Hoagie Hunt Finals
Fox & Hound Pub & Grille
160 N. Gulph Rd., Suite 211
King of Prussia, PA 19406
Phone: (610) 962-0922
Saturday, June 13th from 10am to 1pm
Yes, folks, I really did eat 56 Italian hoagies over the past two months, determined to find the greatest sandwich in the Delaware Valley. From South Jersey to South Philly, from Lower Delco to Lower Bucks, I tried to hit every neighborhood. I sampled good, bad and ugly as I hit delis, specialty stores and more than a couple of neighborhood taverns.
You may thoroughly disagree with my ratings, or any one of my reviews. That’s okay. Picking a hoagie is like picking a girlfriend – what works for me may be abhorrent to your taste. One thing I’ve learned, everyone thinks their favorite sandwich place is the best. Which is as it should be.
Anyway, here are my rankings. Feel free to try them for yourself and share your opinions.
And please come to the Great Hoagie Hunt finals – Saturday, June 13 at the Fox and Hound Restaurant in King of Prussia, between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. You’ll get to try each of my top eight finishers for yourself – free of charge – and cast your vote for the best Italian hoagie in town.
Click here to check out the story on Philly.com about the Hoagie Hunt
1. Paesano’s
152 West Girard Ave., Philadelphia
267-886-9556
The greatest Italian hoagie in the Delaware Valley – at least by my judgment – comes from a six-stool, mostly takeout eatery along Girard Avenue in Northern Liberties. Who would have thunk?
Paesano’s – a sandwich shop run by the same folks who own the amazing Modo Mio restaurant across the street – serves up hoagies that are a delectable mix of mortodella, prosciutto and ham. Add the perfect amount of sharp provolone, and you have a salty, tangy result that isn’t just something you’d grab for sustenance. This sandwich is worth having as your dinner.
The beauty is in the details. Paesano’s uses a dark green lettuce – almost like broccoli rabe – to give a delicious bitter counterpoint to the salty meat. And the Jersey tomatoes are tastier than anything else we can get this time of year. Wrap it all up on a crispy seeded roll and, folks, we have ourselves a winner.
2. Sarcone’s Deli
734 S. 9th Street, South Philadelphia
215-922-1717
We knew it was a great place for bread. We didn’t know this venerable bakery made world class hoagies. Huge chunks of cheese, the size of Las Vegas casino dice. Expensive aged, smoked meats, including savory prosciutto. Purple onions, the good ones. Lots of oregano. Sarcone’s is a must-stop for anyone seeking the best.
3. Salumeria at Reading Terminal Market
45 North 12th Street, Philadelphia
215-592-8150.
It’s hard to go wrong at the Reading Terminal market. Chinese, barbecue, Greek – you name it, there’s a good place to fill your belly. And there are several hoagie places. The best, and a strong contender for our best overall, as a Salumeria.
The standard Italian comes with prosciutto, sharp provolone and mortadella, with those unhealthy circles of fat. Ah, delicious. Add some snappy onions, a little romaine and Salumeria special roasted red peppers, and you’ve got a party on a plate .I’ll admit a special fondness for roasted red peppers. Hell, I’d put them on birthday cake if I could. On this hoagie, they’re spectacular.
If you want to get all silly about it (as our friend Ray Didinger did), add the Caesarish house dressing and shredded artichoke hearts, but we like our hoagies more conventional.
Expect a lengthy line at Salumeria, one of the most popular booths at the Market. And go on the early side. Once they run out of that day’s rolls – usually around 2 p.m. – there’s no more hoagies.
4. Pastificio
1528 Packer Avenue, South Philadelphia
215-467-1111
We’ve indulged in crabs at Chickie’s and Pete’s hundreds of times over the years. And we’ve had many great pizzas from Celebre, just around the corner at the Packer Park Shopping Center. Not to mention some coffee and cannolis from Termini Brothers in the same center.
But until now, we never stopped at the little shop nestled between them – Pastificio. Our mistake. This little specialty store creates a dynamite Italian hoagie. Who would have thought? Four different premium meats, good and stinky provolone (that’s a compliment), dynamite long hots – all generously packed into a crunchy roll.
Two childhood buddies – Frank and Anthony – opened Pastificio six years ago. Judging by this hoagie, they’ve got something special going. A friend said they also sell six terrific versions of homemade pasta sauces. That’s for our next trip there.
