Okie's Butcher Shop

2107 Long Beach Blvd
Surf City, NJ 08008
(609) 494-5577
Website

Okie's is a staple of the Long Beach Island scene. I don't make it to the shore very often, but when I do, I love to check out the "beach version" of my favorite thing to eat, sandwiches. Okie's is a very good butcher shop, with a huge prepared food section. And a made-to-order deli, in which I partook.

This place gets packed on the weekends, so just grab a number and hang out for a bit.

The counter people work very fast, and are quite courteous for their speed. The hoagies come wrapped in saran wrap, which makes them perfect for a beach lunch. They are also huge. A "half" (shown below) is more than enough for one person.

They are like a hybrid "sub" and "hoagie" (soagie?), with a hard seeded roll, but cut all the way through.

The meat was freshly sliced, with the cheese nestled between layers. I would have loved some sharp provolone on this, but the overall package was a pretty damn good sandwich. The veggies were fresh, the roll had a perfect chew, and the meat was quality.

The setting certainly didn't hurt my enjoyment of this sandwich either. I would have to say, if I am getting a hoagie in LBI, there is only one choice.

Bob's Haven Deli

1442 Charlestown Road
Phoenixville, PA 19460
(610) 933-8788
Website


Bob's Haven Deli is a local joint in Phoenixville that has been around for ages (over 63 years according their website). They also have the most amazing pizza .gif on there that I have ever seen (see above).

There is a LOT of prep space here, with a large enough waiting area. I was trying to get a picture for a friend who recommended the place and was yelled at by who I can only assume was Bob himself.

They have "Zep's" instead of hoagies. While Zep's are usually a Norristown sandwich, they do pop up sometimes in the surrounding area. As is typical, the Zep is a hoagie with extra raw onions, tomatoes, and NO LETTUCE.

This was not a small sandwich by any stretch. At about $8, it was reasonably priced. I was hoping the hot pepper request would yield hoagie spread, which is the standard for Zep's. Unfortunately, it consisted of a few cherry pepper slices hidden along the bottom of the roll. There were also a load of onions on this. More than even an allium-lover like myself would typically have the pallet for.

Look at the girth of the onion pile. This was a spicy meatball. All in all, the bread was good, the meat was freshly sliced, and the sandwich was pretty well constructed. I would say the combination of onions being a bit much, the lack of hoagie spread on a Zep, and the fact I was yelled at resulted in a three cheesesteak rating. For Phoenixville, not too bad. Of course, this place is also just a hop, skip, and jump away from Foresta's, so I would be hard pressed to forgo the reigning champ for a Zep.

320 Market Cafe

211 West State Street
Media, PA 19063
(610) 565-8320
Website

The 320 Market (originally written about here) has an outpost in Media that recently moved into nicer, larger digs. It may not look to pretty from the outside, but inside is a nice market, cafe, and full liquor license hangout.

The prepared foods here are always the best. This is still the case.

Pre-made sandwiches and re-heat items available below.

Although the sandwiches were never anything to write home about, the one constant is the chips and pico. Holy hell. The salsa is approximately 50% avocado, and the rest is tomato, red onions, and some sort of voodoo that makes the ingredients stay tart, fresh tasting, and utterly addictive. Some of my favorite anywhere. PP tip: get the to-go version for about $10 over the $6 menu offering. You will get 3 times the salsa and chips, and can take the extra to go.

I am sad to say, the third best thing I had here was a salad. Yes, a salad. The Misto has all kinds of green leaves, nuts, figs, blue cheese, and a house dressing. (the second best thing was the beer)

You can go ahead and skip the Italian. The bread was good, the meat was quality, but the sandwich was tiny, dry, loaded with red onion (?), and subbed basil instead of lettuce. Sometimes things are better left alone. Italian hoagies in the Philadelphia area are one of those things.

Sparsely filled sandwich below.

Compare this with a recent gold standard Italian hoagie and you will understand my tears of sadness.

The meatball looked good in theory, but was another item weak in practice. The sandwich was dry (again), although they did microwave some extra gravy from a container of meatballs in the to-go case for me upon request. The balls themselves were bland, dense, and tended to fall out the back of the roll. After having ricotta meatballs recently, I have developed a palate for fleshy, tender spheres with some zing. These were not they.

Also, meatballs need a supple rolls to avoid the aforementioned "loose rear" issue, and these rolls were better suited to a wetter job.

The market is a great place to get some beer (they have 20 great, reasonably priced drafts) or chips and salsa. But my money is better spent on sandwiches with some soul. And ingredients.

Isabella's Brick Oven

221 S. High St.
Baltimore, MD 21202
(410) 962-8888
Facebook

Baltimore is an easy getaway for Philly area folks and I love spending a weekend down there eating oysters and crabs, and drinking some Natty Boh. But even in the Chesapeake Bay region, I am still on the lookout for a good sandwich and some pizza. Baltimore has a Little Italy all its own, and the neighborhood is like a slice of South Philly.

