A beef with Denver Ted's

I was too hungry to take a picture. Denver Ted’s 1308 Pearl Street 303-830-9089 Regular cheesesteak: steak, American cheese, onions, bread $6 for a nine-inch sandwich It’s not fair to expound on the merits of a sandwich I've eaten after letting myself become so ravenously hungry that I can barely...

By Jonathan Shikes

October 22, 2008

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "12017618",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "17242653",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18838239",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17261320",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18838239",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17261321",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        }
      ]

I was too hungry to take a picture.

Denver Ted’s
1308 Pearl Street

303-830-9089

Regular cheesesteak: steak, American cheese, onions, bread $6 for a nine-inch sandwich

It’s not fair to expound on the merits of a sandwich I've eaten after letting myself become so ravenously hungry that I can barely see. Cardboard smeared with Elmer’s Glue would taste amazing in such a situation.

But if the sandwich still doesn’t taste that good? That probably means it just wasn’t. And I’m sorry to say that while the Philly cheesesteak I had from Denver Ted’s filled my stomach, it didn’t fill my heart.

And I had such high hopes for Denver Ted’s, since I have friends who love it and since it's such a hole-in-the-wall place rather than a chain. To keep things simple, I ordered a regular cheesesteak with onions and American cheese. In retrospect, I wish I had ordered Cheez Whiz (“Don’t fear the Whiz!”), which is a cool quirk at Denver Ted’s, because the cheese was the best part of the sandwich. As for the rest: the steak was a little chewy and the bread had a stale taste. The onions were fine.

Still, I have to recommend that everyone in Denver eat a Philly cheesesteak this week in order to help the Tampa Bay Rays symbolically eat the Philadelphia Phillies for lunch during the World Series, which starts tonight. – Jonathan Shikes

For more sandwich reviews, see the Our Weekly Bread archive.

KEEP WESTWORD FREE... Since we started Westword, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Denver, and we'd like to keep it that way. Your membership allows us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls. You can support us by joining as a member for as little as $1.