5. Shank’s and Evelyn’s
932 S. 10th Street, South Philadelphia
215-359-5577
Philly is a sandwich town, plain and simple. And Shank’s – located one block away from the Italian Market for the last 48 years – makes arguably the best sandwiches in town. I’ve been there dozens of times over the years for delicious roast beef, eggplant parm, chicken cutlet with broccoli rabe. But never – until now – for an Italian hoagie.
What was I waiting for? This, my friends, was a thing of beauty. A huge salty and crispy collection of ham, salami, onions and provolone. Magnificent provolone. Listen, Shank’s does everything well, so it should surprise no one that the standard Italian moves right to the top of our list.
Shank’s, as it turns out is moving this summer to the corner of 15th and Sansom. We can only pray that the waitresses still address customers as “hon” at the new site and that the sandwiches are just as perfect.
6. Carlino’s Market
2616 E. County Line Road, Ardmore
610-649-4046
Loyal shoppers have been going to this Italian specialty shop for years, buying their great sauces, cheeses, meats and desserts. Now, I’ll be going for their hoagies. The Italians are terrific spicy delicacies, laden with five different meats. Great crispy, seeded roll. Snappy cheese. A winner of a sandwich.
7. Pallante’s
130 Almshouse Road, Richboro
215-364-9750
By our calculation, it’s 34 miles from the WIP studios to beautiful Richboro, PA, so – even after a half-dozen loyal listeners recommended this place, what were the chances we would going to spend upwards of an hour driving out there? Not good. Fortunately, we were able to arrange delivery – and even strong-armed our intern into paying the tip.
Tell you what – it would have been worth the drive. Guisseppe Pallante’s “Don Supreme” is one outstanding hoagie, a balance of top-notch prosciutto, soppressata, pungent shredded provolone and oil-dipped long hot peppers. Add purple onion and lay it gently on a seeded roll and, well… so good I could eat it for breakfast. Hell, I could eat it for dessert.
8. Primo Hoagies
1528 Ritner Street, South Philadelphia
215-463-8488
When you think hoagies, you think Primo. And for good reason. In 15 years, this terrific chain has grown to nearly four dozens shops around the Delaware Valley. Hell, they even have five varieties of Italian hoagies. We went for the sharp Italian, with prosciutto, sharp provolone, Thumanns capacola and Genoa salami. All sliced thin and laid in a top-notch roll with fresh veggies. All in all, a magnificent sandwich.
9.Carmen’s Deli
42 East Browning Road, Bellmawr, N.J.
856-931-7203
At this point, I’ve gulped down so many hoagies, that my blood type is probably gabagool-positive. After 50-plus sandwiches, it’s all one big jumble of lunchmeats, provolone and sliced onions down there. So it’s tough now for any one place to break through the clutter and impress me.
Well, Carmen’s did. This Jersey jaunt combined wonderful meat, pungent cheese and the freshest roll to – well, make me want to come back for seconds, which I’m not doing much these days. And make sure you get it with the “hoagie spread” of hot peppers. Carmen’s is pricier than most at $7.30, but they certainly don’t skimp on top-flight ingredients.
10. Abbruzzi and Giuntas
3211 Route 38, Mount Laurel, N.J.
856-231-0203
What a pleasant surprise this place was. A top-flight hoagie joint in Mount Laurel? Who would have figured? But this little Italian speciality shop along Route 38 wowed us with some first-rate ingredients, dynamite construction and the perfect meat-to-cheese balance. We loved the regular Italian, with two kinds of salami and a thick wedge of provolone. And we wrestled over the Abbruzzi’s Special, which comes with prosciutto, sopresatta (which is a soft, aged salami), a sharper cheese and some snappy roasted peppers.
Plus, Abbruzzi and Giunta’s knew the key to Ant’s gastronomic heart – load the sandwich up with hot peppers. “Fantastic,” decreed Gargano, making this place a real contender for our hoagie finals.
11. Lombardi’s Hoagies
1226 Ritner Street, South Philadelphia
215-389-2220
Certain things impress us about the making of a fine hoagie. We like when the sandwich maker cuts the meat in front of us – as opposed to pulling precut slices from below the counter. We like when he carefully folds the meat and lays it evenly across the hoagie, getting a little air in there between the elements and working for even distribution of all the ingredients.
The folks at Lombardi’s – a little hole-in-the-wall joint at Ritner near Camac – get all this. They understand the architecture of a great hoagie. This was a great balance of meat, cheese and veggies. Good enough that we didn’t mind reading that the only reading material while we waited was Guns & Ammo magazine. Good enough that we were okay sitting outside facing a funeral home while we are our meals.
