Tri Tip Grill’s Philly Buck is Good But Not Great

Tri Tip Grill When I think of anything food related that uses the word “Philly” I instantly think about the oh so delicious Philly cheesesteak. I’m not going into the debate over who makes the best one or what sort of cheese makes it more authentic but you have to agree that any sandwich with meat and cheese is going to be good.

So the other day I noticed the Philly Buck at Tri Tip Grill in Grand Central which had grilled onions, peppers and topped with melted provolone cheese. Ever since I had their Bacon Cheddar Buck, I’ve been wanting to go back and try a 6oz sandwich instead of the 4oz I had last time. Is the extra $1.50 worth it?


Philly Buck

I was a little disappointed when I opened the box and found mostly grilled onions and peppers. Where was the 6oz of buck?!

Philly Buck

Boom! Flipped the sandwich over and found most of it had slipped to the bottom of the sandwich. Last time when I had the Bacon Cheddar Buck, fellow Lunch’er joestein made a good point about the rareness of the buck. They came out well done instead of medium rare. Good thing this time around it wasn’t the case. The slices of beef may not be truly medium rare in the Philly Buck but there were some nice shade of pink.

As always the slices of beef were delicious and the sandwich was filling but I wasn’t too thrilled about the grilled peppers. The peppers didn’t get grilled long enough and they were just semi-cooked through. The onions were okay and I would’ve preferred a little bit more cheese please.

Okay enough of me being picky. It’s obvious the real star is their tri tip and it’s probably for the best to eat their tri tip by itself (and if I want a cheesesteak I should probably check out Phil’s Steaks). As for paying the extra $1.50 for 2 extra oz of tri tip, I think it’s probably a better deal to use that $1.50 and splurge on fries OR maybe tater tots if they would just serve it for lunch too!

Tri Tip Grill, 15 Vanderbilt Ave (Grand Central Terminal Market) 212-557-1030
Tri Tip Grill, Rockefeller Center Concourse, North Side, (212) 664-1003

2 Comments

  • The term “buck” refers to the roast beef? I never heard that before.

  • I had the Philly Buck at the Grand Central location as well. I wasn’t thrilled with it. I had some pretty chewy pieces and I agree, the peppers were not cooked through. I wouldn’t get it again. Maybe it’s better at the Rockefeller location? I know I got a whole tri tip at Rockefeller and that was awesome! The meat wasn’t nearly as awesome at Grand Central.

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