To most native Philadelphians, or those from the surrounding area like myself, there’s a certain sizzling sound that can only mean one thing: it must be Eagles gameday.
There are few sounds in Philadelphia more synonymous with Eagles football than that of a fresh cheesesteak hitting the grill. It’s a staple of the city and is sold in all of the team’s major stadiums and arenas.
Growing up, cheesesteaks became a part of my family’s gameday rituals. My dad and brother would order their sandwiches with American cheese, no onions, while I’d opt for the classic Philly cheese whiz -- still, no onions.
Since coming to Los Angeles, that staple has been missing in my gameday experience. In an effort to fill that homesick void, I stumbled across a little spot in Koreatown: Boo’s Cheesesteaks and Hoagies.
The local cheesesteak joint sits comfortably on Wilshire Boulevard between the 85 Degree Bakery Cafe and Johns Food House. Since establishing itself in 2011, it’s become a staple of it’s own in the Koreatown and L.A. communities.
Now, there are a lot of places that can make a cheesesteak, but what makes Boo’s so special?
Well, it’s the authentic Philly ties that the sandwich shop’s owner infuses into everything they do.
Owner Andrew Ahn was born in New Jersey and raised in Philadelphia; his family moved to the city when he was five years old. Ahn moved around to different parts of Philly as a kid, which helped him get a real local’s taste for food, and specifically cheesesteaks.
“My parents, my dad, had couple stores in Philly -- not cheesesteak spots, actually clothing stores,” Ahn said. “He had one in Kensington, Frankfurt, Center City, throughout Olney. He had a place in Olney, so throughout West Philly he had a bunch of places. So whatever we could eat, it was always two slices of pizza and a grape soda, cheese steak, hoagie. And this became something quick and easy we could eat that wasn’t considered fast food for me. It was just like Philly food, right?”
Being a local, Ahn was never really drawn to the city’s tourist spots, like Pat’s and Geno’s. Instead, Ahn found that the smaller hometown spots were best.
“Didn’t necessarily have a favorite spot, but it was the local joints that we always knew and went to at the corner deli,” Ahn said. “There was this place called Gusto’s that made some really good cheesesteaks and hoagies, and that was right on the outskirts of Olney and Cheltenham, like on the border.”
What Ahn loves best about spots like Gusto’s or the corner deli is how they keep it real. In fact, he would say that realness is what defines Philly.
“My parents are from Philly, so we’ve always kind of had this very Philly way of making the cheesesteaks and doing a specific way,” Ahn said. “We get our bread shipped in from Philly, Amoroso rolls. We do a lot. We use Dietz and Watson deli meats for our hoagies and whatnot. So we keep it as authentic as possible. And, you know, I think this is a reflection of me, my family, my staff members. We’re just keeping it real. And that’s, for me, Philly is always about keeping it real.”
That level of realness has been present in Boo’s ever since their inception back in 2011. That, mixed with a bit of luck, was the recipe for success Ahn had been looking for since arriving in Los Angeles back in 2002.
“We just, like I said, we wanted to make a really good cheesesteak from the outset. And then, fortunately, eventually people gravitate towards good food. I mean, that’s a hard thing to do,” Ahn said.
Ahn said he grew up in the food industry, “as a bus boy or waiter and all that kind of good stuff.” But as he navigated the food game, he learned about the challenges.
“You can have the best food in the world and, just because the marketing got done right, you might not hit and you’re out,” he said. “So fortunately we just built it up, our first spot on fountain and Virgil up in Silver Lake, East Hollywood area. We just found this cheap spot. Kept no crazy decor. We didn’t do anything crazy, didn’t put crazy money into it and we just made just a good cheesesteaks. And it happened to be L.A. Weekly came by one day without us knowing. That’s how we blew up. So a lot of it is good, you know, good fortune.”
Ahn may want to chalk a lot of his success to good fortune, but I’d argue that a lot of it is also due to his strict stance on a Philly-only menu in L.A.
“From the get-go, [the menu] was always Philly cheese, like a regular cheese steak, chicken, cheese steak, hoagies and then fries. That was always our intention,” Ahn said. “I’m Korean, right? And a lot of people were like, ‘Hey, you should do some sort of Korean fusion cheesesteak.’ And I was like, nah, man, I’m from Philly. I’m not doing that. Let’s just keep it simple and keep it real. And this comfort of food. We’re not making high cuisine. You know that you’re not going to Michelin star restaurant. We make food that the everyday person is going to eat once a week, you know, simple.”
That Philly identity is strong and makes them a go-to spot for many Eagles fans who are looking for a cheesesteak on gameday. Fans flock there because they know they can trust that Ahn understands what they want out of their sandwiches.
“[The Eagles] were in the Super Bowl two years ago, that was craziness,” Ahn said. “So, yeah, for sure. When the Eagles play: big uptake. I was hoping the Phillies would get to the World Series. But, you know, it worked out [for the] Dodgers. The Dodgers series was great for us. But definitely when we have the Eagles play a lot of uptick in big orders, parties, things like that. There’s a lot of fans from Philly out here.”
One of those Philly natives who sought out Boo’s on Eagles gameday was Han Bae, from northeast Philadelphia.
Bae told me that he is out here in L.A. house sitting for a friend and had never been to Boo’s before. When he spotted it was a cheesesteak shop, he said he just had to stop in.
“I’ve lived in Philly for like, over 20 years, so I’ve had plenty of cheesesteaks. I live near...Steve’s Prince of Steaks,” Bae said. “I actually just walked by the place and saw it was a cheesesteaks spot. So since I’m from Philly, I wanted to support the place.”
Bae was just finishing up his sandwich when we spoke, so I naturally had to get his take.
“I would give it above average ratings, for sure. I thoroughly enjoyed the cheesesteak here,” Bae said.
After we spoke, I had to order a cheesesteak of my own. I opted for my father and brother’s usual this time around, American cheese no onions, and a glass bottle of Hank’s orange cream soda.
I waited about five minutes, but when I unraveled the sandwich, sealed with a Dietz and Watson sticker, it was piping hot and delicious. Boo’s chooses to chop their steak, which is not uncommon for a lot of Philly-based shops. The cheese melts into the sandwich, giving it a rich taste, and the Amoroso roll holds it all together tightly so that the steak doesn’t spill out.
It perfectly filled the gameday void I had been in search of out here. On my way out, I asked Ahn one last question: Where did the name Boo’s come from?
“Actually it’s my grandma’s name, her real name,” Ahn said. “So her name was Lee Boo Soon, and outside of my mom and my dad, she was the one that took care of us the most growing up. And so we decided to [name it Boo’s] in honor of my grandma, who was another family member, name it after her, and it kind of worked for us.”
Boo’s Philly cheesesteaks are ones that L.A. residents should seek out when they want a taste of authenticity, and it’s a sandwich that I’d imagine grandma Boo is quite proud of.