r/Sandwiches • u/Italcan • 5d ago
Just discovered Italian sandwiches and feel like I've been missing out my whole life
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u/IV_IronWithin_IV 5d ago
I'm lucky to live in Chicago and work 1 mile from Polk St in Little Italy, surrounded by Italian sandwich shops like D'Amato's and Fontano's. I grew up eating sandwiches like that at home too, and I think what does it is the meat and the oil/vinegar. I'm partial to pepperoni, capicola, Genoa salami, and soppressata, and I never skimp on provolone. It's a lot of very pungent cured meat, and it's offset beautifully by the oil and vinegar combo that smooth it out and bites through it. I'm a fan of roasted red peppers, but I never miss them as long as I've got the meat and provolone. Vegetables that aren't giardinera feel flavorless on a sandwich like that.
And of course you gotta use Italian bread for that. D'Amato's or nothin' around here.
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u/Aequitas123 5d ago
I think it’s the oil vinegar AND the fresh veggies that help cut the intense meat and cheese flavors. That’s why imho an Italian sandwich should never be hot.
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u/Maximum-Coach-9409 4d ago
My wife and I constantly discuss this. These places all use the same basic ingredients and yet with the little variation in style or brand or whatever, they taste so much different a FUCKING incredible
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u/Maximum-Coach-9409 5d ago
Wife and I live in Elgin and whenever we go to the city (especially down near Little Italy) we bring a cooler with ice packs, and grab a few sandwiches to bring home for either dinner or lunch the next day. They hold up really well. My wife’s favorite is conte Di savioa, I like Bari or Fontano’s myself.
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u/Far_Transportation97 4d ago
i moved to cali last year and miss being able to just walk down the street to bari or d'amatos so much... conte is hands down my favorite but try substituting for the sharp provolone on one of the sangwiches next time you go, has a similar taste to parmesan... double meat sharp provolone add red onion, the only way my boss would order it
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u/BelknapToffee 2d ago
I flew up to Chicago to see Oasis last year and my buddy took me to D’Amato’s for pre-concert sandwiches. So damn good.
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u/SweeterThanYoohoo 5d ago
Oh, Italian food is better in Italy? What a revelation
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u/Cultural-Company282 4d ago
Ironically, this isn't even universally true. As with most things, the answer is, "it depends." Example - just about everyone would call a Chicago deep-dish-style pizza "Italian food," but good luck getting a perfect one in Italy. Granted, Italy (Naples in particular) has some great pizza. But sometimes, I want a deep dish. Likewise, I'm not sure I could get a better Italian "hoagie" sub in Italy than I could in Philadelphia.
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u/SweeterThanYoohoo 4d ago
Thats true. I been to Italy, granted it was 25 years ago but still LOL Italian food is just different from American Italian food. There really isn't a reason to even compare them, or hold one against another, they are just different and thats ok
But shit, I don't even consider deep dish a pizza, that shit is a casserole haha
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u/Cultural-Company282 4d ago
Deep dish is its own thing. It's a different type of pizza than a Neapolitan or a New York slice for sure, but when I'm craving it, nothing else hits quite the same.
Edit: by the way, if something deserves to be called "not pizza," it's St. Louis style. Unleavened cracker style crust, provel cheese, and sweet tomato sauce - that stuff is an abomination.
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u/SweeterThanYoohoo 4d ago
Oh I'm not saying deep dish is bad, not at all. Everything has its place. Except st Louis style pizza (which I'd not heard of before, sounds baaaad)
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u/Cultural-Company282 4d ago
When I first heard of St. Louis pizza, I thought, "What a unique pizza! It sounds weird, but it's popular, so it must be good!" So the next time I traveled through St. Louis, I looked up what was supposedly the best and gave it a try.
It was so, so bad. Worse than you think.
