BACKROADS • DECEMBER 2022
Page 17
Thisilldous Eatery presents
GREAT ALL AMERICAN DINER RUN JOE’S STEAK SHOP
274 S MAIN ST, PHILLIPSBURG, NJ 08865 908-454-9545 • www.joessteakshop.com Eat at Joe’s! According to the Free Dictionary this cliché means: A stock slogan used as an advertisement for a restaurant or diner. Derived from the placeholder restaurant name “Joe’s Diner,” the phrase is often featured in works of fiction, especially as an example of such a typical advertisement. The bright neon words “Eat at Joe’s” could be seen from miles away, the sole source of light on that dark, lonely desert road. It was the type of place where you would see old rundown trucks parked on the side of the road with tattered “Eat at Joe’s” signs slapped on their sides. But, this time… we mean it! Along the Delaware River, in the town of Phillipsburg, New Jersey right across from the confluence of the Lehigh River sits a small restaurant that has a long history of serving some of the best sandwiches along the river. Particularly the venerable Cheese Steak; somewhat of a legend from this region and the big city to the south and the other side of the Delaware. We had been by Joe’s Steak Shop a number of times but an early morning call from a friend in Philly who was going to go for a morning ride with some other friends and head there for lunch got us geared up and ready to go in quick time. These guys would be heading up from the south, while Shira and I would be vectoring in from the north.
tasty places to take your bike We wanted to do something a bit different this morning so Garmin’s BaseCamp was fired up and, in a few minutes, we had devised a ride down to Phillipsburg along roads we hardly knew or had never ridden before. Who does not love a little exploring on two wheels? The day had a chill to it, but the bright sun quickly brought the temperatures up to a comfortable warmth. Life was good in western New Jersey. Right along the river, just south of the bridge into Pennsylvania, we saw the small building with the bright red neon signage—Joe’s Steak Shop. It was 1938 when a young Joseph Attinello opened his first shop selling cheesesteaks for a whopping 15 cents with his own special sauce which you could get mild or a wonderful hot. Over the next few decades, Joe moved his restaurant a few times but, in 1958, Joe bought a tiny shack from a local driving range, and with the help of a friend, Joe moved the shack overnight to 289 South Main Street, the location of Joe’s in-laws, Mary and James Pacenti. The building was put on a concrete foundation that was dug out by Joe’s oldest son also