Nicky's Undefeated Steaks & Hoagies

Any jabroni knows that you can't get a proper Philly cheesesteak AKA 'Philty' outside of Philly unless the shop uses the genuine Amoroso's Italian Roll. I'm still haunted by the decades old memory of some local "foodie" douche that claimed Souper Jenny was serving an authentic Philty back in the day when they were at their original East Andrews location. And of course, like a dumb schmuck, this fat fuck rushed over (more like waddled) to gamble for a taste of a real Philty in this one horse town. They had the jawns to charge $10 just for the cheesesteak, no chips or a side, which was pricey back then some 20+ years ago. So, this fucking thing better be goddam legit. I was so fucking excited because it smelled so good while they were making it... Then they handed it to me and unwrapped it to only find some motherfucker shit sandwich with crappy stale store bought bread and a very chintzy amount of seasoned-less overcooked steak wit onions and a single serve slice of unmelted white cheese of unknown origin. It was so fucking revolting that I threw half of it right into the garbage and then I noticed the empty plastic bags of Pepperidge Farms hoagie rolls. WHA. DA. FUK. I looked around the place to see if anyone else was depressed with this putrid specimen... Well, I have never seen so many stunads with shit eating grins dripping with crispy manmeat bits out of the side of their faceholes. I knew back then that I will never find any authentic northeast street grub in this one horse town, ever, no matter how much the shills brag about it to drum up attention. 

So, now, every time I hear or read about a new joint that is serving a specialty (cheesesteaks in this case) that originated from the Tri-State area or northeast... I'm not rushing over to be the first piker to review it like an oblivious Yelper anymore only to waste my time and hard earned cash to be disappointed once again. But... I did drive by this place a few times when they were still building out just to see what's going into this high turnover location. When this joint finally opened I waited a couple months for them work out the kinks, at least the initial kinks. Nicky's is owned by the Salaryman and Ramen Station group. I had to do a little research of what suppliers they were using and Amoroso's was not on the list which is synonymous with Philties. But do they have the googootz to call themselves a Philly joint? Nicky's seems to be using household names even the average Igglesphans would be familar with... Liscio's Bakery, Cooper cheese, Dietz & Watson, Thumann's, Bassetts and Via Veneto wooder ice. 

We all know the most important item for the Philty is the bread of course and Liscio's is a good choice as well. Liscio's Bakery is located in south Jersey (not Philly) but supplies some of the most notable Philty slingers like Geno's, Jim's Steaks, Tony Luke's, and Campo's. But to be fair Aromoso's has relocated to south Jersey as well.  

Jeet? No? Well, let's go take a first look and grab a bite and see if they got the gagootz or will it be a fugazi...

Apps, Pizza and Philties...

Hoagies, Cheekan Sandos, sides and other crap...

The bar menu is very approachable.. It has the classics.. I tried the Goodfellas (Eyetalian OF) and it was not good at all, it all depends on the bartender making it and she forgot the orange and a decent pour... If your gut feeling says don't do it, stick with the beers.

Let's checkout a few samples of the classics...

Philly Soft Pretzel, mustard (packet), $5. It's pretty close to the real Philly pretz shape but the holes are a bit too big. It was also bathe in butter. So, it made it a bit too greasy to eat. Don't worry this fat fuck gobbled up the whole thing... And licked the buttery pretzel salt off the wax paper, too. Pouch, you're a nasty obeast buzzard!

This is the Italian Hoagie... But first and foremost, let's take a look at the infamous Liscio's bread, the most important part. I know I know it ain't no Amoroso but I like it so far... Wait a minzie, the Pouch actually approves? Yeah, it looks good at first glance... The crust is firm but yet spongy. This is a good start. Let's take a look at the innards...

