Back East Cheesesteaks

This place either sold or renamed itself to Salt City Subs. Looks like they did a small remodel too.
Food: The bread was not the right kind for subs but it might be because they ran out of the regualr rolls. Other wise the meat was good. I found it a little odd that all of their subs come with only 3 toppings, anymore they charge 50 cents per topping. The menu had no option for a loaded sub philly style.

Update: They are out of business!!!
Some of the best Cheesesteaks in town. The fries are awesome and go for the cheese wiz on your sandwich it’s great!

As an east coaster I believe I have a good understanding of what a steak should taste like. Most people have heard of Moochies and that is for good reason.
Back East is easily the second best join in the valley. They have some non traditional steak sandwiches, but they are really tasty an worth the trip. The other nice thing is that the sandwich is 8″ which is a happy medium to the typical 6 or 12″ choices.
If you are looking for a quality steak and fries you won’t be disappointed.

4 stars on the food alone. Great Philly cheese just like philadelphia. The place is a little hole in the wall. But the staff was super friendly.

Back East Cheesesteaks makes one of the better cheesesteaks in the SL valley. It’s built with a nice roll and the meat is tender. Overall, the sandwich is a bit lacking in flavor, but the crunchy exterior of the roll and the tenderness of the meat make it something I’d go back for.
But here’s the problem: They’re hardly ever open when I go there. In the past year, there have been 4 times when I’ve gone and they’ve been closed. And that’s during lunch on weekdays. The first time they were closed, it could have been just my bad luck as the store was closed so they could go hunting. OK, that happens.
But the next 2 times they were closed, they had a sign hanging in the window saying essentially, «Closed because our baker didn’t get the bread to us. If you have a problem with that, call him.» If the baker is routinely that much of a problem, get another supplier. And most recently, the sign said «Closed for October.» If there were just a couple closures, I’d chalk it up to bad luck. But based on how many times it’s happened, I attribute it to them just not caring. So whenever I decide I want their sandwich for lunch, I always have an alternative in mind.

It can be difficult to find a well-​made, grease-​smeared, hearty sandwich late at night that isn’t spawned from a fast food joint. Back East however fills the void. With excellent service, delectable sandwiches, well labeled to go boxes, and playing anything from the NBA finals to Sherlock Holmes on the tv, Back East is the place to be. The drive through is convenient but the sandwiches will differentiate this joint from any fast food «restaurant». I also reccomend their fries, they are the perfect size (more like potato wedges) paired with a unique fry sauce.

This place is getting cheaper and cheaper with their meat. Even after ordering double meat and paying extra still is sad in comparison.
I will stick to Moochies as they make the best Philly in the wasatch front.

I grew up in Pennsylvania, and had been craving a good cheesesteak for a while when these guys opened up. I was not disappointed. Love the meat, love the cheese, love the bread. They do get busy at lunch, so come early or take a late lunch. They sometimes have a great jalepeno sauce that sends the sandwhich over the top.

Not bad. Not great. The meat was tender and juicy, but lacked seasoning and flavor.
The mushrooms were fresh and the peppers were plentiful. The bread as good and the cheese was ooey-​gooey good. I was left feeling satisfied, but underwhelmed. I’d definitely give Back East another try.

I really like the cheesesteaks. They alone warrant a big thumbs up. I especially like the bread they use. Dense and chewy. It’s great. With that said, I think the sides at this place (i.e., fries and onion rings) aren’t so great. They could improve this place a ton by upgrading both.

This was definitely not the best cheesesteak I’ve had. We went here to use my sister’s Groupon. She got the cheez-​whiz, I got provolone. The sandwiches were pretty flavorless, and mostly bread, little meat. The onion rings were decent. Something left an unappealing after taste that wouldn’t go away.
The service wasn’t bad. The man behind the counter was very friendly. We won’t be going, though. Good service doesn’t make up for mediocre food.

I was very skeptical of Back East when my co-​workers first suggested it for lunch. I’m not a big fan of meat so I assumed I would end up eating lettuce and bread at a Philly cheesesteak place. Luckily for me, they had some options available that I could work with.
After I quickly dismissed any idea of ordering a salad, I found that they have a vegetarian sandwich. It seems lame at first (just veggies of course) but add on some mushrooms and provolone cheese and you’ve got a decent plate of yummyness!
The only downside to Back East is the prices. I think $ 7 for a sandwich would have been perfect if it included fries but alas, it does not. When I pointed this out to the employee at the register, he attacked me with «we’reactuallythecheapestphillycheesesteakplacearo­und!!» Not wanting to develop any enemies, I quickly agreed and handed him my credit card.
Oh and I almost took off another star for the Eagles memorabilia but then decided that Eagles fans deserve at least one place to feel loved.

I’m not a huge cheesesteak person, but I certainly can appreciate a good one. This is one of the best I’ve ever had. My order took about 10 minutes which is a little longer than I expected, but it made sense since my food was very obviously cooked right then. Flavor was great, size was perfect and even the fries were good. Don’t know if the staff was in a bad mood or what but they certainly were far from nice. That was my only complaint. Several other people sitting next to us were talking about that as well. Maybe just a bad day. Cheesesteak, get in me.

