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Submarine sandwich

A Submarine sandwich.
Origin
Alternate name(s)	Multiple
Place of origin	United States
Region or state	Northeast
Dish details
Main ingredient(s)	Multiple
Variations	Multiple

A submarine sandwich, also known as a sub, grinder, hero, hoagie, Italian sandwich, po' boy, wedge, zep, torpedo or roll, is a popular Italian sandwich that consists of an oblong roll, often of Italian or French bread, split lengthwise either into two pieces or opened in a "V" on one side, and filled with various meats, cheeses, vegetables, spices, and sauces.^[1][2] The sandwich has no apparent generic name, and major US cities have their own names for it.^[1] The usage of the several terms varies regionally but not in any pattern, as they have been used variously by the people and enterprises who make and sell them. The terms submarine and sub are widespread and not assignable to any certain region, though many of the localized terms are clustered in the northeast United States, where the most Italian Americans live.^[2]

History and etymology

The sandwich originated in several different Italian American communities in the Northeastern United States from the late 19th to mid 20th centuries. The popularity of this Italian-American cuisine has grown from its origins in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts to spread to most parts of the United States, and with the advent of chain restaurants, is now available in many parts of the world.^[3] In Europe this would simply be known as a Baguette, or a Ciabatta, named after the type of bread being used. Both types of bread are traditional breads in use in France and Italy for centuries.

Submarine

WWII submarine - US Navy

The use of the term submarine or sub is widespread,^[2] and its origin is disputed. One theory is that it originated in a restaurant in Scollay Square in Boston, Massachusetts at the beginning of World War I. The sandwich was created to entice the large numbers of navy servicemen stationed at the Charlestown Navy Yard. The bread was a smaller specially baked baguette intended to resemble the hull of the submarines it was named after.^[4]

Another theory suggests the submarine was brought to the US by Dominic Conti (1874–1954), an Italian immigrant who came to New York in the early 1900s.^[5] In 1910 he started Dominic Conti's Grocery Store on Mill Street in Paterson, NJ and named the sandwich after seeing the recovered 1878 submarine called "Holland 1" in the local Paterson museum in 1918. His granddaughter has stated the following: "My grandfather came to this country circa 1895 from Montella, Italy. Around 1910, he started his grocery store, called Dominic Conti's Grocery Store, on Mill Street in Paterson, New Jersey where he was selling the traditional Italian sandwiches. His sandwiches were made from a recipe he brought with him from Italy which consisted of a long crust roll, filled with cold cuts, topped with lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, onions, oil, vinegar, Italian herbs and spices, salt, and pepper. The sandwich started with a layer of cheese and ended with a layer of cheese (this was so the bread wouldn’t get soggy)."^[6]

Hoagie

Workers read the Hog Island News

The term hoagie originated in the Philadelphia area. Domenic Vitiello, professor of Urban Studies at the University of Pennsylvania asserts that Italians working at the World War II shipyard in Philadelphia, known as Hog Island where emergency shipping was produced for the war effort, introduced the sandwich, by putting various meats, cheeses, and lettuce between two slices of bread. This became known as the "Hog Island" sandwich; hence, the "hoagie".^[7]

The Philadelphia Almanac and Citizen's Manual offers a different explanation, that the sandwich was created by early twentieth century street vendors called "hokey-pokey men", who sold antipasto salad, along with meats and cookies. When Gilbert and Sullivan’s operetta H.M.S. Pinafore opened in Philadelphia in 1879, bakeries produced a long loaf called the pinafore. Entrepreneurial "hokey-pokey men" sliced the loaf in half, stuffed it with antipasto salad, and sold the world's first "hoagie".^[8]

Another explanation is that the word "hoagie" arose in the late 19th-early 20th century, among the Italian community in South Philadelphia, when "on the hoke" was a slang used to describe a destitute person. Deli owners would give away scraps of cheeses and meats in an Italian bread-roll known as a "hokie", but the Italian immigrants pronounced it "hoagie."^[9]