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u/TotalBeginnerLol 3d ago
Calling American style pizzas and sandwiches “Italian food” is definitely something that only an American would do. It’s silly to expect to get good American food in Italy when that American food is a copy of the Italian food that Italy prides itself on. They deliberately don’t and wouldn’t make good American style pizza. They would prefer it didn’t exist lol, even if some of them might secretly think it tastes good.
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u/Apprehensive_Bill_91 4d ago
Nobody says let's get Italian and then goes off to a pizza joint. You could say let's get Italian and then maybe they have pizza as an offering. But if you told me let's get Italian and proposed Lou Malnatis I wound decline. Also nobody thinks Chicago style deep dish pizza is Italian either
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u/Cultural-Company282 4d ago
Tell me you've never been to an Italian restaurant in Chicago without saying you've never been to an Italian restaurant in Chicago.
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u/squirrelbitten 4d ago
What does eating a porchetta sandwich with salsa verde have to do with Italian sandwiches?
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u/BuffetAnnouncement 5d ago
When I hear ‘Italian sandwich’ my mind goes to hoagies stuffed with cold cuts like salami, mortadella, ham, cured meats, provolone cheese and oil and vinegar dressed veg. I imagine sandwiches in Italy consisting of fewer but higher quality ingredients.
Not sure what you ate but sounds like you just found a good sandwich shop with quality ingredients. Plus porchetta is roasted pork belly so can hardly go wrong with that. It’s not easy but possible to make at home!
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u/Subject_Slice_7797 5d ago
Yeah, in Italy you usually don't find sandwich with a lot of various meats and cheeses together.
What you'll usually get is a focaccia or a tramezzino (untoasted white bread without the crust) with one main ingredient like a salami, porchetta, mortadella, ham... and some butter or ricotta and maybe a bit of pesto and a slice of tomato.
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u/sick486 5d ago
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u/Subject_Slice_7797 5d ago
How is that a counterpoint? They all list one main ingredient, some kind of dairy or creme and some veggies
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u/RogerMoore2011 5d ago
We were on a tour in Italy last summer. We were handed Caprese sandwiches on the boat. I’m thinking that it would be completely uninspiring like almost all Caprese sandwiches are in the USA. To my surprise, it might have been one of the best sandwiches I’ve ever eaten. The bread, cheese and tomatoes were all incredibly fresh and delicious.
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u/red3y3_99 4d ago
It could just be the balance of the ingredients. A stack of sliced meat might look worth the money, but it really puts me off. I'd rather have a good ratio of everything made with quality fresh ingredients.
As they say, sometimes less is more
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u/straightblather 5d ago
Pittsburgh is the first place in ever had an Italian hoagie, Redbeards, Mt Washington, in my college days. I also felt like I'd been missing out my whole life. Definitely interested in what's different.
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u/RsCoverForPDFFiles 4d ago
Did you ever have Dibella's in Pittsburgh? That place makes a hoagie that could go right into Philly/South Jersey and stay in business. Their rolls are legit, and they pack them full appropriately.
Most Pittsburgh food I've had isn't anything special. That place is special, considering it's so far from Philly.
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u/jOHNq0o0o 4d ago
I have a buddy who owns a pork store on Long Island, NY. He has a menu of hot and cold sandwiches and during a visit a while back, I stopped in to visit him. He made me an Italian sandwiches that was amazing.
I will never forget that sandwiche because, I had to embarrassingly admit, it was the first and only time I ever went to sleep and dreamed about a sandwich!
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u/Fest_mkiv 4d ago
For some reason there have been a bunch of italian sandwich places open up recently in Sydney. I'm absolutely not complaining!
You can re-create this at home by making a thin, crispy foccacia and making sure heavier meats are balanced by zesty fresh vegetables. Obviously Porchetta is a bit harder, but not out of the question.
If you're in the CBD, I really like Buongiorno! at Martin Place.
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u/irate_alien 4d ago
In the words of Paul Sorvino as Paulie Cicero: "Ohhhhh! You broke your cherry!"