One tip: If you want to be daring at Lombardis’ try the accurately named Italian Inferno – a mix of soppressata, capicola, Sharp provolone and homemade pepper shooters. And order an extra drink to help wash it down.
So what keeps Lombardi’s from being at the top of our list? Well, when we went there, at 2 p.m. on a Saturday, our hoagie roll was less than fresh. A little too chewy.
12. Soprano’s Deli and Catering
3072 W Chester Pike, Broomall
610-359-9355
For years, I’ve enjoyed Soprano’s for their wonderful roast pork sandwiches. Now I can add Italian hoagies to the list of delicious items coming out of Chef Armen’s kitchen. A crispy brick oven roll starts the experience, and a well-balanced sandwich topped with sharp provolone makes it nearly perfect. There’s a nice little outdoor seating area. Bring along few bottles of beer, and you’ve got the makings of a fine afternoon meal.
13. Verchio’s Produce Outlet
272 Hurffville Crosskeys Road, Sewell, N.J.
856-262-0830
We went here on the recommendation of Daily News columnist Bill Conlin, and, as usual, Bill did not disappoint. In fact, I couldn’t write it better than Mr. C, so I’ll just give you his words: “If you want to discover what a White House Sub tasted like in the 1950s, you can replicate the original recipe for a Regular. The three meats were Cotachino (a fatty garlicky bologna cousin that gave the original Shore hoagies their unique flavor), Genoa salami and Ham Cappacola. The rolls were split and the bread scooped out from the center of each side. Splash, splash, splash with the oil.”
When it comes to assessing pitching prospects, I’ve always listened to Bill. Now I’ll do the same when it comes to sandwiches.
14. The Fresh Works
4048 Woodhaven Road, Northeast
888-493-2253
When we started the 2009 Hoagie Hunt, one of the bigwigs at WIP suggested that judging hoagies has nothing to do with the roll. Wrong! The backbone of any great sandwich is the bread, and, in this case, Fresh Works comes up huge. They bake their own rolls which, therefore, taste like they just got pulled from the oven. Ahhh, a great start. Beyond that, not bad – although the hoagie quickly got a little too drippy.
15. Goomba’s
793 Bethlehem Pike, Colmar
215-996-1030
Well, this was a pleasant surprise. To be honest, we were initially put off by the cheesy name of this place— Goombah’s? – and a menu that includes sandwiches with mob movie names like “Da Wiseguy” and “Da Underboss.” Very trite. But, our opinion changed after biting into a worthy contender made of topnotch meats and flecked with sharp provolone.
Goombah’s even layers in roasted red peppers and marinated long hots – the genuine item. But the highlight came when Anthony covered his sandwich with an entire jar of the super-spicy dried red peppers (“roaches,” they call them) and downed the entire thing.
16. DeNofa’s Steaks
6944-46 Torresdale Ave., Tacony
215-333-5646
This cozy Italian deli along Torresdale Avenue has been serving fine sandwiches and tomato pies to folks in Tacony since 1976. We’re told they also make a scrumptious pasta sauce. We haven’t checked that out, but we can say they created the first hoagie of our great search that we really enjoyed. Hell, Anthony asked for seconds, and that almost never happens.
The standard Italian here is a fine blend of Genoa salami, capicola, ham and two kinds of provolone – slices of mild and little diced cubes of the sharp cheese. Nice touch. Pack it into a tasty seeded (and extremely fresh) roll, toss in a few long hot peppers and you’ve got yourself one magnificent sandwich. A worthy contender for our contest – or at least a good answer to the question of who’s got the best Italian hoagie in the Great Northeast.
If we’ve got one complaint it’s that DeNofa’s Italian hoagie could use a little more meat. It’s packed just a wee bit thin. But that’s just a minor quibble. Overall, this is one fine hoagie.
17. Mi-Pal Hoagies
2300 South 16th Street, South Philly
215-271-5545
Whether you like this hoagie comes down to two things. First, you need to appreciate very sharp provolone. I do. The tangier the better. Our intern Laura, on the other hand, took one bite and put it down. She’s a wimp. Second, you need to agree that roasted peppers belong on a hoagie. Again, I do. Anthony is not a fan of the roasted reds.
Beyond that, Mi-Pal’s boasts a crispy sesame seed roll and some good spice. A little thin on the meat, however.
