Grumpy's (Handcarved Sandwiches)

137 E High Street
Pottstown, PA 19464
(610) 323-1232
Website

Pottstown is an off-the-radar little town that, like many small towns, is struggling to revive its main shopping strip/district. Luckily they have some anchors like Grumpy's to bring people back downtown. Because if there is one way to people's hearts, it's through their mouths.

This place could be mistaken for a coffee shop by the interior. But one look at the menu will assure you that it is indeed a sandwich spot that goes the extra length to cook their proteins in-house.

Pictured below is the owner/operator Grumpy himself (aka Gene "Grumpy" Dugan). Quick with a joke, or a brief complaint, he is certainly part of the charm.

The Grumpy's Sandwich, a rare roast beef served with sharp prov, sauteed onions and peppers, long hots, and garlic mayo is served on a kaiser roll, with a side of au jus.

This thing is stacked HIGH with tender roast beef. The traditional toppings all come together for a great sandwich that will certainly fill you up. The roasted hots are left with seeds in tact, so there was some definite heat coming through.

The turkey special boasts fresh house-roasted turkey, that was deliciously moist, and as fresh as you can get

Slaw and Swiss cheese round out this classic combination, but the real star was the delicious hand carved bird. No lunch meat here.

Check out the thickness on these beautiful slabs.

The seafood bisque was hearty and warming, without being overly heavy.

The roasted beets made for a deliciously unexpected side, and I don't usually dig on beets.

This is the type of place to help anchor a community revitalization, and given the attention to detail and hand made nature of the food, I suspect Grumpy's will be around for a long time.

Gooey Looie's (4 years later...)

Pennsport Mall
Moyamensing & Moore
Philadelphia PA
(215) 334-7668
Facebook page

Well, in 2009, I moved to Pennsport and one of the first food joints I visited was this little hoagie joint in an unassuming strip mall.

You wouldn't really happen upon this place, considering the unwelcoming gate and the list of "NOs" they greet you with from the start. So, I'll tell you again that you need to go seek it out.

Now, phone cameras have come a long way since my last two blog posts. See here and also here. So I thought now was as good a time as any to revisit my old haunt and to do them more justice in pictures.

They've got sort of a cult following and a long list of locals/regulars who just sit for hours at the 3 tiny cafe tables flanking the deli counter. Same two guys always slingin' the meats. Fresh cuts.

You can also pick up some WD40, cigs and ice cream while you're waiting for your sandwiches.

I've long since moved away from South Philly and haven't visited Gooey Looie's in nearly 2 years. One of my old faves is their cheesesteak hoagie, so I had to see if it could stand the test of time.

First impressions are everything, and upon first glance, I knew I was in for the deliciously large, cheesy and tender cheesesteak of yore.

There's something so mouthwatering about shredded lettuce and tomato thrown on steaming hot steak meat - the way it wilts just slightly but keeps the slightest fresh crunch of added textured. Not to mention the way the mayonnaise mixes with the melted American to add that extra creaminess...

Now, I will say that the quality of their meat seems to have slipped. Every third bite I was spitting out a piece of unchewable gristle, which was a huge disappointment. Maybe I caught them on a bad day, at the end of their inventory, but if my memory serves me, every cheesesteak hoagie before this one boasted thinly sliced, tender pieces of quality chopped meat. It was rare that I ever complained about the ingredients.

I was disappointed at the fact that with every few bites, I realized that their meat had dropped a few notches to the level of a better-known spot on 9th Street. Some people are into that, I guess. I prefer to not have to chew with care for fear of choking on cartilage. That's not to say that the rest of the sandwich wasn't spot on - they've still got the best cheesesteak hoagie construction around. Looks were deceiving in this case.

As much as I wanted to order the Italian for memory's sake, I went with another old stand by, the turkey special on rye. (I'm saving the Italian for my next visit).

Slathered with Thousand Island dressing and laced with veins of coleslaw, the turkey weighs in at about 1.5 lbs. No joke.

It's freshly sliced, paper thin, and beautifully layered in 3-4 inches of meat ribbons. It's one of those unhinge-your-jaw sandwiches that should probably be split up into 3 meals. If you're not me, of course.

The turkey is salty, but it is also delicious. Even with all of the meat, the dressing & coleslaw to rye bread ratio is the perfect balance for what looks like a dry sammy. It's amazing.

Even though I may have to nix the cheesesteak hoagie from my list of go-tos at Gooey Looie's, I'm happy to say that I'll be back again soon to indulge in their other 3 lb. meat-and-cheese-on-bread selections.