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.

Wayside Market

469 S Old Middletown Rd.
Media, PA 19063
(610) 566-9989
Website

Every once in a while, a gem escapes my radar. It makes me so happy to stumble upon a place that I never heard of. And love it.

When I walked in and saw the Lisco's bin, I knew I was in the right place.

To really gauge a place, I look to the big two: cheesesteaks and hoagies. In this case, I also ordered some BBQ ranch fries to go alongside as I was feeling particularly chubby.

The "Old World Italian" took the DelCo meat wrap to the extreme. This thing was literally draped with thinly sliced Italian meats.

Sharp Provolone, Genoa, Cappicola, Ham, Coteghino, Pepper Ham, Prosciutto, olive oil, lettuce and tomato are the standard fillings. Works for me. The Liscio's roll held everything together perfectly (as usual) and the ultra thin, fresh sliced cold cuts melted in your (my) mouth.

They didn't over-stuff the sandwich, but rather let the quality of the ingredients (and construction) speak for itself.

The cheesesteak was another no-frills winner. There was no gimmick, just extremely quality meat, a nice ratio of melted cheese throughout, and some sweet caramelized onions. This is how it should be done. My only concern was that it was dangerously close to having too little meat. The quality and seasoning of the chopped beef inside was so good, I let it slide. But I could see that being a complaint.

It was really true of both sandwiches, but they were so good I didn't care. I don't need a mound of meat to chew through, when I can have a great ratio of carbs-to-protein like we have here.

The BBQ Ranch fries were a surprising sleeper hit. The fries were very crispy, fluffy inside, and the salty dry rub was quashed by creamy ranch dressing. Another big winner.

This is the kind of out-of-the way market I LOVE to find. And it truly is out of the way. I don't know how anyone would ever drive past it unless they were lost. Or they heard about the hoagies.

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.

Foresta's Market

1098 West Bridge Street
Phoenixville, PA 19460-2370
(610) 935-1777
Website

Any place that can stay open since the 1930's (serving Phoenixville since 1934) must be doing something right. Even if some of them are entirely overrated. Foresta's is the kind of family-owned market that that makes you wish you lived next door. Quaint, reasonably priced, and with fantastic customer service (aka attitude), this is a throwback to times when things were just plain better.

Now I hadn't been here in decades, but my fond memories of summers spent working at the local skatepark and spending an hour's pay for a lunch that left me rolling on the ground in pleasure/agony were quite strong. They were not wrong. Taking the stroll down memory lane out of the equation, this was still one of the best hoagies I have had in 2015. That made me happy.

The deli is nothing to write home about visually, but it is packed with homemade goods that are a combo of Italian and Pennsylvania Dutch, each with their own comfort food specialties and followings.

The bread was from Amoroso's, which initially caused me to scoff. They have long been the gold standard for Philadelphia area sandwiches, though in recent years have yielded the throne to competition like Aversa's and Liscio's which have that crusty outside that makes a sandwich stand up to the wet ingredients. Lo and behold, you pick your own roll at Foresta's, and I was directed by the wonderful girl working the counter to the bottom row, second from the left. Amoroso's makes a crusty roll I never knew about. Fantastic.

My take from this haul. An Italian hoagie with sharp prov on a CRUSTY Amoroso roll. Pepperoni bread, and Italian mother lickin' hoagie dip. The hoagie dip alone would warrant a five cheesesteak rating. With the other pieces, this was bound for glory.

The Italian was perfectly balanced. They shave the onions, freshly slice the meats, and did not skimp on the sharp provolone. I am not joking nor embellishing when I tell you this is the perfect Italian hoagie. They even used hoagie spread instead of beat old banana peppers or cherry peppers with stems.

The roll held up perfectly, and dare I say, was every bit as good as my current favorites, if not better.

I also got mayo without so much as a wince. Because mayo and salty meat go hand in hand. Look at the construction of this thing. You will not find a better hoagie. Parallel, possibly, but you can't improve on perfection. It's the thing fat kid dreams are made of.

If the Italian wasn't enough for you, the Italian hoagie dip had all of the components, just minced together. The addition of the hot pepper relish gave this some acidity and spice, and the result was a flavor orgy on your tongue. I ate this whole container within a couple hours' of eating the hoagie, but that can be our little secret.

Finally, for dessert, I had a healthy serving of pepperoni bread. Look at the cheese vein running through this roll. Pepperoni worked its way through every fold, and the cheese spanned the width. Airy, well baked, and full of ingredients, you could do much worse for $5.59.

Foresta's reminds you just how much you lose in today's age of extra large super markets and automated everything. They have an incredible butcher, a great little grocery store, and a deli to make you forget all about that "diet" you were pretending to hang on to.

Luigi and Giovanni's

Catering & Specialty Foods
3601 Chapel Road
Newtown Square, PA 19073
(610) 353-2080
Website

Newtown Square has Cut Above as their hoagie mecca. I love that place. But I was recently tipped off to a little joint I never even knew existed, a couple hundred yards from Cut Above Deli. It's part DiBruno, part Whole Foods, and part Cut Above.

They offer packaged meats (for cooking or eating) as well as three meat counters- one for the fancy stuff, one for the raw stuff (butcher), and one for hoagies and lunch meat. Amazing.

They have a wide selection of awesome rolls.

And here is the deli counter. Notice the fresh strombolis sitting on top? I certainly did.

I decided to start with the Italian, as that is a great barometer of how good a deli is.

If you look at the insides of this seeded roll, you will see a variation on the DelCo meat wrap, ham and salami wrapped with sharp provolone, tucked on top of hot and sweet peppers, onions, tomato, and lettuce. This is a damn good hoagie. Everything is in balance, just enough meat, multiple threads of cheese woven throughout, and plenty of veggies so you can pretend it's somewhat healthy (it's not). The roll was crispy and chewy, and the meat was freshly sliced. It was also about $6.50. So that's tough to beat.

The stromboli was impossible to resist, so I ordered one as well.

The paper thin bread was tightly wound around the spicy pepperoni and provolone. This was ridiculously good. I am always a sucker for a boli though, as it's the easy take and eat in the car option when you can't wait to get home. Basically a high-end hot pocket. And I am totally okay with that. If you are in the area, it's worth checking out Luigi and Giovanni's for certain. Not to mention the various square pies, pre-made Italian foods, and the incredible meat and cheese selection.

If you're having a get together and don't feel like cooking a damn thing, hit them up and you won't be disappointed.