18. Chickie’s Italian Deli
1014 Federal Street, South Philadelphia
215-462-8040.
The late, great John Marzano used to swear by Chickie’s and we admired Johnny Marz for many things, including his appetite. So we stopped by Chickie’s, a friendly place with a nice family feel. The menu says Chickie’s won the Best of Philly awards for their veggie hoagies. Certainly nothing we’re going for – we’ll leave that one for Rob Charry.
The Italian comes on a nice seeded roll and packs a good flavor. Two complaints: It’s a little stingy on the meat, and a bit heavy on the veggies. That caused it to get dripping wet before we ever finished the thing. Overall, a better-than-average sandwich, but not a contender.
19. Cellini’s
1710 E. Passyunk Avenue, South Philadelphia
This is an Italian market in the heart of South Philly with sandwiches, party trays, and its own line of specialty pastas and peppers. And a decent hoagie. Here’s what we loved – the meat. Five different forms of the delicious swine in our sandwich. Aged, salty, fatty without being greasy. A pork fiend’s delight.
Here’s what we didn’t like: The roll. Stale. Or, at least too past-its-time to move to the top of our list. We’re not sure whether Cellini’s gets daily bread deliveries, but when we pick up a sandwich at 1 p.m. and the bread requires some serious incisor work, well, something’s wrong. It’s a damn shame, because everything else was near perfection. Something tells me that had we come another time and gotten a better roll, Cellini’s might vie for the title here. But that’s not how the rules work in the Hoagie Hunt.
20. Slack’s Hoagies
2499 Aramingo Avenue, Port Richmond
215-423-4020
I’ve been a huge fan of Slack’s for 20 years (there are 16 locations, but the Aramingo Avenue store has always been my favorite). It’s a smart business that respects its clientele and maintains quality. You can go there and load up on the $3 Italian hoagie specials – that’s on Thursdays. Or you can spent a few more coins any day and opt for The Godfather, a capo de tuti of sandwiches. The meat seems a little better, the cheese a little sharper. But, mostly, it’s the roll. It’s the Amoroso seeded special. Go for it. And pick up another roll or two for the road.
21. Vena Brothers
300 Ewan Road, Mullica Hill, N.J.
856-417-3625
This is Brian Startare’s favorite place – but we decided not to count that against the fine owners of Vena Brothers. We opted for the Philly Hoagie – a combo of prosciutto, salami, capicola, provolone and some damned powerful long hots. “A damned fine hoagie,” declared WIP update guy Marc Farzetta, a man of few words. The cheese was a little tame and the lettuce too plentiful but, overall, we agree with Farzetta. And, to our regret, Startare.
22. Ricci Brothers
1165 South 11th Street, South Philadelphia
215-334-6910
Start with the pictures on the wall of this South Philly staple – a regal Frank Rizzo, a cast shot of The Sopranos, old glossies of Marlon Brando and Burt Lancaster. We could spend hours just looking around the joint.
But we’d rather eat. So we ordered a standard Italian and got it quickly, thanks to the friendly, assembly-line service. On the plus side, it was all very fresh – solid, crunchy roll, crispy veggies, tasty meat. A nicely constructed sandwich. On the minus side, it was a little thin to qualify as a contender in this contest. One little slice of provolone? That’s not going to do it. As our workout guru Mike Baretta (a longtime hoagie devotee) said, “You’ll burn more calories looking for the meat in this sandwich than you’ll spend eating it.”
23. Cut Above Deli
3523 West Chester Pike, Newtown Square
610-353-4543
A very friendly place, if you can find it in the cluttered shopping mall in Newtown Square. There are about a half-dozen Italian hoagie options on the menu. We went for the “Old Italian,” which features ham, Genoa salami, capicola and stuffed pepper shooters. A nice variation on a sandwich that, to be honest, we’re close to OD’ing on. Loved the pepper shooters. We wouldn’t go as far as the folks on the foodie web sites who call Cut Above “the pinnacle of hoagies,” but next time we’re driving out West Chester Pike, we’ll be sure to make a stop.
24. Frusco’s
7220 Frankford Avenue, Tacony
215- 333-0800
Probably the best thing about Frusco’s is its hours – open until 3 a.m. on weekends. So if you need a sandwich after a long night out drinking, this is the joint. They make a fine sandwich, highlighted by hot cap and super-sharp cheese. A little on the oily side, but sometimes we like it that way. Top it off with a chocolate milkshake. On second thought, maybe that’s not all such a good idea after a long night our drinking.
