“Do not make a stingy sandwich; Pile the cold cuts high. Customers should see salami coming through the rye.”
It’s an on again-off again chilly sunny day. Last night, it rained. We were at the beach enjoying the last of our after dinner ice cream cones when we saw the darkest black cloud moving across the sky. It was mouth dropping beautiful with fluffy edges billowing and drifting back and forth and small pockets of light trying to shine through the different shades of gray and black. I watched it all the way home.
My dance card is empty today. There are places I could go and things I could do, but I’m staying home. I have a new book.
A sub shop was only one block from my elementary school. It was Mr. Santoro’s Sub Shop, the very first ever in town, and Mr. Santoro worked behind the counter with one or two of his sons. He was a short stocky man who always reminded me of my Uncle Lorre, the token Italian in my family as my father used to joke. Mr. Santoro’s sub shop was small with no tables and only stools in front of a counter on the wall opposite the glass case which held all the meats and salads. Silver containers behind where Mr. Santoro took orders held all the fixings. Potato chips hung off tall racks. It was a treat to have enough money to get a sub for lunch, and it was a treat to get out of school for a bit. We’d walk over and patiently stand in line. I’d watch Mr. Santoro make the subs while I was waiting. He was quick and had the rolls filled, topped and wrapped in only a few minutes. I usually ordered tuna on Fridays and Italian the rest of the time. I always had pickles, onions and hot pepper, still do. I’d take my lunch and eat at the counter on chilly days. On nice days I’d walk one block over to the town hall and sit at one of the benches. Eating at Mr. Santoro’s sub shop was my favorite lunch.
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keepthecoffeecoming.blog 
April 23, 2010 at 12:34 pm
Much the same weather over here today, The weather seemes having troubles deciding what to do.
I actually can´t remember a single sub shop in Gothenburg when I grew up. I can´t remember a single one at all to be honest. But wh3en I moved up here I found out, to my big surprise, that we have one here in the town Skara 🙂 They do great subs 🙂
Have a great day now!
Christer.
April 23, 2010 at 5:49 pm
Christer,
I wish old Mother Nature would up and decide it is spring already!
Now around here there are too many sub shops to count. I get mine at the deli and have changed to chicken salad as my favorite.
April 23, 2010 at 4:38 pm
God that makes me so hungry… thanks for the motivation to go to the deli.
D
April 23, 2010 at 5:51 pm
D,
It was my pleasure!
April 23, 2010 at 5:08 pm
Growing up in the borough of Queens in New York I don’t remember any sub shops. However, did we have sandwiches made in delicatessens. We had Italian, German, Kosher Style, Kosher and anything in between deli. My favorite was a pastrami on rye with cole slaw and a half sour pickle. I would slather on the brown mustard and would enjoy. Most of the delicatessens are slowly disappearing as third generation immigrant children have moved to the suburbs. As adults their taste have changed along with an awareness of the high fat and high calorie content in pastrami piled high on rye. I can feel my arteries clogging just thinking about that sandwich.
April 23, 2010 at 5:53 pm
Bob,
I wish we had those delicatessens you mentioned, but there were none around when I was a kid. The sub shop was it for the longest time.
Where I live now doesn’t have any delicatessens either. It seems more like a city thing around these parts.
As for me, the mention of pastrami on rye gets my tastes buds itching!!
April 23, 2010 at 6:58 pm
We had the “Pot O’ Gold” deli and a cup of soup and sandwich and coke in a bottle was .75 cents. It was always lunch I looked forward to and it was owned by two kids who graduated from Cornell and wanted to start their own franchise. I don’t think it caught on because I don’t even see them in the old neighborhood when I cruise by up in Northern VA. But thanks for the memory. I would love to know what ever happened to those guys. The food was always plenty and good. I’m a soup freak because of them.
April 23, 2010 at 9:39 pm
Z&Me,
It’s a great name for the deli. Given the failure rate for restaurants, I’m betting that’s what happened.
It amazes me how some places always look so busy but then close. I’ve seen it here in one spot which is on its third restaurant, all of which were popular for a while.
April 23, 2010 at 7:51 pm
We had Santoro’s too. Still have one. Might be the last one anywhere. He opens on a varying time schedule known only to himself. There are many places in town to get a sub sandwich now but when I was in school Santoro’s was the place to go. I used to like Italian cold cuts with oil and vinegar but no hots or anchovies. Now I go for chicken salad with lettuce, chopped pickles and mayo.
April 23, 2010 at 9:41 pm
Caryn,
Never anchovies, never! Thanks for mentioning the oil and vinegar. I had forgotten it.
I too go for chicken salad lately but always with my pickles, onions and hot peppers.
April 23, 2010 at 7:53 pm
oh how i love sandwiches! we had ‘the cutting board’ in town when i was younger, doubledeckers way too big to fit your mouth around and a tub of crisp dill pickles.
a sandwich is the perfect meal in my book; used to split a sandwich with papaw everyday for lunch and have a cup of whatever soup i had on hand.
rainy here as well today
looks the same for a few days
i need a break, oldest doll is headed home for the weekend from college, can’t wait to sit around and listen to her stories!
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoox
April 23, 2010 at 9:44 pm
splendid,
I can’t ever get enough of cheeseburgers lately. I seldom have them at home so I order them when I’m out. Portuguese rolls are my favorites for sandwiches no matter what you put inside them.
Have the best weekend!! Say hello to oldest doll for me!!
April 24, 2010 at 7:26 am
In Gardner, the town I lived in Massachusetts, subs were called grinders. I always thought that was funny.
April 24, 2010 at 10:22 am
Cuidado,
An Italian sandwich shop opened up much later in the same town. They too called their sandwiches grinders. You got me curious so I jumped over to Wikipedia. This is what I found: The use of the term submarine or sub is widespread,[2] and its origin is disputed. One theory is that it originated in a restaurant in Scollay Square in Boston, Massachusetts at the beginning of World War I. The sandwich was created to entice the large numbers of navy servicemen stationed at the Charlestown Navy Yard. The bread was a smaller specially baked baguette intended to resemble the hull of the submarines it was named after.
Many say that the name originates from Groton, Connecticut, where there is the largest United States Submarine factory. The sandwiches were commonly eaten by workers in the naval yard.
Grinder (Italian-American slang for a dock worker) — New England, Inland Empire of Southern California. Called grinder due to the fact that it took a lot of chewing to eat the hard crust of the bread used.
April 26, 2010 at 1:30 pm
Santoro’s makes the best subs. There are a few on the North Shore: Danvers and Peabody at least. I used to hit the Peabody one when I worked Thursday nights. Grilled peppers and onions with provolone cheese on a nice, fresh, soft roll. YUM! I can’t eat peppers anymore, though. They eat me now.
April 26, 2010 at 11:17 pm
Erin,
I haven’t had a really good Italian sub for a while. You’re right-it’s the sub roll which makes the sandwich. I never had grilled peppers, not sure if I’d like them, but I’m with you and the onions.