Cacia's Bakery & Primo Hoagies

Ritner & Mole Streets
(between 15th & 16th)
South Philadelphia

Any time I take a trip down south of Snyder, I find it hard not to hit the amazing couple of blocks on Ritner just west of Broad. Here's where you can get a slice of pizzaz, a top-notch Italian hoagie, a ham pie and a dozen cannoli's - just to name a few, all at 4-6 neighboring old-school establishments. Two of my absolute faves: Cacia's and Primo's.

I'm no stranger to Cacia's, it's like visiting your grandmother, if your grandmother lived in a bakery. They're beyond friendly and never turn down a special request - like baking a 6 foot long roll for your 6 foot hoagie party, or making a big frisbee loaf for muffaletta because the Saints are in the Super Bowl.

But I digress. There's no special order this time, just getting down and dirty with some pizzaz.

Cacia's is the authority on pizzaz pie, with its creamy American cheese bubbled and browned to perfection every time. You can buy a slice for $1.30 or cater your next party with a whole pie for $11.50 - just make sure to invite me.

The pickled banana peppers add a warming tang that lends a sort of (out-of-a-jar) brightness to each bite. The fresh tomatoes give it a smack of juiciness to make up for the omission of sauce. Look at this buttery crust. Incredible.

Something about the green on the broccoli pie called to me. It was probably the fact that I hadn't eaten vegetables in nearly 3 days.

The chopped bits of blanched broccoli definitely filled my need for vitamins & minerals. Another slice of crispy, chewy, buttery crust was the perfect vessel to deliver the firm bits of green. Who knew eating healthy could be so delicious?

As if the visit to Cacia's wasn't enough, an order from Primo Hoagies seemed like it would fulfill (almost) all of my Saturday morning, pre-Flyer's game needs.

Primo is an eastern PA-NJ franchise that just recently broke out in the FL market (thank you spring training), but this one here on Ritner, it's the O.G.

They use rolls baked specially by my favorite regional bakery, Liscio's in South Jersey, and their quality is unmatched. I read that each seeded roll is baked "using a technique that is optimal for transport... It gets baked seven-eighths of the way, and then we flash-freeze it. Each franchise has a small convection oven and when it comes out, it's like it's fresh right out of a bakery oven."

And I'm okay with that, because I can attest to that truth.

The crusty roll is by far the best part of these hoagies, but the fresh-slicing of Thumann's deli meats doesn't hurt either. This is the Sicilian with dry cured capacola, sharp prov & natural casing genoa salami. A sure bet to satisfy any hoagie-driven hunger.

So, in conclusion, head to 15th & Ritner with an open mind, an empty stomach, and about $20. You'll leave wishing you lived right around the corner and that eating like a king didn't require so much exercise.

Cacia's Roast Pork Stromboli

1526 W. Ritner Street
Philadelphia, PA 19145
(215) 334-1340
Website

I have to first disclose that I love Cacia's, and they make one incredible party hoagie roll. Also love their pepperoni stromboli's and their square slice pie. Especially the Pizzaz slice. If you don't know, Pizzaz is one of those weird, quirky South Philly things that doesn't make sense, but they do taste great. They use no sauce, but they cover the pizza in Amercian cheese, slices of tomato and banana peppers. So weird, yet so delicious.

The Roast Pork Stromboli, which they claim to be a specialty of Cacia's, left something to be desired. I would have fared better with a $5 pork sandwich, served on Sundays. I was under the impression that it was packed with pork, sharp prov, and broccoli rabe. I found it to be packed with pork, and there was a bit of cheese in there somewhere, but nowhere near what I was hoping for.

Although the pork was tasty, this stromboli was (can you guess what?)...dry. Really dry. I would have dug some jus to dip these massive wedges of meat into, but instead I had to resort to marinara from the fridge at home. Which, as you probably can guess, is not great with roasted pork. I mean it was fine, but it completely masked all of the flavor. It was a catch 22, however, as without the sauce, the stromboli was nearly inedible. I was not about to resort to Kobayashi-like methods, like dunking the boli slices in water before cramming them down my throat, so I was stuck with marinara.

I will definitely be back to Cacia's for some of their other stromboli's as well as the bread and square pie slices, but I will certainly steer clear of the pork.