25. Simonetta’s
2510 S. Broad Street, South Philadelpia
267-324-5758
Nothing wrong with this hoagie, which combines better-than-average mears, sharp cheese and enough spice to add a little kick. I always enjoy sesame seeds on the roll, although a few purists have told me that’s a violation of standard hoagie etiquette. I don’t care, bring ‘em on. Overall, a solid neighborhood joint, but I wouldn’t go out of my way for one of these babies.
26. Jack’s Place
7167 Hegerman Street, Mayfair
215-624-5322.
Pete the Crab, head proprietor of Chickie’s and Pete’s, suggested this Mayfair joint, a neighborhood favorite for years. Not a bad call. We sampled the Original Italian, a mixture of coteghino, Genoa salami, butt capicola and – what’s that? – pepperoni? You don’t put pepperoni in an Italian hoagie. What might have been a solid contender lost major points for use of pizza meat.
Beyond that, there was a lot to like here. Nice crispy roll – crusty on the outside, soft in the middle. Tangy crumbled provolone. Plum tomatoes, Romaine lettuce (always better than iceberg) and purple Bermuda onions. All grade-A stuff. We were just about to get over that pepperoni nonsense when we noticed – what’s that? Olive spread in the hoagie? What is this, a muffaletta? Bad call, take away a few more points.
So it’s a mixed verdict – some fine ingredients, fresh and high quality; but the bottom line score is lowered by a few curious inclusions. If you’re more flexible than us, you may rank Jack’s Place higher than we did. As our old pal Steve Fredericks use to say, “Liked it, didn’t love it.”
27. Centrella’s
10 Brookline Boulevard, Havertown
610-853-2466
This is my own neighborhood place which means, of course, that Anthony is automatically skeptical. I get that. But folks in and around Havertown have been stopping into Centrella’s for years for great meatball sandwiches, roast chickens and, yes, Italian hoagies.
It’s a fairly standard sandwich – three different kinds of meat, sharp provolone, lettuce, tomato, onions and oregano. Nothing unique, nothing outstanding, but nothing to complain about either. Actually, we argued about the rolls – Glen went thumbs up, Anthony said they lacked any flavor. Different tastes, I guess. But it does underline one thing – the cornerstone of any great hoagie is the roll.
28. Sheepy’s Sandwich Shoppe
1342 Bleigh Avenue, Northeast Philadelphia
215-742-7080
This is a new entry on the local sandwich scene (the menu reads, ‘Since 2008’), and it has the feel of a new place. Nice folks running the joint. We tried the Northern Italian (with sweet peppers) and the Southern Italian (with hots) and found them both a notch above average. Definitely fresh meat and a topnotch roll. Only problem – both sandwiches carried about as much oil as the Exxon Valdez. And way too many onions. The ingredients are there for one glorious sandwich. All the folks at Sheepy’s need to do is work on their balance.
29. Vito’s Hoagies
31 South Eagle Road, Havertown.
610- 446-1500
Funny how a place can be right in your neighborhood and you drive by it for years without noticing. So when my fellow Townies asked my opinion of Vito’s, I had to admit ignorance. I gave it a try. Not bad. Certainly generous in the amount of meat, and loaded with big, raw onions. But something was missing. Too bland, too dry. Needs a kick. For now, I’ll stick with Carlino’s or Soprano’s in my neck of the woods.
30. Thunderbird Steak House
2323 West Chester Pike, Broomall
610-356-8869
The Italian hoagie at Thunderbird started out great – we loved the warm roll, which tasted like someone had just grabbed it out of the oven and laid it in front of us. And then, well, things went downhill. The meats were not nearly as fresh as the roll, giving us the sense they had been cut earlier in the day, stored under the counter and pulled out when we ordered our sandwich that evening. No! Not the way to construct a sandwich. We want to see the counterman cut the meats right after we order it – that way we know we’re getting the freshest and the best.
31. Leonardo’s Italian Bakery
183 Bustleton Pike, Feasterville
215-357-0357
Well, give them points for volume. This was a huge sandwich on a seeded roll the size of a small canoe – although a shade on the chewy side. Leonardo’s gives you a nice bonus – not just the shredded sharp provolone, but also big cubes of milder cheese. Decent meat, and if you like roasted red peppers, there’s a garden full on there. All in all a decent sandwich, most memorable for its girth.
