Steak & Cheese Sub

Shaved steak grilled with melted cheese on a long sub roll, often loaded with grilled onions, peppers and mushrooms. A staple at local sub shops.

🏆 Where to get the best steak & cheese sub

1 Viola's Submarine House Niagara Falls · 🏠 Locally owned A family-owned Niagara Falls sub shop since 1958, famous for its steak and cheese. Two locations: the original on Elmwood Avenue and one on Military Road.

Also serving it

Mister M's House of Food & Drink · Niagara Falls

📜 A little history

The steak sub is a staple of Buffalo's pizzerias and sub shops. It comes from Philadelphia's cheesesteak (thin-sliced steak grilled with onions and melted cheese on a long roll), but Western New York does it a bit differently. Many local shops top the hot steak and cheese like a hoagie, with lettuce, tomato and mayo. Grilled onions, peppers, mushrooms or hot sauce are common extras.

The best-known local specialist is Jim's SteakOut. It opened on Elmwood Avenue in 1981 and serves its steak subs with a chili-laced house "secret sauce" that has its own loyal fans. No one is documented as having invented the Buffalo version, and there's no known date. It developed shop by shop, and it's the base that later sandwiches like the stinger were built on.