Belly Buster's - Browns Mills, NJ

Well, this used to be a great place, and I had heard that the owners had change a few years ago.  Went back for the first time in years, and th place is still pretty much the same. 

Still pretty much a dive bar, and still the same bar crowd from way back when I think.  The girls working in the place were nice, but the cheese steak has definitely changed since way back when.

The bread is different, but the cheese steak is still god.  Not the best in the area by far, but definitely edible.  The service was a bit slow considering we were the only people in the restauant eating.  The first 2 cheese steaks came out, then the other 2 about10 mintes later, and then another 10 minutes after that.

Nice flavors, but again, the bread isn't as good as it was.  Service definitely needs to be faster, but still a decent option in this culinary waste land.  Maybe in the Top 10 places for the Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst area, but I wouldn't go out of my way to go here.  Definitely used to be better, but need more restaurants in this area.  OK at best.  Cheers!  - F. Scott

Belly Busters
98 Lakehurst Road
Browns Mills, NJ  08015
Phone:  (609)893-7779

Pete's Steakhouse Tavern - Trenton, NJ

After reading a thread on Chowhound about the cheese steaks at Pete's, I felt compelled to give it a whirl after an early evening of plans changing. Walked in and grabbed the last seat at the elongated circle shaped bar, surrounded by 6 flat panel TVs. From my stool, a separate dining room was behind the wall in front of me, as well as table to both the left and right side of the bar. Service was prompt from the bartender, and I ordered some of PA's finest lager, a Yuengling. Asked for a menu, and immediately ordered a cheese steak with pepperoni and fried onions. In the meantime, I ran into local celebrity Gary Amico of Delorenzo's Tomato Pies on Hudson Street in Trenton. Always great to run into Gary, and chat with him a bit. He's always friendly, and just a great guy, with some amazing hands when it comes to making the best tomato pie in New Jersey! Couldn't have been much more than 7 minutes, and out came my cheese steak on a gorgeous piece of bread, with a side of fries, and a cup of cheese. The bread itself had a nice crust to it, but was nice and soft. Maybe they make these on site? I don't know, but they were tasty. The pepperoni was pepperoni, and added a nice element, without overpowering the steak and the cheese. As for the steak itself, this is not your traditional cheese steak. This was more of a thin steak patty, than your typical thinly sliced, chopped up cheese steak. It was almost more of a thin, but compressed ground steak of sorts, and kind of hard to explain. It also had some different spice elements to it, that definitely did not remind me of your typical cheese steak. Again, this is definitely different, and I don't know that the verdict is out on this steak. I would definitely try it again, and maybe I need to so I can get a better opinion of it. The fries left something to be desired. They were lukewarm at best, and the cheese also left much to be desired. There could have used a few more minutes in the fryer, and could have come right out and into the basket. I ate about 1/2 of them before I had enough. All in all, I have a neutral feeling about Pete's thus far, but would be willing to go back and give it another whirl. Let the Pete's saga continue in the future. Cheers! -F. Scott. Pete's Steakhouse Tavern 523 White Horse Ave Trenton, NJ 08610 Phone: (609) 585-8008

Torp's Deli - Bordentown, NJ

So as much as I didn't want to leave the house today in the gorgeous Jersey snow, duty called and I had to run some errands even though the snow gave me a day off of work. What better however than a good cheese steak on a nice snowed in Jersey day? So on my way back towards home, I took a quick detour and stopped in Bordentown, NJ, and picked up cheese steaks for Zelda and I from Torp's Deli on Farnsworth Avenue. I opted for a traditional cheese steak "with wiz," which I never do as I prefer a classic cheese steak with American, or even Provolone, and Zelda went with the chicken cheese steak with classic American. Many people were ordering sandwiches today, and they had the grill going, and the slicer going. Must have been one of the only places in Bordentown open today. The cheese steaks came off the grill quick, and were still piping hot when I got them to the house. Great size on both of them, and I only ate half of mine, and Zelda did the same. These may not be the best cheese steaks you'll ever have, but the meat was nicely seasoned, the cheese was good, and the bun had a nice little bite to it, though a bit soggy by the time I got them home. No surprise after the drive, but what can you do? All in all, not a bad meal in the least, and this definitely wasn't the first or last time we'll get some carry out from Torp's. Nice comfort food on a snowy day, and I think we'll enjoy the other halves along with Zelda's famous layer dip for dinner tonight with some vino. Cheers! -F. Scott