32. Planet Hoagie
30 W. State Street, Media
610-891-0722
This is a young, upstart chain that provides the hoagies at Citizen’s Bank Park. There are literally 15 different versions of their Italian hoagies, although calling one that includes spiced Buffalo turkey an Italian hoagies seems a bit far fetched. We went for the Santini, which carries the basics of prosciutto, cap, Genoa salami and sharp provolone. Not bad. Too much oregano, cheese was a little too tame.
33. Sciarrino’s Pizzeria and Restaurant
19 N. Brookside Road, Springfield
610-543-8400
There is nothing outstanding about this sandwich (well, maybe the genuine long hots), and nothing offensive about it either (except, perhaps, that we bit into a flake of onion peel rather than onion). It’s the Joe Blanton of hoagies, and not just for its size (which is bulky, just like the Phils third starter). Blanton, last we checked, was 50-48 for his career. And that’s a Sciarrino’s Italian hoagie – the ultimate .500 hoagie.
Give them credit for using Dietz and Watson’s and Boar’s Head meats and cheeses. Take away a few points for a spongy roll and a flavor that had us believe someone spilled an entire jar of oregano on this baby. As we said, a .500 hoagie.
34. Pagano’s Market
1216 Township Line Road, Drexel Hill
215-853-6410
Pagano’s is a little Italian deli on City Line Avenue that sells some of the best homemade gravy you can get north of Washington Avenue. They use the Freda and Hatfield brand meats in the sandwiches, which is a plus. So we expected excellence.
But something happened between when we ordered our Italian Special and when we unwrapped it. Looks like it went through a hurricane – all tossed up and falling off the roll. Tried to save it, and ended up with oregano and oil all over my shirt. Maybe I caught them on a bad day, but this one was a real disappointment given what I expected.
35. Campo’s Deli
214 Market Street, Old City
215-923-1000
We lauded Campo’s last year during the Cheesesteak Challenge. A few months back I had a great Reuben from there as well. So we fully expected Campo’s to be near the top of this list. Alas, it was not to be.
Great cheese and three kinds of cold cuts made for a good start. But the sandwich was overloaded with tasteless, wooden tomatoes. And the roll – stale enough we had to wrestle with it. The roll won, our incisors lost. Probably, we hit Campo’s on a bad day. But hey, that’s the way the Hoagie Hunt works.
36. Mike and Emma’s
601 MacDade Boulevard, Folsom
610-461-9194
It’s funny how different parts of town opt for different styles of hoagie. Lower Delco, we learned, is all about soft, spongy rolls and an overload of veggies. Of the places we checked out in that area, Mike and Emma’s was the best – which is sort of like being the tallest midget in the circus. Snappy onions, fresh ingredients overall, but ultimately nothing more than an average sandwich.
37. Steak ‘em Up
2600 South 11th, South Philadelphia
215-467-2100
Good-sized hoagie, packed with meat. You certainly get your money’s worth at Steak ‘em Up. But something was missing from this sandwich, and mostly, it was flavor. How can a combo of Italian cold cuts and cheese be relatively tasteless? We’re not sure, but that’s how it turned out. One more thing: Steak ‘em Up has a terrific television ad that riffs off of The Cars’ great song “Shake It Up.” It gets in your head and you can’t stop singing it.
38. The Original Eagle Pizza
2343 Haverford Road, Ardmore
610-896-6140
The basic Italian hoagie at Original Eagle is just fine, but if you want to step it up a notch, order the 9th Street Special, a tribute to its South Philly roots with prosciutto, Genoa salami, spicy hot cap and Stella sharp provolone. A great mix of flavors, and a generous sandwich for $6.95. Throw on a couple of hot peppers and you’ve got a real treat here.
And kudos to the people who run this place – one of the friendliest hoagie/pizza joints you’ll ever visit.
39. Hykel’s Subs
2704 East County Line Road, Ardmore
610-642-9434
We were eager to try this joint, around since 1938, after Philly Magazine named it the best suburban hoagie of 2008. And so .. . well, we don’t get it. And not just that the place calls itself a “sub shop,” the most un-Philadelphian of titles. And not just that they asked us if we wanted our Italian with mayo, Mayo?
Anyway, the hoagie was underwhelming. A little thin, a lot too oniony. Lots of salami, hardly any cheese. No offense to Philly Mag, but they need to get out more.
