It was love at first bite. I went to Philadelphia to eat cheesesteaks, but instead fell for the Italian roast pork.
It happened at Tony Luke's, a South Philadelphia stronghold of sandwiches. There are two Tony Luke's eateries; both of them sit on the first block of E. Oregon Ave. There are also two men named Tony Luke.
There is Tony Luke Sr., who presides over the sit-down restaurant, a sports bar that opened 10 years ago. Then there is Tony Luke Jr., who with his brother, Nick, runs the less decorous carryout joint across the street. It has been around since 1992.
In warm weather, you can sit at tables outside the carryout joint. But the January Saturday that my older son and I traveled up from Baltimore was brutally cold, so we chose the enclosed sports bar.
The sandwich was new to me. I liked its combination of garlic-flavored pork, sharp provolone cheese, and a dab of greenery erved on crusty bread. The greenery was broccoli rabe, a vegetable with green spiky leaves commonly found in Southern Italian cuisine.
The roast pork sandwiches served on the two sides of Oregon Avenue are related, but they are not exactly similar, I was told.
"My father, he does something a little different with the bread," Tony Luke Jr. said when I called him a few days after my visit. He wouldn't say exactly what the difference was.
In the course of our telephone conversation, the younger Luke offered his opinion on why the Italian roast pork sandwich is a fixture in the city. While he wouldn't disclose all his secrets, he had blunt views on ingredients that should and shouldn't be in the recipe.
Asked about the heritage of the sandwich, he answered by talking about his old neighborhood.
"When I was a kid, it was always part of our life," said Luke, 48. "For us Italians, there were three staples: spaghetti, peppers and eggs, and roast pork. We also ate a lot of greens, like broccoli rabe. Making a sandwich with roast pork, broccoli rabe and sharp provolone cheese was a natural combination."
Moreover, he said, eaters in Philadelphia have a long-standing fondness for sandwiches.
"When I was at St. Nicholas of Tolentine," he said, referring to the Catholic grammar school he attended, "all the Italian kids had pepper-and-egg sandwiches for lunch, and all the Irish kids had bologna sandwiches."
Sandwiches fit the tone of the town, he said. "We are a blue-collar town."
Another sandwich, the cheesesteak, has garnered Philadelphia national notice. Luke makes a well-regarded cheesesteak, and during our conversation he bowed to the city's barons of Cheez Whiz and shaved beef -"I feel honored to be mentioned with Pat's and Geno's." But he contended that the "real sandwich of Philadelphia" was the Italian roast pork.
Unlike the cheesesteak, which is popular nationally, the taste for Italian roast pork sandwiches seems to stop at the borders of the city.
Michael Stern, who with his wife, Jane, has written authoritative books on American eats, said in an e-mail, "those great roast pork sandwiches are unique to Philadelphia. I've never found one anywhere else in this country."
Luke said that while his family's line of frozen cheesesteaks has caught on in other cities, the frozen Italian roast pork is "not selling outside the Philadelphia region."
His explanation for the geographical limits of the sandwich's appeal was that there is only one favorite pork sandwich per community.
"Every town, every region has its favorite version of a pork sandwich. In North Carolina, it is pulled pork. In other places it is sweet pork. The Latin communities have their own, and it is great roast pork," he said.
Maybe so, but a few days after my visit to Philadelphia, I craved another Italian roast pork. Rather than driving back to Tony Luke's, I decided to try to imitate the sandwich joint's and make roast pork in my kitchen.
I found a recipe in "Roadfood Sandwiches," the 2007 paperback paean to sandwiches by the Sterns.
I inserted a mixture of ground garlic, oregano, salt, pepper and olive oil into six incisions in a pork shoulder. Then I wrapped the seasoned meat in foil and let it spend the night in the fridge.
The next day I read the recipe to Luke over the phone, and he critiqued my efforts.
When I mentioned a pork shoulder that would cook for three to four hours, he voiced disapproval.
"It is going to shred on you," he said. He uses a whole fresh ham, which he bakes for 12 hours, he said.
When I mentioned oregano, he scoffed, saying none of the herb touches his pork.
