Café Carmela — Restaurant in Philadelphia

A few days late on this post but video is up on the socials now after meeting up with Godfather of Meat and Foodula for my first ever time at Cafe Carmela! I of course came for the cheesesteak but Tyler also ordered the Drunken chicken cheesesteak and The Godfather talked me into trying the Sicilian wings.

The cheesesteak was shaved ribeye (medium cut) with fried onions and cooper sharp on a seeded Carangi roll. I thought the chop on the meat was nearly perfect for my preference and the flavor was good. There was a lot of cooper on that bad boy which made the roll tear a bit underneath, but I certainly wasn’t mad at it. Onions were a bit larger than I prefer but the cook on them was good so it didn’t mess with the bite.

The drunken chicken cheesesteak had great flavor and was also on the Carangi roll. We opted for no onion and this one comes with cooper as well as mozzarella. If I had to knock anything from this day at all I would say that this was a bit salty for my personal preference. I am, however, sensitive to salt so take that with … uhhh .. a grain of … yeah you know.

The wings were the best item I had and one of the best orders of wings I’ve maybe ever had. Mannnnnn they were awesome. Solid fry on them, the flavors were awesome and the fried onion/cherry peppers overtop were different but worked well. The cucumber ranch dipping sauce made no sense in my mind but perfect sense on my palette. I would get these twice a week if I lived anywhere near here.

Cafe Carmela, for sure,...

Went out for my Girlfriend's birthday dinner on a Thursday. I don't know if they take reservations, but we walked up at 6:30/7pm and it was 35 minute wait.

We love Pizza and Cheesesteaks, and while Angelos in South Philly is her favorite, we wanted to try this place because it was closer and they have inside seating.

The place is a bit small and cramped, with the tables and all, however we made due. The real estate on the table was filled to the brim with everything we ordered. We got the cheese truffle parm fries, chicken parm (for her), Don Cheech Cheesesteak wit, and the Mags Pizza (most similar to the pie we get at Angelos). Everything was absolutely phenomenal. The cheesesteak was cheezy, seasoned well with a nice seeded roll that held up nicely. The Fries were a great accompaniment as well! Her chicken parm was delightfully cooked and the homemade pasta was delicious. We also grabbed a side of meatballs to try them as well and they were very good.

The Pizza was delicious. Wish it had a bit more cheese (as other reviews have posted....wish we would've read them first and then asked for extra), however it was very very good. The crust was light and airy, sauce flavorful. What would've set it over the top was to put sesame seeds on the crust. We've had that at Brooklyn Square Pizza in Jackson NJ and we thought the seeds would've set this pie apart, and over the top...

Anyway, the meal was affordable, the entire staff was extremely nice and friendly and we are looking forward...

While the people I brought here weren’t a huge fan, I definitely enjoyed my meal here. Started off the meal with an order of the Arancini and the mozzarella sticks. Both were generously covered in parmesan cheese and fried to perfection. The crunchiness was heavenly and it paired well with the pesto rice filling in the Arancini. The contrast of the two textures worked beautiful and when topped off with some of the best marinara sauce resulted in great bite but wish the rice filling had a bit more flavoring. Mozzarella sticks never ever fail to disappoint and the added topping of Parmesan cheese gave it that extra bit of flavoring that it needed. The marinara sauce truly was a highlight here and had a great flavor that wasn’t overly acidic or bland, was done right. The main reason of the visit was to try their highly raved about cheesesteaks and honestly they were pretty solid. Soft seeded rolls and plentiful of steak and copper sharp cheese. The meat was nice and tender and the cheese was incorporated throughout every bite but wish the steak had a little more salt to it and was a little wetter than I like my cheesesteaks as well. Which isn’t a big deal breaker for me because overall it all came together to make a solid cheesesteak. Will definitely come back to try their...