Other less likely explanations involve "Hogan" (a nickname for Irish workers at the Hogg Island shipyard), a reference to the pork or "hog" meat used in hoagies, "honky sandwich" (using a racial slur for white people seen eating them) or "hooky sandwich" (derived from "hookie" for truant kids seen eating them).^[3] Shortly after WWII, there were numerous varieties of the term in use throughout Philadelphia. By the 1940s, the spellings "hoagie" and, to a lesser extent, "hoagy" had come to dominate lesser user variations like "hoogie" and "hoggie".^[10] By 1955, restaurants throughout the area were using the term "hoagie", with many selling hoagies and subs or hoagies and pizza. Listing in Pittsburgh show hoagies arriving in 1961 and becoming widespread in that city by 1966.^[10]

Former Philadelphia mayor (now Pennsylvania governor) Ed Rendell declared the hoagie the "Official Sandwich of Philadelphia".^[11] However, there are claims that the hoagie was actually a product of nearby Chester, Pennsylvania.^[12]

Hero

The New York Tribune before being renamed New York Herald Tribune

The term hero originated in New York in the late 19th century when Italian laborers wanted a convenient lunch that reminded them of home. The name is credited to New York Herald Tribune food writer Clementine Paddleford, who wrote in the 1930s that you needed to be a hero to finish the gigantic Italian sandwich.^[3]

"Hero" remains the prevailing New York term for most sandwiches on an oblong roll with a generally Italian flavor, in addition to the original described above. Pizzeria menus often include eggplant parmigiana, chicken parmigiana, and meatball heroes, each served with tomato sauce. Pepper and egg heroes and potato and egg heroes are also popular.^{[citation needed]}

Other names

• Blimpie (shaped like a blimp) From the Hoboken, New Jersey founded chain, Blimpie.
• Bomber (shaped like a bomber plane) — various areas.
• Cosmo (cosmopolitan) — North Central Pennsylvania near Williamsport
• Grinder (Italian-American slang for a dock worker) — Midwest, New England. Inland Empire of Southern California.^[3]
• Italian Sandwich — Maine and other parts of New England.
• Poor boy — Saint Louis
• Po-boy — Southern Louisiana
• Rocket (shaped like a rocket) — various areas.
• Spuckie (Italian-American slang for a long roll) — Boston, Massachusetts (used particularly in Italian immigrant neighborhoods)
• Torpedo (shaped like a torpedo) — New York, New Jersey, other areas.
• Tunnel — Various New England areas.
• Wedge (served between two wedges of bread) — Prevalent in Yonkers, New York and other parts of Westchester County, New York, The Bronx, lower Fairfield County, Connecticut, and portions of Upstate New York.^[13]
• Zeppelin (shaped like a zeppelin) — New Jersey; Phoenixville, PA and Norristown, PA.

Ingredients and preparation

Common recipe

An Italian Ciabatta roll

Submarine sandwich based on a Ciabatta

All varieties of this sandwich use an oblong bread roll as opposed to sliced bread. The traditional sandwich usually includes a variety of Italian luncheon meats such as dry Genoa salami, mortadella, thin sliced pepperoni, capocollo or prosciutto, and provolone cheese served with lettuce, tomato, onions, and peppers with an olive oil or Italian dressing. American bologna is sometimes used in place of mortadella and ham is often substituted for capicola, with prosciutto frequently omitted. Seasoning with salt and pepper is also common.

Many locations that provide catering services also offer very large 3-foot and 6-foot "Giant" sandwiches. Crusty french and italian breads are preferred for the hearty sandwiches.

Regional differences

Grinder^[3]

• Grinders are sometimes made with toasted foccacia bread and melted mozzarella cheese.
• Both hot and cold sandwiches have been called "grinders", though the term usually refers to a baked or toasted sandwich.

Hero^[3]

• NY style Heroes usually have one meat.
• Tomatoes were not a historical ingredient of the hero, but are often included in today's heroes.