Big sandwich with plenty of meat.
Loved the perfect chewiness of the bread along with the crispy steak fries. I got the California premium with lettuce, tomatoes, and a smudge of avocado. Will probably just stick with the classic next time.
great lunch to kick off a day full of shopping at the various shops in the area.

I am not a cheesesteak snob. I have no idea if their cheese whiz is the right shade of nuclear orange, or if the beef was sliced a bit too thick.
What I do know, however, is that regardless of how Back East measures on the authenticity scale, their sandwiches are delicious. I got the classic cheesesteak with cheese whiz. They «messed up» by also putting provolone on my sandwich. I put «messed up» in quotations because it’s debatable whether or not you can actually call that a mistake. The meat was tender and the cheese was plentiful. The bread wasn’t too crusty, either
The guys running the place seem pretty relaxed as well. Seems like they really enjoy what they do.
I really enjoyed their fries. Usually I don’t like the wedge-​cut fries because nine times out of ten they are dry, powdery, and bland. But I really liked their fries here. Perfectly crisp on the outside, and moist on the inside. Their fry sauce was tasty as well.

At Back East Cheesesteaks the menu is small and what is on the menu is done well. And most importantly, their signature item (the cheesesteak) is good.
Provolone, peppers and onions are the traditional toppings and you can also add bacon, jalapenos, marinara, mushrooms or garlic to your cheesesteak. The Classic Philly (with the traditional toppings mentioned above) is $ 6.49 and the premium (anything else added) is $ 7.19. My personal belief is that all things are made better with mushrooms and garlic. Cheese options include the traditional cheesesteak provolone or optional swiss or CheeseWiz. I was surprised by the question of whether we wanted mayonnaise on our cheesesteaks (which we did of course) but it’s a nice gesture for those uncomfortable with those types of calorie-​containing condiments. The steamed Italian roll each cheesesteak is served on was firm and held up well under the meat and toppings.

Back East Cheesesteaks is a place you have to root for… It’s a guy from Philly that wanted to bring his home city’s claim to fame to the City of Salt. And its a local place, with the odds against success the place always seems to be busy.
I’ve been here a number of times since it opened and I probably go once every other week. Its across from the busy «Family Center» in Midvale so its not hard to spot on while driving on Ft Union. I often have to park on the street because the lot doesn’t hold more than 5 or 6 cars at a time. And its a place the Cottonwood Heights Police love to frequent and double park their crew cab F-​150 monster trucks in, so parking can be hairy in the noon lunch hour.
The place has the adornments of all things Philadelphia. If you want to talk Phillies, Eagles or Flyers this is the best place in town. The seating is area is limited and you might wait for a table if its in the noon hour.
I like the cheesesteaks. I’ll admit I don’t discriminate against most cheesesteaks. I’ve been to Philly a number of times and I’ve eaten them with Wiz and without all over this great country. The meat seems to be cut the right thickness and I’ve never had the meat overcooked. The application of cheese seems to be light. If you don’t get the wiz, I’ve had a few times I’ve wondered if there was cheese at all. They don’t put a lot of onions and peppers in too. I’m sure you can ask for double but they’re holding back a little on the veggies with the standard applicaiton. But saying all of that, I can’t discount that the cheesesteak is always hot and always fresh.
I’ve had the fries, they vary in their quality. I’m not a huge fan of steak fries to start. The times I’ve had their fries and really enjoyed them was when they were cooked nice and crispy. Other times I’ve had them when they’re busy and it looks like they dropped them in the fryer and pulled them right back out keeping them very soft. If you aren’t a fry person, just grab a bag of chips.
In conclusion, you should stop buy the place. In a city where Subway and Jimmy Johns rule the masses, its good to have a hot fresh cheesesteak as an option in the slow suburbs outside I-​215.

I’ve been here several times and it’s always good and consistant. The owner is always there cooking away and always freindly. I took my wife a few months ago and the guy brought out her sandwich with a punch card with all the wholes punched and said he felt bad cause the sandwich was missing something and here’s a card for a free sandwich for next time. My wife said she couldnt tell anything was missing and loved it.
Oh ya, almost forgot to mention Tuesday is double punch night.

The meat was flavorful, the bun was crisp toasted and had good flavor and chew, the cheese was AWOL.
The fries really had potential, maybe even earlier in the day. Thick wedges that had been refried so many times the outer crust was tough and an unhealthy looking greasy brown. I’m sure the constant refrying with the salt is mucking up the oil so a good product is being destroyed by stupid.
Bizarre service. Friendly, but it was like a concession stand at a skate park. Tables were grubby but the kid behind the counter was busy texting and watching tv.
Oddly enough, I’d give them another shot since it had potential but my expectations will be lowered.

Great food. Friendly relaxed service. Best cheese steak sandwinch around. Try the cheeze-​wiz! The Unilocal listing says closed Saturday, but actually open saturday.