We Tried Arby’s New Angus Cheesesteak (And Never Want To Again)

With America’s 250th birthday rounding the corner, I’ve been thinking a lot about distinctly American foods. Just Hamburg-ers and French fries aren’t gonna cut it this year for the festivities to come. The classic cheesesteak, on the other hand, is American through and through. It was invented in South Philadelphia by two Italian-American brothers to be sold out of a hot dog cart. Made by immigrants, accommodating to an on-the-go lifestyle, and straight out of the most populated state in the U.S., the Philly Cheesesteak has been recreated to emulate its classic American flavors since the 1930s. And it just so happens that this year, Arby’s is permanently adding a cheesesteak to their menu, ringing in the 250th anniversary of America’s liberty from England. 

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Cheesesteak Is Here

The new Arby’s Angus Cheesesteak was launched with ambassador Meg Stalter and made some pretty big promises. It guaranteed juicy, tender bites of well-seasoned thinly shaved 100% Angus beef, caramelized onions, and a luscious melted white American Cooper cheese tucked into a toasted sesame seed sub roll. But whether or not it would deliver on those promises is another issue entirely. 

I think a lot of us in the U.S. have some pretty significant memories of having an incredible cheesesteak. For me, it was family meal in kitchens on the days when the prep cooks would break down the steaks. Leftovers turned into something easy and oh-so delicious. This especially led me to believe that it must be pretty hard to make a bad cheesesteak. But, oh boy! Arby’s sure proved that theory wrong.  

Here’s What We Think

Everything Arby’s claimed the cheesesteak offers was essentially false. The steak was not tender―in fact, it was loaded with gristle. And beyond the texture, I’d be just as inclined to believe it was some kind of mystery meat since the flavor of the cheese and lack of seasoning on the meat made it indiscernible as steak. The onions were at best sweated, but claiming they were caramelized is out-right untrue. That said, they couldn’t even be tasted in the sandwich.  

The bun and flavor of the cheese were the only discernable qualities in the cheesesteak. The bun was soft and toasted nicely. Albeit the structural integrity was a bit damaged by the overall sogginess of the sandwich, but I won’t hold that against the bun itself. The cheese flavor was good, like a nice white American, but considering it was only of the only things you could really taste, I’d say that’s the bare minimum. 

My overall impression is that it was simply icky. I ate a couple bites and quickly realized it wasn’t the thing for me. And that’s okay. But I wanted to double-check that it wasn’t just me who felt this way, and that it wasn’t just my local Arby’s that messed up. So, naturally, I hopped on Reddit, and it’s pretty clear to me that this nearly $14 Arby’s drop can be skipped over.