Hot Dish: Wogies Philly cheesesteak in Katonah

Clockwise from top, the Wogies Philly cheesesteak, owner Aaron Hoffman, the outside of the old firehouse, a fire truck bell and helmet shields. Amy Sowder Photos

By AMY SOWDER

Aaron Hoffman comes by his Philly cheesesteak chops honestly.

A native of Philadelphia, Pa., he opened Wogies Bar & Grill in New York City’s  West Village 22 years ago and then in the Financial District 10 years later before moving his family to Katonah and opening a third location in the old firehouse downtown in June 2025.

Named after his mother’s nickname for his father, Katonah’s new restaurant and full bar caters to the suburb’s family-oriented customers but also a bar crowd with happy hour, trivia nights and music bingo.

Expect elevated bar food. “Everything is made from scratch. We have our own baker, we butcher our own meat, and the barbecue, ranch and blue cheese sauces are all made from scratch,” Hoffman said.

So, it’s no surprise that the signature dish of the place is the classic Pennsylvania sandwich. Besides the classic version stuffed with 6 to 7 ounces of chopped steak, Cheez Whiz-hued cheese sauce and diced, grilled onions on an Italian hoagie, there are chicken, Buffalo chicken, and portobello mushroom versions. 

“It’s a simple menu, but you can get it a million different ways,” Hoffman said.

You can add or swap different vegetables and change the cheese to provolone, American or sharp cheddar.

“When it’s the other cheese, it’s mixed in the meat on the flattop,” Hoffman said. “It’s a big cheesy, goopy, pepper, meaty mess. It’s great.”

And the bread can be swapped for a wrap, gluten-free bread — or one of just a few pretzel rolls made each day.

The restaurant’s head baker makes a sheet of Philly-style, numeral eight-shaped pretzels sold as a snack or appetizer. But those in the know with lucky timing can order an off-menu pretzel roll for their cheesesteak.

The trainer for the bakery team was a coach for the USA team in international bakery competitions and now consults for King Arthur Baking Co., Hoffman said.

Those lucky enough to get the pretzel version may want to split the sandwich, because it’s heavier than the one on Italian bread, he said. The pretzel dough has malt and butter in it, and it’s dipped in a food-grade sodium hydroxide solution to create a deep brown, glossy, chewy crust through an intense Maillard reaction. The rolls are scored and baked at 450 to 500 degrees, sprinkled with big flakes of pretzel salt.

To make the beloved messy mound of meat enveloped by the roll, the restaurant starts with a hunk of inside round. Also called top round, this beef is found behind the hind leg and is lean but still has marbling. The butchers remove the outer fat, cut it and shape it into a football, freeze it for one night to make it easier to slice into those signature slivers. They portion it out and marinate it in olive oil, salt and pepper.

When an order comes in, the cook throws a portion onto the flattop with a sizzle, and a chop-chop-chop, adding onions and whatever variations the customer ordered.

Enjoy the dish at the bar in front of the firehose-wrapped poles and the bell from the first motorized fire engine in Katonah and firefighter badges. Or dig in from the Poughkeepsie church pews or at a table behind the antique, wrought-iron Parisian doors separating the bar’s high-tops from the more family-oriented dining area.

There are many Wogies original and favorite dishes — besides the wings, ask about the “garbage bread” inspired by Hoffman’s wife’s upstate Italian family. During the Depression, they ordered the throwaway end pieces of meat and cheese at delis to then chop into pieces and bake inside bread to soften them.

But there’s only one way to satisfy the craving for a classic Philly cheesesteak. And no one will bat an eye if you want to switch it up. This place is casual.

After all, almost everybody pronounces the restaurant and bar name wrong (it’s “whoa-jeez”), but it doesn’t matter. 

“I don’t care how you say it, as long as you come back,” Hoffman said with a laugh. 

Wogies Bar & Grill is located at 156 Katonah Ave., Katonah. For more information, visit wogies.com.