Grinders keepers: an Italian odyssey

A SANDWICH JOURNEY THROUGH LOS ANGELES

My parents are from the east coast.  Massachusetts to be exact.  I was not born there and never lived there myself but spent many young years in New England.  My memories of those summers are of humidity and afternoon thunderstorms, the junction for ice cream, green head flies big enough to bite your arm off.  The fireflies at night, marsh swims amongst the sea lavender my mother would pick on the way home and horseshoe crabs brought up from the muddy bottoms.  As we got a bit older those summers became Maine summers at the old grey clapboard house my aunt lived in.  It was nestled in a cove by the sea. Her partner was a rifle smith, a large man who fashioned rifles in the barn for duck hunting excursions with the pack of chocolate Labrador retrievers.  We would explore or canoe or walk the mud flats as the tide went out….loosing our shoes or each other as we sunk into the thick sea mud.

We settled in Ojai California when I was nine years old.  My father, a hiker and man of the hills, found symbiosis with the mountains and dry climate of the west.  My mother on the other hand found it harder to love.  She is a tried and true New Englander who deeply missed the charm of the eastern towns.  The California ranch style living did not appeal nor did the Californian clean cuisine, ladies in exercise tights or men in the mid day jacuzzi at the athletic club. Something about the old new England work ethic that stuck with her as did the chowders and roasts and the Italian sandwich on the butcher block counter top, salt and peppered with olive oil dripping down the side.  She called it a grinder…….so we did too.

It took years before I realized this was not a west coast term.  Here, they refer to this elongated sandwich on an Italian bun, piled high with spicy deli meats and provolone cheese, as an Italian Sub.  On the east coast though, the names for this Italian masterpiece vary like a local dialect.  History says the Grinder in New England got it’s name from the ship yards during WWI.   Italian immigrants would set up sandwich shops by the shipyards.  Their fresh Italian rolls filled to the brim with meats and cheeses, tomato and lettuce, became a favorite of the men who ground rivets for the warships.  These dockworkers were referred to as “Grinders” and so too was the sandwich they so passionately devoured.

It is also thought that the hard Italian roll and piles of meat fixings made this sandwich a lot harder to chew through than the white bread sandwiches with ham and cheese.  You had to literally grind your teeth together to get through a bite…..hence the term “Grinder”.

A sense of local color and pride, many variations were born of this sandwich by the Italian populations in numerous American cities.

The “SUB”, a description of the sandwich’s characteristically long tubular shape, reminiscent of the submarine.  One story tells of a man by the name of Benedetto Capaldo in New London selling his sandwiches to the workers at the Navy’s primary submarine base and shipping yard during WWII.

The “Hero” is a native to New York.  A woman by the name of Clementine Paddleworth wrote for a food column in the New York Herald Tribune in 1936.  She wrote in regards to the sandwich being so large that, “you had to be a hero to eat it”

The “Hoagie” is a Philly name.  In the late 1920’s Philadelphia jazz musician turned sandwich shop owner Al De Palma claimed you “had to be a hog” to devour a sandwich that big. .  It is also said that the hoagie derived again from dockworkers during WWI era on Hog Island. Hoggie became Hoagie and the sandwich is still a “big” hit

“ Po’ Boys” hail from New Orleans.  In 1926 the New Orleans street car conductors and motormen went on strike.  Two brothers, Bennie and Clovis Martin who had worked on the streetcars had committed to support the union members by giving out large sandwiches to any of the strikers who came by their shop.  To see a striker walk in the door, the brothers would say, “here comes another poor boy” and the name stuck.

The Italian comes from Maine. Locals claim that a baker named Giovani Amato  invented the Italian in 1899.

In southie Boston you can order a Spuckie, short for Spucadella which is the name of a long Italian roll.  It Wisconsin it’s a Garibaldis, maybe named for the hero of Italian unification.  They are also called zeppelins or bombers or blimpies or dogwoods. Or the term “Wedge” short for sandwich when an old Italian baker got tired of having to say the whole word all the time.   Hilarious and never-ending variations on the same thing……a big beautiful robust sandwich on an Italian roll.

