Taste of Philly ~ Colorado chain: Colorado Springs

Latest visit: Mar 2024 (Voyager)

First visit: Aug 2011 (Denver - Colorado Blvd.)

Locations: 19 total (+2 from last year); 6 in Colorado Springs (+1); 10 in the Denver metro area (+1), and 1 each in Loveland, Greeley, and Fort Collins.

Back for our first visit of 2024, though I did sneak in a few extra ones last year given their proximity to Casa RJG. On this visit I was feeling traditional and got a philly cheese "wit wiz" as they call it. Which is backwards, as it should be "wiz wit" in Philadelphia jargon. I told them that once and was met with a blank stare. OK then, moving on. They asked if I also wanted white cheese with it and I said sure (75 cents that move cost me). I was also starving and went for the full footlong versus the usual 9 inch. Grabbed the sack to go, and unraveled the sandwich while watching a TV show (The Regime on HBO for those interested) during my lunch break from work. I supplied my own drink (Coke Zero). The size of the sandwich allowed me to pass on chips. Everything was perfect as noted below. Hot temperature, chewy bread, flavorful diced meat, gooey cheese. As reliable as they come in this day and age. We'll keep coming back.

---4/20/23 update

Alrighty finally back to our favorite Philly Cheesesteak place. But why the wait? Ah... well, they just opened across the street from us! In the same shopping center as Zapata and Zesty Thai. And what that means is more visits from the RJG. They had a soft open earlier in the year but had to shutdown temporarily due to some fire code issues. Those have been all fixed up, and we're good to go. We'd been to this exact address before, since it hosted a pizza place called Duca's. The chain still exists but in another location in Colorado Springs. I want to try again, but we didn't enjoy the one outing here (and it's not in the RJG). In any event, they reorganized the space quite well. 

Mrs. RJG joined me on this venture, continuing our win theme on experiences. Right from the get, I was happy to see they have this setup as an order at the counter versus a full serve restaurant, like the South Academy location below. This kind of food calls for quick service, even if the other wasn't slow by any means. We each ordered the Green Chile Philly. I haven't gone enough to explore the menu, but that's going to change this year I think. Wow - this is really great! Everything is better here than at the other location we used to frequent - and we loved that one too! The meat was piled high, the fries were crispy and flavorful, and the bread was both crispy and chewy, just as a good Philly calls for. Even the soda fountain drink mix was great. A+ from us. If you live far north like us, this a must stop. Go here.

Contrary to my original post, they do now seem more like a consolidated chain.

---3/25/22 update

For some reason I forgot to update this for its annual review that occurred 2 months ago. Well as you can see, it passed with flying colors. And while service has been a problem at so many restaurants, I had no such issues on this visit. The highest standards were met. This remains our favorite Philly cheesesteak spot in the Springs.

Taste of Philly has 4 locations in Colorado Springs and 11 others in the Denver / Fort Collins / Greeley metro areas.

---original 2/15/20 review

Over the years the RJG has covered many Philly cheesesteak places, including being a constant booster in the DFW area of places like Billadelphia's and Fred's Downtown Philly. Our first experience with Philly cheesesteaks goes back to Philadelphia itself, with business trips starting in 1999. But I have to say the best of them all is right here at Taste of Philly in Colorado Springs. Or to be more specific, this location on South Academy is our favorite. And I have to admit to veering away from Philly standards such as "Wiz Wit", though I've had that here as well. The two things that Taste of Philly always gets right - toasty but chewy bread (this is key) and sizzling hot chopped beef with grilled onions blended in (not oily and plopped on top nasty style). We've taken it even further and love their Green Chile cheesesteak - that's Colorado for you! And recently I even tried their pizza cheesesteak with some wonderful gooey provolone cheese and a piquant tomato sauce. It's sit down service or you can order at the counter to-go. One of the first post-lockdown places we visited that seemed comfortable to eat inside (i.e. no "leper table" feeling).

Taste of Philly is one of those disparate chains that doesn't share ownership and are loosely branded together. This is important to note as our first experience with Taste of Philly goes to Denver, which shares the name but not necessarily the same quality. Though we were always pleased there as well (south Colorado Blvd location - which is the original and still there). But for our pesos, we prefer this location (even though it's not even close to our cow pasture). In addition there's an ARC thrift store next door, so there's that incentive as well...

8/21/11; 2/15/20 (new entry); 1/30/21; 3/25/22; 4/20/23; 3/29/24