I dropped into Chicken Joe’s the other day with a dining companion. The back story to that is I love me some Philly Cheese Steak. When I saw this place open up, I have to say I was hoping for an experience passably similar to when I was in Philly and order a “cheese wit wiz” from historic Pat’s. I’d drive to Philly just for the sole purpose of getting a cheese-steak. You really can’t get anything like it in this area. I held out hope, of course. I’ll try, anyway. There’s some places to get a cheese-steak in Albany that are pretty decent, none, however, re-create the experience quite like the authentic and original, which is across state lines away.
Chicken Joe’s sprouted up in Albany only relatively recently, but has shops in Connecticut and New York. Two Albany shops are in a college area near Quail and Western Ave and on Yates St. The Albany shop serves a vast menu of sandwiches, wings, hot dogs and local specialties catered to the college demographic. Local offerings include “signature sandwiches” like the “Cap City” (Chicken, Lettuce/Tomato/cucumber and honey mustard), “The Heisman” (Cheddar Burger/bacon/onion rings and BBQ sauce) and “The College” (chicken nuggets/American cheese/honey mustard). Obviously, Chicken Joe’s is in tune with its market demographic, and menu items range from $2 for a corn-dog, $20-$22 for its “dorm-room combos.” There’s something likely on the menu for all variations of college student late-night and lunch budgets.
That said, when I dropped into Chicken Joe’s, I came for the “Famous Philly’s” ($6.50). Chicken Joe’s gives you a couple choices here too. The original (with peppers and onions) a “Dirty Dugout,” (with mushrooms and chili) and even a “Joe’s Philly,” (with “smashed chicken nuggets” in place of steak). Since I was hoping for the closest experience I could get without a the drive, I ordered an original for myself and my lunch guest. The original has a couple options: I opted for mushrooms and no ketchup, she opted to hold the mushrooms, but ketchup on her sandwich.
The steak was about what you’d expect in this area. That’s to say it was good, but I entered with high hopes for something better. More to the point, both orders were wrong. My girlfriend had ordered her steak with mayo, an hers came with ketchup. I had ordered my steak with no dressing at all, and my steak came with ketchup. This had me a bit baffled. Our order also came with a fair portion of crispy fries. With drinks, our order was a tolerable lunch at about $20.
Looks like I’ll still be planning trips to Philly if I’m looking for an authentic cheese-steak in Albany. Despite the intrigue of the more exotic menu items, I am not sure I’ll be rushing to Chicken Joe’s again any time soon.
Chicken Joe’s has two Albany locations: 486 Yates St., and 217 Western Avenue. The hours vary by location, and both shops deliver seven days a week to 12:00 am.