Italian Hoagie, ham, mortadella (pistachio), prosciutto, genoa salami, hot capicola, sharp provolone and seeded roll, $9.75. Ran through the garden... I'm kinda on the fence with the shaved lettuce because it's just fluff. But the seeded roll was good. They give you a very decent amount of quality sliced meats and the red wine vinegar gives it just the right amount of kick. This is a very respectable Eyetalian hoagie.. I would totally get it again. I gotta admit, Publix Italian hoagie is pretty damn good as well if you need a quick fix.

Cheesesteak, ribeye, wit (sweet onions), provolone and seeded roll, $9.95. If seeded is available I will always get it vs. the plain roll. It's a very nice looking Philty. I always get the classic with provolone for the lemon test. The seeded roll was great, it held everything together and absorbed all the manmeat juice without making it soggy.

The provolone melted nicely right out of the kitchen but after a few minzies, it hardened up and didn't have the nice pull anymore. The chopped ribeye slices and bits were a bit dry but it was still a very acceptable Philty. I would totally get another one... Oh, look what just came out...

Founder's Special, ribeye, wit (sweet onions), Cooper sharp, and seeded roll, $9.95. First off, it needs more Cooper cheese, A LOT MORE. It needs a quart of that gooey white gold... Like the amount of cum Huff 'N Doback produces.. A quart.  

But that sick seeded roll... Somehow, the shaved ribeye tasted a lot better on this version. Moist and not dried out like the other one, could be the gooey Cooper cheese. This Philty was really good... I may have to say it was better than Big Dave's. I would get the Founder's again and again... Maybe even add a roasted Italian long hot next time.

Rocky Balboa, chicken parm, mozz and marinara, $9.50. I swear, I have been looking for a proper authentic cheekan parm sando for years and years in this one horse town... And nothing was worthy like total inedible garbage... Until now. Look at this beauty and beast of a cheekan sando. They give you TWO fucking chicken cutlets, that is just ridic! Mad respect for just that alone. Look at the vibrant marinara and the perfect melt of the cheese. I had to reconstruct it just to fold it and eat it...

Look at this thing of beauty... It's a fucking mess to eat but goddamn it tasted so good. The cheekan wasn't all dried out, it was perfect. Maybe this could be a one off but I would definitely get another cutlet sando... Their Nick Foles chicken cutlet sando is the closest version to Tommy DiNic's but that's no comparison to DiNic's insane roast pork with broccoli rabe, roasted peppers and provolone which is crazy good... But rumor has it that they may be coming out with a pork sando. Holy shit, I would become a 500 pound roasted fat suckling piglet when they do.. Wait a minzie, Pouch, you mean you're not one already? Shut the fuck up mofos and eat your damn sando... And leave me alone in my safe space AKA trough.

Pizza By The Slice (massively large slices, twice a regular slice), Cheese, $5. I asked the girl at the order counter what style of 'ZA is it? She said, NY Style. SOLD! Shit, why am I getting so excited when I already know 99.93% of NY Style 'ZA in da ATL are bullshit lies. There's only one joint in da ATL that gets it almost close to NY Style and my one reader should know what that place is... Alright, I don't know if anyone even reads this slop blog but it's Glide Pizza and it's very respectable. But let's take a closer look at this Nicky's specimen... 

Upskirt... Meh. Just not impressed at all. It's thin crust and all but it may be too thin where it was totally dried out to a cracker. The thin layer of sauce had no flavor and the cheese was spread randomly but it had no flavor or pull at all. It was a battle to eat this. This was just a total pass. Don't waste Pouch space on the 'ZA save it for the Philty... It ain't no Paulie Gee's. I also noticed they were using Baker's Pride electric counter top ovens which just doesn't cut it to produce a proper NYC style 'ZA.

Nicky's did a great job on bringing the Philly street grub to the plebes of da ATL. And it's really the closes thing for authentic Philly jawn in this one horse town. I will be back... A lot. And all youse should, too. Just skip the 'ZA and cocktails until they get it right. This spot is gonna be nuts for Super Bowl LIX.

Hold up... Did the Pouch really just praised a new joint?

Pump pump... Squirt!

2316 Main St C

Tucker, GA 30084

https://nickysundefeated.com/