Philly and Manhattan have “lunch meat”; processed meat or cheeses formed into round or rectangular loaf’s and sliced thin and ordered as a half pound or a quarter pound at free standing “delicatessens” or at the “lunch meat” counter in supermarkets.
A hoagie is a sandwich made on a long “Italian” roll, sliced in half longitudinally with meat, cheese, lettuce, tomato and sauce. It’s called a hoagie in Philly, a submarine or sub in other places, a hero sandwich and when heated a grinder.
A variation in the Norristown PA area is a round roll with cooked salami and provolone cheese, a Zep as they call it. Delicious. One of the best is at Eve’s, called Evies on the Johnson Highway close to the closed Catholic High school, Bishop Kendrick, closed in 2010.
A grinder is made with Italian sausage, ground beef and provolone cheese.
A Hero is Donald Trump, of course but a hero sandwich is similar to the Hoagie.
Another Philly tradition is the delicatessen, a store that specializes in “lunch meats”, garlic pickles often called Jewish pickles, and trays of prepared salads and sauces. America has delicatessen’s that have become famous for sandwiches made on “Jewish” rye bread. Various delicatessen sandwiches are available coast to coast and a lively debate about which deli sandwich is the best rages across the land.
A final note about American food is in order. America has the best variety of food compared to any other country. Wonderful food is available around the world but the chances that a great chef from another culture came to America is almost 100%. Some foods and some wines don’t travel well so no argument that there are amazing foods not available in America and wonderful venues in many other countries but as far as great food and wine, America doesn’t not disappoint. Having traveled to 92 countries it is true that there are places and foods that cannot be duplicated but for the shear magnitude of excellent foods, there’s no place like America.
Hoagies, Subs, Zeps and Hero’s is only one example. Denmark for example has a well deserved reputation for excellent sandwiches but no Zeps. Europe has stupendous sandwiches, some would say of a higher style than America’s but they alck “lunch meat”, therefore their choices are extremely limited.
Sandwiches around the world are nowhere near as ubiquitous as they are in America. travel to far destinations but come to America for the best hero’s. Freedom offers far more choices.
Hits: 7
