Hefty Lefty’s Hoagies and Grinders — Restaurant in York

I really wanted to like this place since it was hyped up online claiming to be the best cheesesteak outside of Filthadelphia. It's not. Anyway...the woman who took my order was completely out of it. I'm not sure if she was high or drunk but she had absolutely no concern for her job of taking orders and instead was staring off into space looking out the window. I asked her if my payment went through...nothing, nobody home, no response. I waited a few seconds, then leaned in and said louder whether it accepted my payment. Again...no response like she's in a fentanyl bender. She finally says "no, sorry" after a loooooong pause, so I use the chip on my card. I wait for my order, it's busy so it takes about 15 minutes which is fine. Pigtails then announces a name of 'Kristin'? I said 'Christian'? She says 'Kristin W'? I said 'Christian W'? Her response was unprofessional and smart but I know where the communication error came from. The high as a kite order taker put my name in as 'Christin W'. Whatever, I'm on my way home.

Now if you read the reviews of this place, they truck in bread from some authentic bakery in Philly. I never heard of them but I thought they would be legit hoagie rolls. They are without exaggeration one step up from Stroehmann 90% air store bought mass produced rolls. The density of this bread is less than a Martin's potato roll. Like if you smashed it with your hand, it would be compressed into a thin sheet of squished dough. Totally opposite of what a homemade legit hoagie roll around here would be like. They remind me of the rolls that Restaurant Depot sells in Harrisburg for like $3 for 6 of them.

I made the 28 minute drive and opened it up. The bread was complete mush. This could be a great sandwich if you ate it within seconds of it coming off the grill but because this bread is trash, it turns to mushy wetness. If you have to wait 15+ minutes before eating a cheesesteak from here, don't bother and get a different sandwich. Their other sandwiches (grinders) look legit because they roll the veggies inside of the meat as I am sure they have to, otherwise the vegetable moisture would do what this cheesesteak did and turn into a pile of nasty wet dough because the rolls are low quality. Anyway...I eat it. Great flavor, salt is up there, carmelized onions, and the Cooper cheese really pulls the sandwich together. Maybe there is hope yet and I will just need to eat these as soon as it comes off the grill. Nope. I bite into a 1/2"x3/8" PIECE OF BONE. I really thought I chipped my tooth. From the order taker, the attitude of pigtails, the soggy mush pile of bread, and a piece of bone that someone would chip their teeth on, I won't go back. Pics of order, speeeeling error on my name, time, date, and BONE...

TLDR: One of the best hoagies I have had to date. The bread is fantastic and the meat wrapped around the toppings makes for a better eating experience. Come for any of the cold cuts.

Vibe: 5/5. Located in the far corner of the York Central Market, Hefty Lefty's is a humble, no frills sandwich shack that at peak hours can be seen having lines queued up around the market. Though mostly a takeout business, the restaurant does have a few tables inside as well as outside the entrance for those that can't wait to dive into their meat mountain. They have an efficient ordering system, with a single line going in on the left for those placing their order and an area on the right for those waiting for pickup. Orders can be placed online through their own website if you wish to beat the line (highly recommended).

Service: 5/5. The entire staff at Hefty's was great! I had placed my order online the night before for a 10:15am pickup time. Considering that the restaurant doesn't open until 10am, my sandwich was ready right on time, if not a little earlier. Since it was so early, I didn't have to wait in line and waltzed right in and picked up my subs. You can really tell the staff takes pride in their product, as each sub was perfectly taped, wrapped in paper and nestled in the paper to go bag so they wouldn't shift around. Sometimes it's the little things like this that make even a takeout experience memorable.

Food: 5/5. Easily a top 5 hoagie and most certainly a destination sub, i.e. one worth traveling for. I ordered a 6" Philly special (their rendition of your classic Italian but with sharp provolone) and a 6" roast beef hoagie. Both subs came loaded with meat, but in the most unique way of presenting it. Hefty's cleverly puts all their toppings inside the center of the sub and rolls the deli meats around them, forming a meat log. This delivery system is ingenious, as it allows you to get proportionate bites of meat, cheese and toppings. Another benefit is that the meat can act as a sog barrier for the bread. This was especially true for the Philly special, as the salty cured meats did not leave any soggy spots on the roll during my 90 minute ride home. Unfortunately, the roast beef did suffer from some moisture transfer from the beef to the roll, but all in all it was still very good. Pricing is insanely reasonable. Each massive 6" hovered around $10-12, which was well worth the price of admission. Overall, if you ever find yourself near York county, I highly suggest making your way over to York Central Market to get yourself a...

I ended up driving to Hefty Lefty’s from Harrisburg. As all the rave I’ve been hearing from the news outlets, and online; It was time to make the trip. We were the only two in there besides individuals picking up their DoorDash or Uber eats orders. I ordered a turkey sub, made the lefty way. My girlfriend ordered an Italian made the lefty way with the red hot pepper spread. We drove home, unpackaged our meal. Visually, it was beautifully stunning. I was so hype to dig in. I dug in, took a bite and in all honesty, it was terrible. Very bland flavor. I was in disbelief. My girlfriend’s sub was all soggy at the bottom. Which was strange as we had the same amount of vinegar, oil and shakers added. (It’s kind of crazy how I did not taste any of the things that I asked to be put on the sub or the “lefty way”). She also said she didn’t get a bite of the hot peppers until the end as there were all clumped up in a single tomato at the end of her hoagie. I’ve been to several hoagie shops, sub shops.. never have I eaten something overrated. I think the worse part about the experience was driving there and the customer service was pretty bad. I understand it was hot, but the blonde who I was giving my order to, was not friendly in the least. Heck, the best part about that place was the curly fries. It’s a shame, I heard so many good things, but it’s like they’re cold sandwich workers do not care!! Which goes along way. I’ll take quality over quantity every day!!! I just wish the juice was worth...