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Allemaengel t1_j9znx6j wrote

Loved reading that!

I live up at the edge of the Poconos/Coal Region where the term 'hoagie' fades away and use of the term 'sub' (shudder) begins. I've had arguments valiantly defending the term 'hoagie', lol.

But where I live is right where Eagles territory comes to a tri-point with Giants and Steelers turfs too so I'm outnumbered there too.

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SnapCrackleMom t1_j9zohav wrote

>But whether it’s a $5 Italian from down the block or one served in a dimly lit private dining room at one of our city’s finest restaurants, 

Which of our city's finest restaurants serve hoagies in private dining rooms?

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Allemaengel t1_j9zqogq wrote

Replying to dissolutewastrel (#2,002,333)

I've heard the term Hero before but never knew what that actually was.

A lot of North Jersey guys over here in the Poconos, more than coming up from Philly so 'sub' tends to win out. I don't hear 'hero' though.

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HistoricalSubject t1_j9zte2j wrote

Replying to SnapCrackleMom (#2,002,078)

when i saw that line, i was more so thinking-- whose got italian hoagies down the block for $5? cheapest hoagie i can think of near me is $6, and its an 8" banh mi, modestly filled, a fine deal. cheapest italian hoagie i can think of near me might be ~$12ish? and its 12", obviously much more meat than the banh mi, about what you'd expect from your place down the block

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Allemaengel t1_j9ztw3w wrote

Replying to dissolutewastrel (#2,002,669)

I saw a U.S. linguistics map once with the term usage for a hoagie. The rest of the country represented big geographical patches for every other term.

However, hoagie was only used within approximately a 60-mile radius of CC. And it proves fairly accurate in my case here about 12 miles north of the Lehigh Tunnel. I go up to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to eat sometimes and you won't see hoagie used there much.

The one for NFL allegiances created from FB data by county represented a somewhat similar extent. Where the hoagie goes, so go the Birds apparently.

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porkchameleon t1_ja04kay wrote

Replying to SnapCrackleMom (#2,002,078)

Where in fuck did he dream up a proper hoagie that costs $5 anywhere in the city? It costs over $5 to make one at home (unless one is in coprophilia).

Monde has some for around $7-8, and I think they are the cheapest for quality/quantity I've seen in awhile (Old Nelson's is legit as well, but they punch above $9 these days, IIRC).

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lazydaisytoo t1_ja0gyra wrote

Replying to Allemaengel (#2,002,984)

I grew up in north central PA and hoagie/sub was interchangeable. Matter of fact, one of the guys in my class was nicknamed Hoagie. I ended up moving to Norristown, and learned about the Zep. No subs down here, and the bread is definitely better.

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aaavvvvv t1_ja0k4oa wrote

Shout out to food point deli… cheap and delicious

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gubmintbacon t1_ja0l8zm wrote

I give Philly Mag my fair share of shit but this is a good spread. The bread piece in particular was a nice bit of diplomacy. They could have just written a love letter to Amoroso and Sarcone’s and mailed it in.

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dissolutewastrel OP t1_ja0rqyz wrote

Replying to cheese4theppl (#2,006,355)

I have the misfortune of knowing bigots and perverts who insist there's no such thing as central Jersey. (NJ = North & South, no central...just as there's no E. Jersey or West. Like I said they're addle-brained.)

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CockercombeTuff t1_ja0skgr wrote

Replying to Allemaengel (#2,002,984)

>I go up to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to eat sometimes

I was going to ask if you'd ever eaten at The Chicken Coop, but now I've discovered that it closed last year! Sadness.

I know it's just a mom-and-pop chicken and burgers joint, but in college my team (XC/TF) had a tradition of going every year on the last day of the holiday season interim (we were already back on campus by Jan 2nd or 3rd).

Part of the tradition was that every freshman (men's team) had to eat the pig burger*. One year we didn't do that and opted to see how many chicken wings we could eat as a team. We ate somewhere around 2200 chicken wings (55 people). The freshman guys had to go for the pig burger their sophomore year.

I wish I had gone one last time, bummer.

(* A "pig burger" is: 20oz of Fresh, Never Frozen, Ground Beef with American, Cooper, Swiss, Cheddar, Pepperjack and Provolone Cheeses, Lettuce, Tomato, Raw Onion and a Half-Pound of Bacon served on a half loaf of Italian Bread; Served with our Fresh Cut Fries!)

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Allemaengel t1_ja0t43p wrote

Replying to CockercombeTuff (#2,008,929)

75 y.o. Cooper's Seafood House in Scranton where scenes from The Office were filmed is a unique place -good food.

Also multiple pizzerias in Old Forge make an awesome dish or sheet pizza. The town is historically Italian going way back to coal mining immigrant days.

Never got to eat at the Coop.

