Here’s a real-deal Philly cheesesteak at a hole-in-the-wall North Texas cafe
North Richland Hills is a good Philly cheesesteak town.
Not as good as Philly itself, of course. But the suburbs northeast of Fort Worth have been the home of top-quality cheesesteaks, from now-gone Billadelphia’s to the Burger & Philly Shack and nearby Philly Dave’s.
The newest is Big Daddy Cheesesteaks, a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant at 6600 Davis Blvd., loaded with cheesesteak tradition and Cheez Whiz.
Owner Darrell Wilkerson went to Philadelphia and worked in both the city’s legendary cheesesteak hangouts, Jim’s Steaks and Pat’s King of Steaks, to learn the secrets behind the genuine Philly.
Mainly, he learned (1) to start with fresh beef finely chopped in-house and (2) to order the real-deal Amoroso’s bread rolls.
Amoroso bread is the key to a Philly
“We’re all scratch — we do it all here,” he said. Even the french fries are house-cut russet potatoes, double-fried in beef tallow.
“The exception is the Amoroso bread. I can bake bread. But I can’t do it as well as Amoroso.”
Even the fried pickles are house-made.
The classic cheesesteak starts with either beef or today, chicken — Big Daddy uses only a marinated breast filet — sliced, grilled with onions and topped with a choice of Cheez Whiz Philly-style, provolone or American.
The result is a tightly packed sandwich with meat, onions and Cheez Whiz dripping out of the bread.
I probably used 20 napkins. You may need more.
A cheesesteak with fries costs less than $13, or a chicken cheesesteak with fries is less than $11.
A 1960 gas station turned into a Philly restaurant
Common added toppings include mushrooms and bell peppers. Cherry peppers or banana peppers are also choices.
A side of excellent diner fries is less than $2, or less than $5 for cheesesteak fries topped with steak, grilled onions and cheese.
There’s also a smash-sauce-like table sauce.
The interior is spartan. The location is a 65-year-old former gas station-convenience store near the historic “Old Town Smithfield” part of North Richland Hills.
Big Daddy also sells fresh-ground burgers and Italian sausage sandwiches.
But most of the raves on social media are all about the Phillys.
One commenter wrote: “THAT was a cheesesteak!”
It’s open for lunch and dinner daily; 817-400-4156, bigdaddysteaks.com.
This story was originally published May 12, 2025 at 5:32 AM.
