The first, and most widespread type of Italian-American cold sandwich is one on a typically eight- to ten-inch fresh loaf of bread about three inches wide sliced lengthwise and filled with a copious amount of Italian or Italian-style cold cuts, or boiled ham, slices of cheese, usually Provolone, and tomatoes, often shredded lettuce, maybe preserved peppers, plus a dash of olive oil and another of vinegar. Never mayonnaise, at least on the East Coast. The combination features tartness from the vinegar, the bite of peppers, satiating meatiness, the slightly crisp texture of the lettuce, the aroma and taste of recently baked, fresh and usually crusty bread, and often some residual oil on hands or clothing. At least when served fully sized, its origins as a laborer’s lunch are easy to see. These sandwiches, often stuffed to the brim and wrapped in paper to contain the bounty, reflected the abundance of America, not the restraint of Italy. Whether named hero, submarine, hoagie, grinder, Italian, spuckie, zep, or torpedo, these are fairly similar regional variations created in the northeast by southern Italian immigrants or their offspring. In one version or another, most frequently with the “submarine” or “sub” name – often to the dismay of many Philadelphians – these are now found throughout the country in various forms and level of quality, courtesy of the business magic of franchising. The name, sub for these, appears to have originated in northern New Jersey in the early 20th century. The origin stories are often not so clear – for both the creations and their names – but it seems that several of the familiar cold sandwiches on a long roll developed independently in several areas in the northeast after the arrival of Italian immigrants.
The first of these sandwiches made and served to immigrant labor from southern Italy seems to have been in the west side Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of New York in the late 19th century at a grocer called Petrucci’s. From the bowels of New York it spread south to other Italian enclaves on the island than across the East River to Brooklyn and then Queens and north to the Bronx. It took a few decades to acquire the name “hero.” That seemingly came from famed New York Herald Tribune food writer Clementine Paddleford in 1936, who wrote about the large sandwich: “You'd have to be a hero to finish one.” Another very early version was created in the unlikely town of Portland, Maine, the Italian sandwich, a name that carries until today. Descriptively named for its creator, Giovanni Amato in 1902, and most of the earliest customers, it consists of fresh bread casing slices of cold cuts, cheddar cheese – using what could be sourced – and tomatoes, with green peppers, spicy pickles, olives, onions, and oil with salt and pepper. What began as a cart, Amato’s Sandwich Shop is still open today, and in a number of locations.
Philadelphia’s favorite sandwich, the hoagie, got its start at DiCostanza's Grocery, just south of the city in Chester, in the mid-1920s according to most of the reliable sources, but without the odd name. As for that, it could be that a certain Al DePalma was walking down busy Broad Street when two men holding huge sandwiches passed near, he heard one say “you have to be a hog to eat one of those.” A few years later, DePalma remembered the vignette when he opened a small restaurant, and named his long sandwiches at DePalma’s, likely modeled from others in the area, as "hoggies.” This vignette may not be entirely true, but Al DePalma apparently deserves the credit for naming the iconic sandwiches in a commercial sense, at least in its initial moniker. The original version probably consisted of Italian-style cold cuts, cheese, and lettuce garnished with a choice among tomatoes, onion, peppers and pickles, and slathered with oil, mustard, and, unusual for Italian-run places, mayonnaise. Its success drew many imitators. After the Second World War, the sandwich name became a “hoagie,” reflecting the distinctively pleasant Philadelphia accent featuring extended vowels, “HO-gie.” This type of sandwich has taken deep root.
The Italian with some extra hot peppers from Primo Hoagies. Quite tasty.
The first of these sandwiches made and served to immigrant labor from southern Italy seems to have been in the west side Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of New York in the late 19th century at a grocer called Petrucci’s. From the bowels of New York it spread south to other Italian enclaves on the island than across the East River to Brooklyn and then Queens and north to the Bronx. It took a few decades to acquire the name “hero.” That seemingly came from famed New York Herald Tribune food writer Clementine Paddleford in 1936, who wrote about the large sandwich: “You'd have to be a hero to finish one.” Another very early version was created in the unlikely town of Portland, Maine, the Italian sandwich, a name that carries until today. Descriptively named for its creator, Giovanni Amato in 1902, and most of the earliest customers, it consists of fresh bread casing slices of cold cuts, cheddar cheese – using what could be sourced – and tomatoes, with green peppers, spicy pickles, olives, onions, and oil with salt and pepper. What began as a cart, Amato’s Sandwich Shop is still open today, and in a number of locations.
Philadelphia’s favorite sandwich, the hoagie, got its start at DiCostanza's Grocery, just south of the city in Chester, in the mid-1920s according to most of the reliable sources, but without the odd name. As for that, it could be that a certain Al DePalma was walking down busy Broad Street when two men holding huge sandwiches passed near, he heard one say “you have to be a hog to eat one of those.” A few years later, DePalma remembered the vignette when he opened a small restaurant, and named his long sandwiches at DePalma’s, likely modeled from others in the area, as "hoggies.” This vignette may not be entirely true, but Al DePalma apparently deserves the credit for naming the iconic sandwiches in a commercial sense, at least in its initial moniker. The original version probably consisted of Italian-style cold cuts, cheese, and lettuce garnished with a choice among tomatoes, onion, peppers and pickles, and slathered with oil, mustard, and, unusual for Italian-run places, mayonnaise. Its success drew many imitators. After the Second World War, the sandwich name became a “hoagie,” reflecting the distinctively pleasant Philadelphia accent featuring extended vowels, “HO-gie.” This type of sandwich has taken deep root.
The Italian with some extra hot peppers from Primo Hoagies. Quite tasty.
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