Submarine sandwich

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Submarine sandwich
Hoagie Hero Sub Sandwich.jpg
A submarine sandwich.
Alternative name(s)Multiple
Place of originUnited States
Region or stateNortheast
Main ingredient(s)Multiple
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Submarine sandwich
Hoagie Hero Sub Sandwich.jpg
A submarine sandwich.
Alternative name(s)Multiple
Place of originUnited States
Region or stateNortheast
Main ingredient(s)Multiple


History and etymology[edit]


World War II-era submarine


The use of the term "submarine" or "sub" (after the resemblance of the roll to the shape of a submarine) is widespread.[1] One theory is that it originated in a restaurant in Scollay Square in Boston, Massachusetts at the beginning of World War II. 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 that resembled the hull of the submarines it was named after.[7]


Those living in Eastern Connecticut and Rhode Island are usually told that the name is associated with two facilities in Groton : the US Navy's submarine base, and the nearby Electric Boat Company which built them. This quote seems to support that theory : "During World War II, the commissary of the United States Navy's submarine base in Groton, Connecticut, ordered five hundred hero sandwiches a day from Benedetto Capaldo's Italian deli in New London, where the name 'sub' was soon applied to the item." ---America Eats Out, John Mariani [Morrow : New York] 1991 (p. 114-5)"


Workers read the Hog Island News

The term hoagie originated in the Philadelphia area. The Philadelphia Evening Bulletin reported, in 1953, that Italians working at the World War I–era shipyard in Philadelphia, known as Hog Island where emergency shipping was produced for the war effort, introduced the sandwich, by putting various meats, cheeses, and lettuce between two slices of bread. This became known as the "Hog Island" sandwich; shortened to "Hoggies", then the "hoagie".










Roast beef grinder

A common term in New England, its origin has several possibilities.[16] One theory has the name coming from Italian-American slang for a dock worker, among whom the sandwich was popular[4] Others[who?] say it was called a grinder because it took a lot of chewing to eat the hard crust of the bread used.

In western Massachusetts a grinder is specifically a toasted sub, for example, the sub is toasted in a pizza oven.[17] In Pennsylvania and Delaware, the term grinder simply refers to a submarine sandwich that has been heated in any fashion.

Other names[edit]

Popularity and availability[edit]

From its origins with the Italian American labor force in the Northeastern United States, the sub began to show up on menus of local pizzerias. As time went on and popularity grew, small restaurants, called Hoagie shops and Sub shops, that specialized in the sandwich began to open.[4]

After World War II, Italian food grew in popularity in the US and started to become assimilated. This brought the use of other meats to the sandwich including turkey, roast beef, American and Swiss cheese, as well as spreads such as mayonnaise and mustard.[citation needed]


—John Mariani, America Eats Out, p. 66


In the United States, many chain restaurants have arisen that specialize in subs including Capriotti's, Submarina, Jersey Mike's Subs, Charley's Grilled Subs, Blimpie, Jimmy John's, Lenny's Sub Shop, Milio's, Port of Subs, Eegee's, Firehouse Subs, Penn Station, Planet Sub, Potbelly, Tubby's, Schlotzsky's, Which Wich and D'Angelo Sandwich Shops. Major international chains include Quiznos, Mr. Sub and the largest restaurant chain in the world, Subway.[19] The sandwich is also usually available at supermarkets and convenience stores.

See also[edit]


  1. ^ a b c d "submarine sandwich". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (Fourth ed.). Houghton Mifflin Co. 2000. Retrieved 22 August 2013. 
  4. ^ a b c d e f Wilton, Dave (Autumn 2003). "A Hoagie by Any Other Name". Verbatim. XXVII (3). Retrieved 21 November 2008. 
  6. ^ Popik, Barry (April 5, 2008). "The Big Apple: Submarine Sandwich". Retrieved 22 August 2013. "Delaware has the strongest claim to the 'submarine sandwich,' with that term appearing in a Wilmington telephone directory in January 1940." 
  7. ^ Kelley, Walt (1993). What They Never Told You About Boston (or What They Did That Were Lies). Camden, Maine: Down East Books. ISBN 978-0892723331. 
  10. ^ Philadelphia Visitors Bureau webpage[dead link]
  12. ^ "1925: Hoagie Rolls into County History". Retrieved 2009-12-09. [dead link]
  15. ^ "hero". Retrieved 22 August 2013. 
  17. ^ Brooks, Bart (October 26, 2009). "The great New Jersey sub/hoagie/hero/grinder debate". Retrieved 22 August 2013. 

External links[edit]