40. Lee’s Hoagie House
1871 Street Road, Bensalem
215-245-1500
Lee’s is a venerable chain that has been serving up sandwiches at 17 locations, most of which have been open for decades. We ended up at the Bensalem shop, for no particular reason other than we felt like making our intern drive a long distance one particular afternoon.
Give Lee’s credit for giving customers their money’s worth. The Italian/Cheltingham hoagie, at $7.05, was packed thick with meat and cheese. More than enough to sate even our producer Jamie’s limitless appetite. But other than volume, there was nothing special here. Just stuffing more cold cuts on a sandwich doesn’t make it great. A top-flight hoagie requires balance and a little bit of art. That’s why we respect the prideful veteran countermen so often found at some of the city’s venerable sandwich joints. The 20-year-old kid at Lee’s just didn’t match up.
One more thing. The sports motif at Lee’s is real nice, but you may want to take down that glossie of Takeo Spikes already. And what’s with those Pittsburgh Steelers terrible towels? In Bensalem?! Now that’s got to be a violation in Anthony’s eyes.
41. Trio’s Cold Cuts
1248 MacDade Boulevard, Woodlyn
610-833-9987
Rumor has it that this used to be a great sandwich shop. Rumor also has it that ownership changed a while back and that things have gone downhill from there. We’re not sure, but we do know this: If you sell someone a sandwich at 6 p.m., it should never be on a stale roll that puts up a getter fight than the Sixers in Game Six vs. Orlando. I think I chipped a tooth. On the other hand, a cool pitcher of Yuengling was just seven bucks, so there is something positive to say about the place.
42. Marinucci’s Deli
2852 St. Vincent Street, Mayfair
This is our fifth food hunt, and we’ve come to consider the Great Northeast as Philadelphia’s gastronomic wasteland. For every great cheesesteak place (Chink’s) or rib joint (Sweet Lucy’s) there are block after block of restaurants that disappoint. Apparently it’s no different with hoagies. Alas, it appears unlikely that any Northeast sandwich shop will crack our top six and, thus, make our finals.
We were told that Marinucci’s is a favorite of locals around Mayfair, so we gave it a shot. Hmmm – nice roll, decent cold cuts, snappy onions. But what’s with that cheese? You call that provolone? Just for the record, all five of our tasters said the cheese tasted more like American than provolone. And you don’t put American cheese on an Italian hoagie.
43. DiCostanza’s
1930 Market Street, Boothwyn
610-491-3616
We were told by more than a few old-timers that our Hoagie Hunt would not be valid if we failed to drive all the way to Chester County to check our DiCostanza’s, which claims to have invented the Italian hoagie way back in 1925. I’m in no mood to dispute their historical chops, but I will say this: Thank God that the sandwich has been improved on by others over the years. Because what passes for an Italian hoagie at DiCostanza’s is extremely substandard.
It’s a puffy roll, packed so full of soft cold cuts that it sits there like an open-faced sandwich. On the positive side, you do get your money’s worth, but on the negative side, more doesn’t always equal better. There’s no taste to the sandwich, not more than a few molecules of cheese and no snap. People without teeth might enjoy this hoagie; it’s that soft.
44. Lou’s Sandwich Shop
414 East Main Street, Norristown
610-279-5415
And
45. Eve’s Lunch
310 Johnson Highway, Norristown
610-277-6600
When is an Italian hoagie not a hoagie? When it’s a zep – short for zeppelin – the signature sandwich of beautiful Norristown. It’s hoagie-ish, but don’t dare call it by that name or they’ll act as if you blasphemed one of the Lasorda Brothers.
We stopped at Norristown’s two most famous Zep makers – Lou’s and Eve’s – for a sandwich of salami, ham, provolone, oil and oregano on a rounder roll than most hoagies. Oh, and onions. Lots of onions. Enough onions that each sandwich should come equipped with a complimentary bottle of Scope.
Anyway, although you could prompt a great debate in Norristown with the topic of who makes a better sandwich, our bottom line was, Who cares? Neither Lou’s nor Eve’s blew us away. Too much oil, too doughy a roll, too flimsy with the cheese. Sometimes local legends live on based on what they used to be, and we get a sense that might be true for both Lou’s and Eve’s. Let’s just say that we wouldn’t drive out of our way for either.
We’ll give the slight edge to Lou’s, in that their zep was a little bit fresher. And the service was noticeably friendlier. Anna’s has a reputation for being, shall we say, surly. On that regard, at least, they didn’t disappoint.
