Jerry's Subs & Pizza

I've been eating at this Jerry's since I was young, and have witnessed all its various incarnations over the years; I've even had friends work there for several of the myriad owners.

It used to be where every sports team would come get pizza after a game. The subs and fries were an afterthought back in the old days, and everyone came in for single slices or carry-out pizza. Then it went through a number of changes, including the major renovation that so many Jerry's have gone through lately (purple neon lighting, re-done layout, they removed all the ancient posters of jet fighter planes that I loved as a kid) ...

... and now it's about on par with every other Jerry's in the country. Pizza is now the afterthought and is frankly not competitive with the other chains in town anymore (Papa Johns, Dominos, even PIzza Hut), being rather greasy with a stiff, tasteless crust. Although I'm pretty sure all the sports teams still come here.

The real focus, as you'll know if you hear any of the national radio ads, is the cheesesteak menu. They have a ton of delicious and patently unhealthy options like bacon, double bacon, triple cheese, etc. Everything looks and tastes salty. Simultaneously, everything tastes great, and the ingredients seem fresh. The lion's share of the emphasis at Jerry's are the subs, which are pricy but probably worth it.

So a local family-style pizza joint that had middling subs in the '80s has been homogenized into a chain-style sub joint with middling pizza in the '00s. Almost every customer is a local. If you're passing through and have a cheesesteak itch, this is the best place in town to scratch it.