There are A LOT of options on the expansive menu, but I was recommended "The Scooch" by a reader, which is basically an Italian.

Their pre-made foods looked amazing, so I knew I was in the right place. Arancini balls almost did me in, but I held fast with my sandwich (AND I ordered a pizza).

The Scooch contained capi, sopressata, parmacotto, Prima Donna cheese (my God I love that stuff), lettuce, tomato, and onion. They also season with balsamic vinegar and oil.

The roll was pretty good, nice and chewy, perhaps lacking a bit of a crunchy crust, but that is to be expected when outside of the Philly "bread region."

The meat was thinly sliced, and the gouda was fantastic, as usual.

The margherita pizza also came highly recommended, and again, it did not disappoint.

The hot oven blistered the cheese perfectly, and the crust was crisped up as it should be, The creamy mozzarella and fresh tomatoes were a hit as well, with just a pinch of pepper flakes to add some kick. This is a nice little joint to grab some takeout and walk along Inner Harbor, or just eat on the way back to your car because you are a fat kid. Not telling which route I took.

Bruno's Old Style Hoagies

555 Greenfield Rd.
Lancaster, PA 17601
(717) 393-7827
Website

A recent camping trip put me in Lancaster for a pit stop, and in preparation of all of the grilled items to follow, I felt I should fortify myself with a hoagie (or 2). Bruno's Old Style Hoagies sounded right up my alley.

First good sign, Liscio's boxes. My favorite.

I decided to try one turkey and one Italian for good measure. And because I am oh so very glutenous. "The Bruiser" is a spicy turkey with peppered turkey, Cooper sharp, peppershooters, and topped with bruschetta. Curiously, they employed the time honored DelCo meat wrap ordinance, though we were indeed in Lancaster County. The peppered turkey was delicious, the entire hoagie, though hard to eat, was packed full of fresh ingredients. The only part I wasn't thrilled about was the bruschetta. It didn't add much, and pretty much fell out when squeezed. It wasn't bad at all, just me being overly picky. I am, after all, a seasoned hoagie expert.

The hot Italian, however, more than held its own. And let's face it, an Italian is to hoagies as sharp prov is to the provolone family. Everything else is good, but there can be only one king.

This featured a thin layer of fatty, spicy sopressata on the top, and a more traditional cotechino and hot capicola inside. This Italian was about perfect. Thinly sliced meats, made with love, and crunchy veggies down below. Sharp provolone rounded it out. It's good to be king.

This was a hell of a portion on both accounts, and I ate like a ravenous wolf that just stumbled upon a flock of sheep. Lancaster, you have a good hoagie joint.

And no gruff for my famous oil AND mayo request either. Don't hate on deliciousness, South Philly.

Anna's Sandwich Shop

303 Sutton Avenue
Folsom, PA 19033
(610) 534-9289

The DelCo hoagie hunt continues, with the venerable old timer known as Anna's (est. 1935) on deck this time.

It's a great little corner spot on MacDade just down the road from a couple of well known local burger joints that I visited back in '09 and '10. Which reminds me, I need to get back to Charlie's very soon... The other one, not so much.

I went on a Saturday for a late breakfast/early lunch, it's definitely not brunch here. And although they're known for their cheesesteaks that come with forks, I was in the mood for the old Delco meat drape.

There was a steady flow of eggs and bacon coming off the grill and the phone was ringing off the hook with take out orders. Popular spot and it's obvious that part of the allure is in their bottom dollar prices.

I couldn't wait to get down on some 10am Italian hoagie.

The breakfast special AKA "morning delight" includes a 6" roll with eggs, cheese and choice of breakfast meat for $4. I chose bacon, knowing that my main-course sandwich was going to be full of other deli hams.

This is the perfect size sandwich to start your day. Well, my day requires more, but you get my point. Right off the bat, Anna's has my heart – they use only the very best rolls around and I am a sucker for falling in love every time I see or hear the name "Liscio's." The perfect roll for all things hoagie, their bread has never failed. My mouth is watering just thinking about the chew on that dough.

The eggs, cheese and bacon were cooked just right and the sandwich was delicious. There wasn't much inside but there's nothing fancy here and I'm glad I asked for a bit of mayo, ketchup and hot sauce to round it out. Without said condiments, it would have been too dry. For $4 though, it's unbeatable.

Now for the main event. The Italian hoagie here is served like all other DelCo hoagies - with veggies on the bottom and the meat on top. My, what a beautiful ham curtain you have.

These Italian hoagies can't be compared to some others of the same name, they're not served on crusty seeded rolls or made with high quality cured meats and crumbled chunks of spicy-sharp prov. They're the working man's version and they're delicious.

Look at this plank of meat and cheese. It had a straighter edge than any ruler I've ever seen. You have to get all up in it - press, fold in and enjoy. This version was tangy, the vinegary hot peppers bursting with flavor in every bite. The meats and cheese played second fiddle to the crunchy veggies, but they held their own in the background.

All in all, Anna's puts love into everything they make and I'll certainly be back to roll up my sleeves and dig in to their cheesesteaks.