Hoagie^[3]

• Philadelphia-style hoagies should have bread that is crusty on the outside and soft on the inside.
• Hoagie rolls are never sliced in half, but are left with a generous "hinge" along the bottom of the roll.
• Quite often, much of the roll's inside will be removed to allow for the ingredients to fit.
• Hoagies often have more than one deli meat (never fish or chicken).
• Mayonnaise and vinegar were not traditionally used in hoagies, and mustard never is. The traditional dressing was olive oil. Other oils, possibly seasoned, or Italian dressing are sometimes used today.
• Sweet peppers are the default, though can be replaced with hot peppers

Zep^[3]

• A standard zep contains only cooked salami and provolone as the meat and cheese, and includes no lettuce.

Other variations

Vietnamese Bánh mì đặc biệt

• Po' boy—Louisiana creole style usually containing fried seafood on baguette-like Louisiana French bread.
• Meatball—meatballs in marinara sauce often with green peppers and onions and covered with american or provolone cheese
• Cheesesteak—thinly sliced pieces of steak and melted cheese on a long roll
• Sausage sandwich—German, Italian, Polish, or Andouille sausage with peppers, onions, sauerkraut or marinara. Popular at carnivals and fairs.
• Bánh mì—Vietnamese baguette with pickled carrots and daikon, onions, cucumbers, cilantro, jalapeño peppers and meat or tofu
• Italian beef, or simply "beef sandwich"-italian beef, aju, sweet peppers and often cheese and marinara. Popular mostly in the Chicago area. Also available as a "combo," which is an Italian beef and an Italian sausage combined.
• Ham and cheese—hot or cold with provolone cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, mayonnaise or oil, hot peppers and ground pepper
• Roast beef—as lunchmeat, with Swiss cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, raw onions, and mayonnaise or a vinegar and oil sauce
• Veggie—vegetables such as peppers, mushrooms, and broccoli rabe, or even vegan versions with no meat or dairy products
• Cheese—white American or provolone or both (mixed), sometimes also Swiss cheese
• Tuna—either tuna salad or (especially in more ethnically Italian shops) Italian (canned) tuna in olive oil
• Fish—some variety of whiting, breaded and lightly fried, typically with tartar sauce
• Chicken—as lunchmeat, grilled meat, cutlet, or chicken salad
• Bacon—bacon and provolone cheese, topped with lettuce, tomatoes, raw onions, and sometimes sweet peppers
• Breakfast—generally consists of bacon, eggs and cheese
• Tofu—Tofu, often lightly fried, with cilantro, cucumber, jalapeño, onion, and carrot.
• Turkey—hot or cold with provolone cheese
• Roast pork—hot or cold
• Bobbie- turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce. Mostly found in Capriotti's sub sandwich shops near Delaware and Southeastern Pennsylvania.

Popularity and availability

From its origins with the Italian American labor force in the Northeastern United States, the sub began to show up on menus of local pizzerias. As time went on and popularity grew small restaurants called Hoagie shops and Sub shops began to open that specialized in the sandwich.^[3]

After WWII Italian food grew in popularity in the US and started to become assimilated. This brought the use of other meats to the sandwich including turkey, roast beef, American and Swiss cheese, as well as spreads such as mayonnaise and mustard.^[14]

A Subway located in Sofia, Bulgaria

By the late 20th century, due to the rise of large franchisee chain restaurants and fast food, the sandwich became available in most regions of the US as well as many parts of the world including Africa, Asia, Oceania, the Caribbean, Europe, the Middle East, and South America. Many outelts offer non-traditional ingredient combinations.

Arby's turkey bacon sub

Major multi-national chains that serve subs include Subway and Quiznos, with other regional American chains including Jersey Mike's Subs, Charley's Grilled Subs, Blimpie, Jimmy John's, Planet Sub, Potbelly's, Tubby's, Schlotzsky's and D'Angelo Sandwich Shops. The sandwich is also available from several supermarkets and convenience stores.

See also

• Panini
• Cuban sandwich
• French dip sandwich
• Muffuletta
• Cuisine of the Northeastern United States
• Sandwiches That You Will Like
• Pret A Manger

References