Remember the Millers? They are the friends who took Ben for an evening of fun last year so Phil and I could celebrate my birthday. Leslie (Barb and Dan’s daughter-in-law) is the best. It’s kind of a family tradition. To know one Miller is to know and love them all. Leslie picks and cans all manner of produce, and then gives us the fruits of her labor. If you have ever picked raspberries, you know it is a labor of love. This week, Leslie restocked our supplies of peppers, among other things. We decided to celebrate with a round of Italian subs with Leslie peppers.
Ben, lucky boy, has never known a world without subs. Whether you call them subs, hoagies, heroes or grinders, we have no shortage of these sandwiches here. In Williamsport, a toasted sub is called a Cosmo. What do you call them?
When I was a kid, I had never really heard of these marvelous things. I actually remember my first submarine sandwich! My mom bought some from a high school student for a band fundraiser when I was in grade school, and I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. What is this magical thing with multiple layers of meat, cheese that Mom doesn’t stock at home, and special sauce? What I have pieced together since then is that the special sauce was a mixture of mayonnaise, ketchup and pickle relish, so it definitely was not an Italian sub, but I was sold. I actually remember saving half of mine so I could take it to school the next day for lunch!
I need some input from anyone I grew up with in Colorado. Were subs common? If so, what were they called and where did you get them? Sometimes it is hard to separate out what is unique to one’s family situation (parents grew up Amish), what was a function of the times (1970-80s), and what was a function of place (small town Colorado).
Now, I need some input from Pennsylvanians. Did you grow up with subs? In what way do you think your family’s culture, ethnicity, time frame, or location influenced your sub consumption?
Want to know something “extremely insane,” as Ben would say? We didn’t even crack open the hoagie spread Leslie included in the hoard! By patriarchal decree, we opened only one jar, and the banana peppers won the popular vote.
This leads me to my final question. What do you put on your sub/hoagie/hero/grinder? Talk to us, people!
Subs/hoagies always came from the small neighborhood store that sold all manner of canned goods, bread, milk, household needs. I only remember that we bought hoagies though. One little shop was down the street from my house in Watsontown and the other was down the road from my aunt and uncle’s in Newky (New Columbia). The folks who made the hoagies ran the store: handled the money, the goods, and the food all without gloved hands, soap and water, or sanitizer. This is probably how I learned how to brave the germs of the world. I remember Mom saying if we saw their hands, we probably wouldn’t want to eat the hoagies.
First of all, Newky!!! I love it! Never heard of New Columbia referred to that way, but it makes total sense. Next, it is good to have confirmation that hoagies have always been a thing “out east”. And finally, yes, there was a completely different standard then for what kind of filth would kill you, and what would make you stronger! Thanks for sharing, Kristie!