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a-german-muffin t1_ja0vfu7 wrote

Replying to dissolutewastrel (#2,002,333)

Hunterdon County, NJ is the triple point of sandwich naming — hoagies in the towns close to the Delaware, a mix of hoagie/hero/sub in Flemington and its surrounds (there was literally a sandwich joint there called the All American Hero up until about 2000 or so), and just subs by the time you hit Route 22.

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napsdufroid t1_ja0z14g wrote

Replying to yesmrbevilaqua (#2,010,085)

More like yu pay for what you believe or are told is quality. I did the Beddia hoagie thing. Total rip-off IMO. There are at least a dozen places in the city with far better hoagies. Money's to spend, not waste. I'd rather spend mine on a meal with some creativity and uniquity rather than overpriced cold cuts on a roll.

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Allemaengel t1_ja107kq wrote

Replying to MrKamikazi (#2,010,337)

Wasn't expecting that but I guess the researchers were trying to establish relatively neat borders around majority usage I guess.

Or was there some industry or other connection to Philly which transplanted the term to that particular area? I went to college in Central PA and it wasn't a thing in that county (not Clearfield).

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MrKamikazi t1_ja112x2 wrote

Replying to Allemaengel (#2,010,450)

A lot of Italians but I didn't know of any direct ties to Philly while I was living there. It was also specific. A hoagie was an Italian one. Any other sandwich on a long roll was a sub.

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gubmintbacon t1_ja18367 wrote

Replying to Allemaengel (#2,008,805)

Thank you! I feel like the bread in particular is sort of double-taxed when it comes to our opinions.

You can patronize a bakery just for the bread and also be connected to it through the hoagie. I adore Sarcone’s for Sunday red sauce dinners but it’s a little different for a hoagie, for me—I love an Andy Reid from Cosmi, don’t get me wrong. But there are a LOT of bread options for hoagies. It’s not as cut and dry as like a New York or Montreal style bagel.

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TooManyDraculas t1_ja1q3ui wrote

Replying to Allemaengel (#2,002,430)

I feel like "hero" in the NY metro mostly refers to the roll.

I grew up there. And while it's sometimes Italian Hero, American Hero. It's mostly give me a cutlet on a Hero and give me an Italian Sangwidge.

You'll honestly find "sandwich" used more often when not referring to the bread.

There's also a whole theoretical difference. To the point where I think Hoagie represents a distinct thing.

The New York area Sangwidge is all about meat. Most meat, most type of meat. Here is a loaf of meat that takes 3 people to eat. On a long roll.

And that's great when it's good.

But hoagie conveys something more. Like an actual human portion, a good amount of veggies. The hoagie spice. Even if it's just salt, pepper and oregano.

There's a whole hoagie gestalt, and specific hoagie flavor. A hoagie is a balanced whole, a hero is an imbalanced guilty pleasure. Hell idiots can make hoagie dip and hoagie salads. There are Primo hoagie chips and they taste like a hoagie.

They don't taste like a Sangwidge.

You're not making a sandwich pizza elsewhere. Or a hero, sub or whatever the fuck flavored anything.

Also hoagie is more fun to say.

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napsdufroid t1_ja1tcr1 wrote

Replying to monkeymaxx (#2,013,721)

Hey, you do you. I felt it was decent, but not even close to the best I've ever had and absolutely not worth what they charge I'd much rather spend the same amount eating more unique and prepared food.

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TumblingDice82 t1_ja3m6s8 wrote

The most difficult part of moving back to Philly as a relatively recent convert to pescetarianism is the never-ceasing temptation of the hoagie (and all of the other classic Philadelphia meat-based sandwiches). I've had Luhv's vegan hoagie and it's a really solid sandwich, but it's pricey and requires a special trip to RTM. There's something particularly alluring about knowing that you can walk into almost any corner deli in the city and get a delicious high-quality hoagie (or cheesesteak for that matter). sigh

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TumblingDice82 t1_ja3nlsu wrote

Replying to Allemaengel (#2,001,998)

Interesting. I grew up in the heat of the Coal Region and "hoagie" was definitely the default term used throughout my city. I suspect the linguistic split in that region is probably dictated by the historical percentage of Italian-Americans in the particular city/town, with the more densely populated cities falling on the hoagie side, and the more rural areas splintering off toward the "sub" side. That said, I wouldn't be surprised if the usage of "hoagie" has declined in recent years given the large number of New York City-area and Hispanic transplants that have arrived in the area in the past 20 years.

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datruesurfer t1_ja4p3oi wrote

Replying to gubmintbacon (#2,011,932)

I think personal preference has a lot to do with what you grew up eating as well. Grocery store out in montco where my parents did most of the food shopping would get fresh baked amoroso rolls delivered almost every day so we always had some in the house. Got to visit Donkey's in Camden the other day and absolutely loved their cheesesteak on an Amoroso Kaiser roll.

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