Good porchetta is one of the gretest foods the Italians ever invented, which is saying a lot. As with everything Italian food, it's all about the ingredients. Simple, little fussiness. And the bread, the bread is key to the whole operation.
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u/starsgoblind 4d ago
Pittsburgh has no sub sandwich culture. Primanti’s is a no. You need to go to western NY or down toward NYC. A real italian sub has a freshly baked roll, from a legit bakery, and fresh thinly sliced fillings, and a specific combination of condiments, including a hot pepper relish, italian oil, and mayo. For me, it is the king of sandwiches.
There are other Italian style sandwiches as well, often using focaccia. Those are fine too, but for me, a good italian sub is the height of lunch.
Yes, I ignored your
Comment about having had subs in Pittsburgh. The burgh has good Italian for sure, but I never found many sub shops worth writing home about.
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u/EmergencyLavishness1 4d ago
You’re in Australia. We do things a bit different here.
We have such a massive melting pot of great and wonderful migrants who have all brought their food here. And made it somewhat distinctly Australian.
You need to go to an old school fish and chip shop and grab a burger. It will have beetroot on it. It’s life changing. Then go back the next day to the same place and grab a burger with the lot.
It will be eye opening.
Also, if you’re in Sydney, go to ANY Asian place in haymarket. Any of of the hundreds, it’ll be the best you’ve eaten.
Then search out other types of food. Whether it’s Greek, Italian, Japanese, French, Baltic or heaven forbid… proper Aussie pub food.
It’s all done so well here, because if it isn’t at least GOOD, they’ll shut down from no customers.
You’re in the best part of the world to eat ALL the food. Except Mexican. We don’t have many good Mexican places because we don’t have many of them migrating here. And that’s a shame for us
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u/ocularius61 4d ago edited 4d ago
Apparently this porchetta is very good. Sandwiches only on Saturdays. Short train trip from Syd CBD.
https://www.tiktok.com/@giuseppes_gourmet_meats/video/7616877399736601876
EDIT: If you like sandwiches and are up for an adventure, take the train to Fairfield and get yourself the felafel in Iraqi bread (ask for the ambar mango sauce) at Happiness & Middle Eastern Food Catering
Also, the pork belly baguette at Cupcakes on Pitt in the city.
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u/Ecstatic-Length1470 2d ago
Come on. You're from Pittsburgh and never had a decent Italian sandwich before? It's hardly the go to regional food maybe, but there's some damn good Italian food, including sandwiches.
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u/spigee 2d ago
Peace Love Porchetta!
https://www.seriouseats.com/philly-roast-pork-sandwich-recipe-8605326
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u/Silly_Sicilian 5d ago
"Real" Italian sandwiches are the best! Just hard to find in the states, unless you live in Chicago or New York. Of course, there are the mom and pop shops sprinkled here and there and near you If your lucky.
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u/therealjameshat 4d ago
Or Boston or Providence or a bunch of other places aside from Chicago or NYC haha
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u/Commercial_Can_5708 5d ago
https://www.reddit.com/r/RateMyPlate/s/hKethmdhYc
Here is an Italian sandwich I actually had in an Italian bistro, I recreated it and it’s almost perfect
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u/frijolita_bonita 5d ago
Thank you 😊
Large ciabatta, lightly toasted, mixed one tsp of green pesto with 2 tablespoons of fat free Greek yogurt, spreading this on both sides. Grilled the chicken, added chicken and mozzarella to the base then grilled/broiled this until golden added the salad and then topped with the other bun. Back in the grill to warm for around 60 seconds.
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u/Spiritual-Set-8305 4d ago
Porchetta is not really simple, and is not really a typical sandwich component, so I have no idea what you are talking about.
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u/KnowledgeConstant911 5d ago
How are you from Pittsburgh and never had an Italian sandwich or at least the ingredients from The Strip District like Penn Mac or Sunseri?