When I described the treatment of the broccoli rabe - cooking it in chicken stock - he was sympathetic. That method would "break down" some of the vegetable's sharp flavor; he prefers to steam the rabe.
As for the bread, he told me to use crusty Italian bread with a soft interior.
"Heavy, dense bread is fine for cold meats, for a hoagie. But when you put hot food, like a roast pork, on dense bread, the food gets lost in the bread," he said.
He predicted my Baltimore kitchen version would yield a distant cousin of the Philly classic.
"It will be nice roasted pork," he said. "But it won't be Tony Luke's."
I made it anyway, with a few modifications. I roasted the pork for three hours in my charcoal kettle cooker, placing it in a foil pan and using indirect heat. I used spinach instead of broccoli rabe, which I could not find.
Nonetheless, my Italian roast pork sandwiches were a big hit with my family. Even my older son, who had traveled with me on our Philadelphia eating outing, said my sandwiches could stand provolone to provolone with Tony Luke's.
Maybe I will open a sandwich stand.
Then again, considering that making a good Italian roast pork sandwich is a two-day operation, maybe not.
Italian Roast Pork Sandwich
Makes: 4 sandwiches
2
12-inch lengths of Italian bread with sturdy crust
4
slices provolone cheese
1
pound thinly sliced roast pork (see recipe)
Sauteed broccoli rabe (see recipe)
2
teaspoons dried oregano
Jarred hot peppers (optional)
Slice the loaves of bread lengthwise. Lay half the provolone on the bottom of each loaf. Immediately add a layer of warm broccoli rabe, which will help soften the cheese. Top with a sheaf of warm roast pork. Season with the oregano and add condiments, if desired.
From "Roadfood Sandwiches" by Jane and Michael Stern
Nutrition information
Per serving: 667 calories, 29 grams fat, 10 grams saturated fat, 57 grams carbohydrates, 44 grams protein, 6 grams fiber, 89 milligrams cholesterol, 1,582 milligrams sodium
Sauted Broccoli Rabe
1
bunch (about 1 pound) broccoli rabe, stems trimmed
2
tablespoons olive oil
2-3
garlic cloves, mashed
1
cup chicken stock
Thoroughly wash the broccoli rabe, then cut it into pieces no longer than 3 inches.
In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat and saute the garlic until it begins to soften. Add the chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Add the broccoli rabe, cover and reduce the heat to low. Cook for 45 minutes, or until tender, stirring occasionally and adding more stock or water if necessary to keep it moist. Remove from pan and drain excess liquid. Remove the garlic cloves, if desired. Keep warm until it's added to the sandwiches.
Nutrition information
Per serving: 108 calories, 8 grams fat, 1 gram saturated fat, 6 grams carbohydrates, 5 grams protein, 3 grams fiber, 2 milligrams cholesterol, 124 milligrams sodium
Roast Pork
Makes: 12 servings
1
6-pound boneless pork shoulder
2
tablespoons salt
6
garlic cloves
1
teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2
teaspoon dried oregano
1/4
cup olive oil
1
teaspoon red wine vinegar
Rinse the pork and pat it dry. Remove as much of the skin and fat as possible. Rub the salt into the meat. Use a knife to make 6 incisions into the meat.
Using a mortar and pestle or a mini food processor, grind together the garlic, oregano, pepper and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil to form a thick paste. Press the paste into the incisions.
Mix the vinegar with the remaining olive oil and rub this over the meat. Cover and refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight. Bring to room temperature before roasting.
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Place roast on a rack in a roasting pan. Roast the pork skin side up, basting occasionally with the marinade until an instant-read thermometer registers 185 degrees, about 3 to 4 hours.
Remove the roast from the oven, let stand for 30 to 45 minutes. Use scissors or your hands to separate it into to shreds, a little bigger than bite-size.
Nutrition information
Per serving: 373 calories, 19 grams fat, 6 grams saturated fat, 1 gram carbohydrates, 46 grams protein, 0 grams fiber, 133 milligrams cholesterol, 1,252 milligrams sodium