46. Anna’s Sandwich Shop
Sutton and MacDade Boulevard, Folsom
610-534-9289
Lackluster is the word here. Lackluster, puffy roll that tasted like Wonder Bread. Lackluster iceberg lettuce. Lackluster meats – with no prosciutto. Any good Italian hoagie must have prosciutto, it’s the key ingredient of the sandwich.
Anna’s – located in Ray Didinger’s childhood stomping grounds – was a huge disappointment after some locals boasted how good it was. It just seemed like the people running the place didn’t care. For example: We arrived at 7:30, noting that the place closes at 8 p.m. Still, we were told we couldn’t sit inside and had to get takeout, because the folks behind the counter were in a rush to go out and “start drinking.” Hey, sorry about the business.
47. Vincent's Pizza
6452 Lansdowne Avenue, West Philadelphia
215-879-3510
Our Flyers geek pal Anthony Sanfilippo of the Delco Times grew up in West Philly and raved about all the days of his youth spent in this place. Well, let’s just hope that Anthony knows more about hockey than hoagies.
The basic Italian was soggy and a bit sloppy, heavy on the onions and too light on the cheese. Lots of soft salami, but not more else in the meat department. Declared our pal Ray Didinger: “It’s not a terrible hoagie.” And that about sums it up.
48. Mr. V’s Steaks
193 Franklin Mills Blvd., Northeast Philly
215-824-2450
We tried this place during last year’s Cheesesteak Challenge and enjoyed it. Ah well, better stick to steaks. When it comes to Italian hoagies, Mr. V’s is as uninspiring as the Franklin Mills Mall neighborhood that surrounds it.
The upside was a quality seeded roll. Looking back, we would have been smarter to take everything out of that roll, maybe spread some butter on it and enjoy that. Unfortunately, everything after the roll was downhill. Soft, salty meat that would have pleased only my grandfather – since he had no teeth with which to chew it. And if you enjoy cheese with absolutely no discernable flavor, well, Mr. V’s is the spot for you.
49. Leo’s Steak Shop
1403 Chester Pike, Folcroft
610-856-1199
I really wanted to like this place because they’re friendly as can be, they’ve been around forever, and I enjoyed their cheesesteaks in the past. But the Italian Hoagie? A disaster. The meat was sliced so thin, it was virtually invisible. And mushy. We asked for hot peppers and got . . . well, I’m not sure what those little spots of green and red were on the sandwich. Mushy, soggy, soft, tasteless. My eating partner, Paul, declared it, “The worst hoagie of my life.” I’m not quite that absolute, but it does make the bottom five.
50. South Square Market
2221 South Street, Philadelphia
215-545-4349
How did we end up at this place, which seems more like a grocery store than a sandwich shop? Well, several listeners recommended it, and we like to take the advice of our listeners.
Or maybe not. Because, it turns out, going to the South Square Market for a hoagie is like going to Le Bec Fin for mac-and-cheese. It’s just not what they do best. Most of the ingredients were actually more than fine – Dietz and Watson and Boar’s Head meats. A nice start.
After that, it was all downhill. If there was any cheese in this sandwich, you’d need a magnifying glass to find it. One thin, ribbony slice of provolone, that didn’t even make it to the heel of the roll. And, for some reason, by the time we got the sandwich out of the store and unwrapped it, it had gone completely soggy. Dripping water. It ended up disintegrating in our hands to the point that we didn’t even finish the sandwich. And when we don’t finish a meal, something’s really wrong.
51. Greenman’s Deli
2900 Robbins Ave., Northeast.
215-288-3336.
Nice place. Friendly service. Been around for more than 60 years. Lots of loyal fans. So we feel bad ripping the joint.
But rip we must. Four of the five voters on our judging panel gave Greenman’s Italian a thumbs down (and the only positive vote came from Froemming the intern, a college kid who’s happy to eat anything). Jamie the producer probably put it best (for once): “I felt like I was eating an Oscar Mayer Lunchable on a roll.”
And not a great roll at that – puffy, oversized and soft – the Derrick Coleman of hoagie rolls. They do pile a fair amount of meat on there (mostly variations of ham), but big doesn’t always equal good. Hmm, back to Derrick Coleman. And here’s the killer – plopped right in the middle of our Italian hoagie was one big, fat dill pickle. Just sitting there like a Baby Ruth in the swimming pool.
Who recommended this place? Oh yeah, Froeming the intern. Last time we listen to that kid.
