For the taste of Philly, try this little shack in Bedford

I like a good hole-in-the-wall restaurant. Whether it's a fist-sized, stewed pork taco served out of a converted auto garage or a juicy burger from a trailer, food sometimes just tastes better in unlikely locations.

Usually, just finding the place is half the satisfaction, but that's not the case with Billadelphia's in Bedford. With its miniature size, outdoor-only seating and walk-up window, the place has the feel of a hidden gem. Only it's not so hidden. Plopped in the middle of a big strip-mall parking lot right off Airport Freeway, the large sign announcing "Real Philly Cheesesteaks" probably catches the eye of most drivers.

It caught ours on a Sunday afternoon, so we abruptly exited and stopped by this little shack. It was worth the detour.

Billadelphia's has a drive-through, but we ordered at the walk-up window and dined at one of the picnic tables. The menu was a little broader than we expected for such a small place, ranging from chicken steak sandwiches to hot dogs, tuna hoagies to chicken wings.

If the sign atop the building didn't sway our order, another customer waiting for his food did. "Best Philly cheesesteak in town," he announced as we eyed the menu.

What makes Billadelphia's cheesesteak so authentic is that most of the ingredients are brought in from Philly (or so the menu says). They're served on hearth-baked Amoroso bread rolls and made with meats and cheeses courtesy of the City of Brotherly Love.

And they are delicious. Ten inches long, served with Cheez Whiz and piled high with tasty steak -- not clumped or stringy like you find on some cheesesteaks -- the sandwiches ($7.25) have great flavor. Whatever it costs to bring in the bread, it's worth it. The rolls hold together well despite the pile of warm meat and they aren't at all dense or doughy.

Between bites of cheesesteak, we munched on a side order of spicy fries ($1.60 for a small; $2.75 for a large) that were seasoned with what the menu called "Billadelphia's hot salt." They really weren't too spicy, but packed enough heat to make us thirsty for our ice cold -- and very strong -- birch root beer, which the menu said is also imported from out east.

The cheesesteak is obviously Billadelphia's lifeblood, but after devouring our sandwich in just a few minutes, we went easier on our arteries and ordered the mixed veggie sub ($6) and a roasted turkey hoagie ($7.05)

If you don't like what comes on your Billadelphia's hoagies, you have no one to blame but yourself. After picking your sandwich, the counter worker guides you through a series of selections, like what kind of cheese do you want (Cheez Whiz, provolone or white American), your vegetables and then your condiments (ranging from hot sauce to balsamic vinegar).

We got the veggie hoagie with mushrooms, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, sweet peppers and oregano. The veggies tasted fresh and crisp, and the cold sandwich provided a refreshing reprieve on a hot Texas summer day. So full of vegetables was the hoagie that piles of veggies squeezed out when you picked it up, leaving you to eat the remains with your fingers.

For the turkey hoagie, we went with provolone, lettuce, tomatoes and pickles. The turkey was a little bland, but this was still a notch above your average deli turkey sandwich, mostly because of the bread.

If you don't happen to travel Airport Freeway in Bedford, Billadelphia's has two other locations -- one on Berry Street near Paschal High School in Fort Worth and the other inside a Shell station in North Richland Hills.