Danny & Coop’s Cheesesteaks – If You Build It, They Will Come

When looking at my site stats, there’s always the usual outliers. Posts that get significantly more views than the rest on a daily basis for reasons not known to me. These days I’m seeing it with the Thai Diner Survival Guide, a Day in Brighton Beach, Four Gems in Alberobello, and my post on the Caminito del Rey. But in the last year or so, none garner more views than my post about Angelo’s Pizzeria in Philly. WordPress doesnt show me the search words. I can only see the sites where users come from, and on occasion I would see the rhyme and reason for the spikes, but not in this case.

If only NYC had one of the things Angelo’s Pizzeria is famous for. Well, the one that’s not pizza. The thing that people wait for sometimes hours, and eat it in the car because its strictly takeout. Well, we kinda have it now. The Danny part of the name is Danny DiGiampietro, one of the owners of Angelo’s Pizza. The Coop part is for some actor named Bradley Cooper who was making the one hit wonders during the first few days. Luckily he wasnt there to make mine the other day.

After going after such hype for decades in NYC, my expectations werent greatly inflated. I learned a long time ago that hype in NYC is often just that. It can be purchased, or generated by smart marketing. Besides, I read plenty of reviews that suggested the sandwiches lack seasoning, messy, and just not nearly as good as advertised.

But this was pretty darn good. I arrived 15 minutes before opening, and was racing to the car 30 minutes later. There was already a line of 6 or so when I arrived. The waits were well over an hour when they first opened. I rarely feel FOMO in one of the greatest food cities on earth, and can easily wait a year or more. I think I finally tried the Cronut 3 years later.

The first thing you notice is the size. It’s one of those difficult decisions a man in his 50’s must make. Share or suffer the consequences of eating the entire thing. Friday, June 20, Ziggy shares a sandwich with one of his daughters. A milestone. The exchange was so emotional, I forgot to give her her share of the hot peppers.

Whether you want hot or sweet peppers on the side is the only decision you have to make. I wasnt asked how to build the beast, and I cant tell you how much I admire that. If you build it, they will come. The no onion people (I’m talking to you Mrs Z), can just stay home. Though the onions are so translucent, I hardly felt them.

No seasoning issues whatsoever. The meat, fried onions, and Cooper Sharp Cheese (no relations, I think) blended together gorgeously. And the sesame seeded hoagie, baked in house was the perfect sturdy partner. The only issue, that may not be an issue at all, is that they load it pretty well, and half of the bread got a little soggy and couldnt quite hold it all together. But you can easily solve this by giving that half to the lucky person sharing this with you. Go!

Danny & Coop’s Cheesesteaks
151 Avenue A (East Village)