South Street Gives Burbank What It’s Been Missing
By Lisa Dowda
Staff Writer

“Baby, I’m home.”

This line was sighed by one such Philly/California transplant critic complaining about never being able to find a good cheese steak, after he sank his teeth into the South Street Philly Cheese Steak. Now owners Mitch Goldman and Smitty have brought their tastes of home to Burbank.

“Food is regional,” states Mitch, when asked where his passion comes from to open, now, his second South Street restaurant in Los Angeles (the first one opened successfully four years ago in Westwood). Both he and Smitty (like Cher, just Smitty, that’s it) met while working in the entertainment marketing and advertising fields, and like many, came together over tales of home. They came together over Philly.

People take the comforts of a childhood home with them when they leave. Throughout life’s adventures spin memories of playing stickball in the street, summer days at a favorite foodstand, the music in the background while trading smokes or boasting about romantic adventures. Then one grows up, moves away, and spends the remaining decades recreating the sounds, scenes and tastes of those days. Mitch and Smitty are proud to have recreated a small, but memorable part of their upbringing. Frankly, they can’t stop talking about it. They seem so relieved to have a cheese steak that they don’t have to buy a plane ticket to enjoy. They push one at me. “You’re gonna love it.”

And why not? The only thing I’ve known about a Philly Cheese Steak is from a “Fresh Prince of Bel Air” episode – “It ain’t a Philly Cheese Steak if it don’t come from a greasy bag.” So I’m leery. I try to watch my fat, transfat, and carbs, and oftentimes I throw it out the window when I need comfort food. Today, I don’t have to. This Philly Cheese Steak is different.

Most ingredients of their signature sandwich are imported directly from Philadelphia. Mitch and Smitty would have it no other way. “We’re convinced it’s in the water,” Smitty emphatically explains about the Philly taste. The steak, also shipped in, is a marinated rib eye, tender and high quality. The bread is brought in from Philly’s most famous roll maker, Amaroso’s, who has been baking for more than 100 years. Other tasty East Coast imports are the original Hank’s sodas and Tastykakes, which is the East Coast version of plastic-wrapped cakes, cookies and donuts.

I sink my teeth into their cheese steak, and it is, it truly is a taste of home. It’s comfort food at its most complete. It’s a warm, full and savory taste. A taste that tastes good for me. The robust steak, the blend of Provolone and American cheese, the soft on the inside and crusty on the outside roll is everything that South Street’s history is made of.

Philadelphia’s South Street was built by ordinary people who dreamed of building new lives where hard work and imagination could lead to economic independence. South Street then and now thrives today with various corporate franchises and independent ventures, inspiring such Philly devotees as Mitch and Smitty to bring a piece of that history to the West Coast.

South Street in Burbank also offers this area items that the other Westwood store doesn’t – the formidable 18” inch slice of pizza. With dough and sauce made in-house, this luscious pizza is the perfect end to the workweek. A place to come, have a beer and a slice of pizza in a red basket, and watch the Eagles or 76ers on any of their flat screen TVs. Mitch and Smitty have also taken great pains to recreate the Philly environs of a typical cheese steak stand, complete with glass windows showcasing the cooks while they put together the sandwiches and slices of your dreams. The service is friendly and normal, not a lot of over-processed customer service. Just good, friendly smiles and “what can I get for ya?”s.

Word has spread quickly to the local studios and executive offices amongst Philly transplants about South Street’s food. Since they offer extensive, made-to-order, onsite catering services, companies have been keeping Operations Manager Bryan Gross and his staff hopping already this year. When I talked to them, Gross had just returned, panting, from serving at a party at NBC. They’ve served casts and crews for “The King of Queens,” “My Wife & Kids,” and “Desperate Housewives.” For the last three years, South Street has put together sandwiches and other noshes on site for the Directors Guild of America’s Fourth of July party. They are 100 percent affordable and amenable to the demands of your staff’s or crew’s tastes and timetables.

It’s a Philly thing – this taste, this memory. Noam Chomsky writes it, Bill Cosby’s Fat Albert and the Gang tells its story. Pop songstresses Pink, Eve, and Jill Scott sings its soul. Toluca Lake’s own Fritz Coleman hails from it. South Street has folded it into each sandwich, slice and soda. It’s a Philly thing – keepin’ it real, but tastin’ of the love.

Stop by and get what you’ve been missing. I did, and I didn’t even know I was missing that kind of love.

South Street is located in Burbank at 117 Victory Blvd. at Olive. Call about catering and onsite cheese steak offerings for your next office party or holiday event (818) 563-2211.