After eating more than 100 cheesesteaks and steak & cheeses across Maryland over the last 15 months, our very own “Mr. MoCo” Alex Tsironis recently found himself craving one in particular enough to make the roughly hour-long drive back to Cascade, MD.
That cheesesteak was from The Original Rocky’s, located at 14323 Macafee Hill Rd, across from Fort Ritchie and about a minute from the Maryland-Pennsylvania border.
Calling anything a permanent “favorite” can be difficult. Favorites change, and sometimes it simply depends on the combination of flavors you’re craving at that particular moment. But after trying more than 100 cheesesteaks and steak & cheeses across the state and eventually sharing seven Maryland favorites, the one from Rocky’s was the sandwich Mr. MoCo found himself thinking about the most.
He first visited Rocky’s in March before returning again recently. “I’ve eaten it at the restaurant both times, and that definitely helps, as the bread doesn’t get soggy after being wrapped and taken for a drive before consumption,” Mr. MoCo said. On both visits, the cheesesteak was eaten fresh at the restaurant rather than taken to go.
The order was a Cooper cheesesteak featuring nearly two pounds of meat, Cooper Sharp American cheese and a roll from Liscio’s Bakery in New Jersey. Rocky’s offers several choices when it comes to cheese, rolls and other options, allowing customers to customize the sandwich based on their own preferences.
The Original Rocky’s has been around in some form for nearly 50 years. According to the restaurant, its story began in Smithsburg in 1977, when its first location opened serving homemade Italian dishes and pizza. That restaurant was sold in 1988, but the business had already expanded to Cascade in 1982 with a location across from Fort Ritchie.
Rocky’s says it continues to serve many of those same Italian recipes today. The restaurant is also known for its pizza and other oversized menu items, including a colossal mozzarella stick. Rocky’s is BYOB. The return trip came after an extensive cheesesteak project that took Mr. MoCo throughout Maryland and eventually changed the way he viewed the state’s cheesesteak scene.
The original goal was to rank a top 10, but after eating well over 100 sandwiches, it became increasingly difficult to separate a handful of favorites. The project eventually turned into a comparison between Maryland’s top Philadelphia-style cheesesteaks and those found in Philadelphia itself.
There is also an important distinction between a Philadelphia-style cheesesteak and the “steak & cheese” many Marylanders grew up eating. The latter often includes lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise and other toppings, a style popularized locally by places such as Jerry’s Subs & Pizza. The style can go by different names in other areas.
Philadelphia-style cheesesteaks generally take a simpler approach centered around the meat, cheese, onions and roll, although there is plenty of disagreement even in Philadelphia over exactly what the sandwich should look like.
Some shops serve thinly sliced ribeye that remains mostly intact, while others finely chop the meat and onions together on the flat-top. Cheese choices can range from Cheez Whiz and provolone to American and Cooper Sharp, which has become especially popular at a number of highly regarded cheesesteak shops.
After eating at around 30 cheesesteak shops in and around Philadelphia in addition to more than 100 across Maryland, Mr. MoCo came away believing Maryland’s best can hold their own alongside many of Philadelphia’s most celebrated cheesesteaks.
That doesn’t mean there is one definitive “best.” Bread, meat-to-cheese ratio, how finely the steak is chopped, onions, cheese choice and even how quickly the sandwich is eaten can dramatically change the experience. Personal preference and nostalgia play a major role as well.
For now, though, when it came time to revisit one of Maryland’s cheesesteaks, Rocky’s was the one worth driving an hour for. The Original Rocky’s is located at 14323 Macafee Hill Rd in Cascade. Current listed hours are noon-10pm Sunday, 4-10pm Tuesday, 11am-10pm Wednesday and Thursday, 11am-11pm Friday, and noon-11pm Saturday. The restaurant is closed Monday and notes that closing times may vary depending on how busy it is.
