First Bite: Go Philly, a new cheesesteak restaurant in Tacoma

Philly sandwich fans, have I got a giant steak-fueled tip for you. If you've been missing Philly Joe's and DelBrocco's,  get yourself to Tacoma Avenue South - stat. Go Philly opened yesterday and a first-bite impression showed a restaurant that looked to be the honest-to-goodness real deal.

Go Philly seemed to have all the right ingredients I require of a gut bomb sammie known as a Philly - a soft roll (football shaped, about a foot long), stuffed with a chopped up messy pile of meat threaded with wisps of caramelized onions. Tucked into the roll was what every Philly sammie needs - melted processed cheese. They give you three choices of plasticized cheese here - white American, provolone and "wit" style with Cheese Wiz. Go Philly's menu offered the sandwiches in different configurations - regular with grilled onions and cheese, a pepper sammie with hot and sweet peppers, a mushroom Philly, a barbecue version, a Buffalo version made with wing sauce, a teriyaki cheesesteak and a pepperoni cheesesteak. Sandwiches are $8.95-$10.50 each, but I spotted a lunch deal I suspect will gain fans - $7.95 gets you a small cheesesteak sandwich, fries and drink. The offer is good from 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

The menu covers the bases of chicken wings, fried catfish and sides that looked interesting - like fried okra and hush puppies. (See the menu below). They may give serious competition to Fish House (maybe), which is just up the hill a few blocks.

READ MORE: Speaking of Fish House, it's one of a half dozen places in town to find a decent (as in, really greasy and good) Philly cheesesteak.  Read my dine-around report of Philly sandwiches here. Fish House, MSM, All Star Philly and a handful of sandwich haunts are listed in the report.

Go PhillyWhere: 1402 Tacoma Ave. S., Tacoma, 253-572-3000Info: gophillycheesesteaks.com, Facebook here Tip: They have a drive-thru. I find no fault with someone handing me a steak sandwich through my car window.

This story was originally published May 30, 2013 at 5:44 AM with the headline "First Bite: Go Philly, a new cheesesteak restaurant in Tacoma ."