8634 Germantown Avenue
Philadelphia PA
215-247-9736

Mon - Sat:  11:30 am - 11:30 pm
Sun:  Noon - 8:00 pm (seasonal)

Easy to miss.  The only sign outside - a banner with the McNally family coat of arms.  But seek them out.  A neighborhood bar surprising to find in the yup-scale Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia.

I was there for a Schmitter - a hybrid cheese steak and one of the rare hybrids that one can argue may be better than the original.  The cheese steak goes on a kaiser roll, and gets topped with fried salami, fried onions, tomato and a spiced up secret sauce.

I had guessed that the Schmitter was tavern homage to Philly's great Mike Schmidt.  Nope.  It was named for a regular who always drank Schmidt's Beer and ordered his cheese steak that way.  The guy's moved to the Pocono's but still comes back once in a while for his namesake sandwich.

I started with that day's special soup.  Also a Philadelphia Tradition - soup.  Very good.  One of the best I've had, which makes me think that there's some depth to that kitchen if Schmitter's doctor ever tells him to cut down on the grease.