I have been visiting the Philly area regularly for a couple of decades now. I travel there with my husband, a native of the area, and the first thing he often wants to do when he arrives is to get a hoagie. His affinity for Wawa (a gas station/convenient store/sandwich shop), where he likes to get this sandwich, is something I will never understand, but his love of the hoagie I've come to respect. He is, at least in my impartial opinion, a veritable hoagie expert, and I've learned a few things from him. First off, never call a hoagie a hero. "That's New York's sandwich. Philly's got more than the cheesesteak." When explaining how to build a hoagie, my husband becomes filled with an energy I can only describe as "East Coast passionate" — which one would think decades in California would have softened.
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Spoiler alert: it's really just a special type of sub.
- You start with an Amoroso roll [3]. "Accept no imitations." These rolls are baked in Philly, and I would describe them as a soft white roll . . . but clearly there is something special about these rolls. Could it be the water?
- The bread is doused with olive oil and vinegar. Some people add mustard, but "that's just wrong," according to my in-house hoagie man. Mayo is OK, but he doesn't consider this condiment authentic to to the sandwich.
- Layers of mortadella, ham, salami, and sometimes capocollo (aka coppa) are covered with provolone cheese.
- Shredded lettuce ("you know it's gotta be iceberg — this is Philly"), sliced tomatoes, and sliced white onions are placed on top of the cheese. "You can, and should, add a sprinkle of salt, pepper, and oregano onto the veggies."
- Next comes the sweet [4] and hot peppers [5]. "These are special peppers. Pickled peppers. These peppers only exist in Philly." Not sure if my expert is reliable on this particular fact, but he does talk about these peppers a lot. Like a whole lot. They are cherry peppers brined to be either sweet or hot. You can get just one type of pepper on your sandwich and still technically call it a hoagie, but not to get the mix of both comes awfully close to a misdemeanor, in my husband's opinion. On this matter, I have no opinion of my own.
- This is topped with a little more oil and vinegar. And boom: you got a hoagie.
And that's it. Some might call it "a banquet on a bun," but for me it's simply a taste of Philly.
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