amazing. 

The good thing? The shake collab is available at all Goldie locations.

The bad news? It’s available for a very limited time: from now until September 7th. So get ’em while they last.

It looks like Sao — the new oyster bar from Phila and Rachel Lorn of Mawn — is getting ready to open at 1710 East Passyunk. They’re running invite-only preview dinners at the end of this week, which means they’re getting very close to unlocking those doors for the public.

And finally this week, big congrats to Paul MacDonald, head bartender at Friday Saturday Sunday and The Lovers Bar, who just got tagged as one of the “Future 40” by Wine Enthusiast. It’s an honor to make that list (which calls out “winemakers, sommeliers, distillers, brewers, business owners, educators and advocates leading the way and effecting change”), and this year, Paul was the only Pennsylvanian included.

You can read all about them — and Paul — right here.