So, with all this new information under me I decided to hit the road to LA and test out some of the Italian Sandwiches in the area.  I had a list of eight locations.  We were able to reach four of these shops and try a grinder at each.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that they were all different.  The choice of bread, deli meat selections, sauces and cheeses all defined a uniquely Italian sandwich at each location.  For brevity I will list them with a short description of sandwich and location below.

JACKSON MARKET: CULVER CITY

A residential market in Culver City. Charming.  We placed our order for an Italian Sandwich on the checklist order form at the counter, perused the shelves while we waited.  Grabbed a bag of sweet onion Maui chips and a classic root beer for Cade.  I suggested a cupcake too.  We picked up our sandwich and took a seat at the window by the door.  A classic sandwich on a baguette.  Soft bread, mortadella, capicola, provolone, lettuce, pepperoncini, and mayo.   Sturdy, not dry, no frills.  Cade thought the cupcake was delicious.  It was red velvet.

BAY CITIES: SANTA MONICA

I was a sceptic when we first drove up to a line out the door of this city block building.  Coastal fog made for a dim mood.  Security guards at the door gave me a chuckle but I understood the importance as this was an Italian sandwich named the “GODMOTHER”.  To walk in the door was a step into an authentic Italian market…..bustling with people all after whatever the deli counter could muster.  We took a number and waited our turn.  A security guard chased me down for filming.  I explained I was documenting different Italian sandwiches around the city and he warmed up to the idea.  He said he is going to write a book called “ Stupid Shit People Do When They Are Hungry”.   I look forward to reading it.  Hanging Bologna, red caps, mafia feels, biscotti on the shelves…….and loaves of fresh warm Italian bread bagged up to go.  When you walk up to a loaf of bread in a store, pick it up and it is still warm that is a very good thing.  Salami, prosciutto, provolone, tomato , lettuce, mustard and mayo, pickle and some sort of special sauce made for a special treat on the soft chewy Italian bread.  Squeezed out the back when you took a bite, juicy and messy….delightful.  I imagined the market would have been the perfect scene for a musical…..it had all the makings of a great show.

LANZA BROTHERS MARKET: LOS ANGELES

This was not on my list but I’m so thankful we came across it.  I am a firm believer that if someone gives you a food recommendation then you must take it.  Ryan Noon, the owner and proprietor of Noon Projects Gallery in Chinatown suggested we try out the Italian sandwich at Lanza Brothers Market.  Ryan is a Bostonian.  He knows a good grinder when he finds one and he was not wrong with this place.  Gritty little market.  More a convenient store with a deli counter.  Classic Italian Grinder.  You can get a bowl of chowder if you want too.  Soft Italian roll, salami, mortadella, pepperoni, mustard and mayo, lettuce, tomato, onions and pickle.  The roll was not toasted.  Price point: $9.  The other sandwiches had been $14 so far.  Franchy’s yellow mustard.  I was very happy with his find.

GIATA: ON MELROSE

Hip joint.  Going for the higher end of the sandwich market. White interior groves to hip hop and a menu board in white and yellow outlining the not so basic fixings of a sandwich.  I was taken in by the green layered cake in the pastry case.  Only one slice left, it was basil and lemon…..intriguing.   I’m not sure a dock worker would be eating a sandwich like this but to that I have to applaud the evolution of the Italian sandwich.  This beast was built on a mixed seed roll.  Juicy and wet.  Muenster cheese instead of provolone, cotto ham, salami, hot capicola, Calabrian chilies, “ Shrettuce” heirloom tomatoes, onions, vinaigrette, Calabrian aioli on a “Charred” seeded baguette.  This was decadent…..a little fancy in it’s wording but what is our world now without such labels at the deli counter.  I appreciated this for what it was.  It was spicy but flavorful.  It had a mind of it’s own.  The bread was a little tough but the seeds a nice twist.  This sandwich did run a high $16 but for what we got it was cheap compared to our steep Ojai sandwich prices.

Overall I was happy with every stop we made.  Each sandwich unique to it’s environment and delicious to boot.  I find more and more that good food is a product of the experience in it’s entirety……and the bread of course.  The bread is really what makes a good Italian sandwich.  Nail that Italian roll and you’ve got yourself a Grinder!

I highly recommend a sandwich adventure if you have the time and the stomach.  I got to see places I never would have seen.  Each market, deli and shop made me smile…..each sandwich a delight!