Great American Bites: Philly's other famous sandwich
— -- The scene: Ask almost anyone outside of Philadelphia to name the city's most famous sandwich and you will undoubtedly hear "cheesesteak." But among actual residents of the City of Brotherly Love, another between-the-bread concoction vies neck and neck with the cheesesteak as a local favorite, and it is even more uniquely local - the Philadelphia-style Italian roast pork sandwich. There is plenty of overlap, since many sandwich shops here sell both roast pork and cheesesteaks, and both come in several particular variations. But just as there are stands primarily famous for cheesesteaks (Pat's, Geno's, Jim's), so are there places that are first and foremost about pork.
I set out to try the homegrown sandwich at three venues famous for specializing in them, DiNic's Roast Pork and Beef; John's Roast Pork and Tony Luke's. There are many more I could have tried, including Sarcone's, Di Bruno, Sessano and others, but I went classic rather than launch a comprehensive mission to find the city's best cult sandwich. However, just these three establishments offer plenty of variety and show the creativity in a seemingly simple dish.
DiNic's is a busy four-sided stand in the middle of the super-popular Reading Terminal Market, with everything out on display, a few counter stools and an omnipresent line. Most patrons take their sandwiches to go or eat at one of the market's communal tables. John's is a freestanding shack on a South Philly corner with a few outdoor tables, a small indoor counter where you order and a thriving to-go business. Tony Luke's is a neon-encrusted street-front operation that has grown huge in recent years and now features an enclosed space that used to be outside, with a decent amount of table seating, but you still order at what used to be an outside window. It is the most commercial, with plenty of T-shirts, merchandise and pictures of famous customers on the walls. This original South Philly location now anchors a 10-eatery chain that includes Philly's baseball and football stadiums, a mall, two Atlantic City casinos and an outpost in Bahrain - I kid you not.
Reason to visit: Italian roast pork sandwich
The food: The sandwich basically consists of hot, wet, thinly sliced roast pork on a hoagie roll, with the standard options of cheese (typically provolone) and greens, a choice between sautéed broccoli rabe or spinach, with the former more traditional. This is easily the most famous use of broccoli rabe - maybe its only use - in the American sandwich kingdom. The bitter greens and rich juicy pork offer an interesting contrast that make the sandwich unique, but if the pork is not standout, the broccoli rabe overwhelms and spinach is generally a safer bet. Some places offer additional options including sweet or hot peppers. Each establishment puts a unique twist on these simple ingredients. As all the ingredients are wet and sloppy when combined on the roll; there is no neat way to eat an Italian Roast Pork sandwich.
DiNic's is the most specialized, the only one of these three that eschews cheesesteaks, and its limited offerings include just roast pork, Italian-style pulled pork, roast beef, meatballs and Italian sausages, with toppings limited to provolone, spinach, broccoli rabe and roasted peppers - that's the menu. DiNic's signature is the choice of pulled or sliced pork, though the former bears little resemblance to the barbecue dish of the same name, but rather is more a chunky style of similar meat. In this case texture is everything, because the pulled pork retains a lot more juicy moistness than the sliced pork, which was as bland as deli turkey. In DiNic's case, I definitely preferred the pulled pork.
In contrast, Tony Luke's has a huge menu that includes many variations on cheesesteaks (also sold frozen in supermarkets) for which it is also famous. As far as pork they have the traditional and a family-recipe spicy version. Both were very good and moist, and I really liked the spiciness and different, deeper flavor of the spicy version, which, of all the pork I tasted, held up best to the strong broccoli rabe. Tony Luke's also has excellent rolls, and bread quality is a subject of much debate and passion in the city.
My personal favorite was John's Roast Pork, which was actually being filmed by the Travel Channel when I visited, not for their namesake dish but for a custom cheesesteak with fried hot peppers that had just been named one of the nation's 12 best sandwiches by the network. Dating to 1930, John's is very much a family operation, now in its third generation, and claims to have invented the Italian Roast Pork Sandwich ("Pop's Recipe Since 1930"). In 2006 it won the prestigious James Beard Award as an American Classic. The current owner is effusively talkative and welcoming behind the counter, and seems thrilled by every customer who walks through the door. Ordering is almost like being in someone's kitchen and the pork is all roasted on the premises from whole picnic shoulders on the bone and rubbed with a secret recipe of fresh herbs, while greens bubble away in pots on the stove. They offer an unusual choice of American, mild, or sharp provolone cheeses. Like Tony Luke's, they have a large menu, including breakfast items, for which they are locally popular.
John's offered up the best combination of a delicious sandwich and atmosphere, with the kind of roadside joint authenticity that is increasingly hard to find. I didn't love their spinach, which had an odd taste, but the pork was the moistest and most flavorful of the bunch and went well with the broccoli rabe. It was easily the best of the "traditional" versions. Getting to John's requires a special trip as it is the most off the beaten path of the three, but it is well worth it.
What regulars say: "My dad just started out just making food, sandwiches for the neighborhood. He'd be amazed to see us on TV, winning a James Beard award, people coming from all over the country to eat here. I'm amazed." John Bucci, Jr., third-generation owner of John's Roast Pork.
Pilgrimage-worthy?: Yes - a unique sandwich that is almost exclusively limited to Philadelphia and, unlike the cheesesteak, has not spread far and wide.
Rating: Mmmm! (Scale: Blah, OK, Mmmm, Yum!, OMG!)
Price: $ ($ cheap, $$ moderate, $$$ expensive)
Details: DiNic's Roast Pork and Beef, Reading Terminal Market, Philadelphia; 215-923-6175; tommydinics.com/; Tony Luke's, Original, 39 East Oregon Ave., Philadelphia; 215-551-5725; tonylukes.com/; John's Roast Pork, 14 East Snyder Ave., Philadelphia, 215-463-1951, johnsroastpork.com/
Larry Olmsted has been writing about food and travel for more than 15 years. An avid eater and cook, he has attended cooking classes in Italy, judged a BBQ contest and once dined with Julia Child. Follow him on Twitter, @TravelFoodGuy, and if there's a unique American eatery you think he should visit, send him an e-mail at travel@usatoday.com.