Durham Deli in Bristol, Pennsylvania, knows how to build an Italian Deli Sandwich. Locals call this sandwich a Hoagie. Click here, to see how I make my version. And, scroll to the blog post end to see my Cheap$kate Dining Review.
I always get their Italian Hoagie which is loaded with deli meats including, Peppered Ham, Capicola, and Genoa Salami. You get a choice of cheese - I always get Provolone.
They put a salad on the Hoagie of sliced tomato and Iceburg lettuce, pickles, onion, and sweet and spicy peppers. I like oil and vinegar, but sometimes ask for mayo, too.
And this Hoagie costs only $7.10 for a small, eight inch long. sandwich. Subway, eat your heart out. I've often made 2 meals out of this small Hoagie.
This sandwich by Durham Deli is so stuffed it's impossible to close. When you get it home and unwrap it. The ingredients burst out of the Italian roll - this Hoagie will not be contained!
The Durham Deli Hoagie was ranked as First Place in the Best Hoagie catagory of 2020 by the local newspaper, Courier Times.
Durham Deli is a small market with a deli in the back as wide as the store. You walk up to the deli counter and wait to place your order.
The sandwich makers are fast and friendly. The deli meats and cheese are sliced to order. Small bins hold the sliced or chopped veggies and pickled peppers.
Click on any photo to see larger.
They run an efficient deli shop here. All the sandwiches are served cold - no cheesesteaks or hot meatball sammies. I've tried the Roast Beef and Pastrami Sandwiches, and they are delishly pilled high. They have a special with Coleslaw, highly recommended. Of course, they will make your sandwich any way you like.
The bread roll is soft inside, and chewy on the outside. It's not a hard crust exterior. My wife was told the bread roll is made by Aversa's Italian Bakery out of South New Jersy. The bread roll is sturdy enough to hold all the wet ingredients like tomato, oil and vinegar, mayo, mustard, and damp, sweet and hot peppers.
This sandwich is bascially an Italian Antipasto Salad in a split Italian bread roll.
Red Peppers are sweet and Yellow Peppers are spicy. Both are pickled with a sour note. The Yellow Peppers are mild in spice heat, way less hor than a jalepeno.
A normal Hoagie, or Italian Sub, may have one sliced layer of each deli meat, not here. The meat portion is double-stacked.
The Peppered Ham is smoky with a mild black pepper bite. Capicola is rich, herbal, and tender. Genoa Salami is garlicy with an intense cured pork flavor. Provolone cheese is mild and buttery. The Italian Hoagie is a tasty combination of deli meats and cheese.
The stacking of a Hoagie is usually meat and cheese on the bottom, and veggies on top, depending on the sandwich maker's preference. I've had them with pickles and peppers on the bottom, which makes the sandwich less top-heavy and easier to eat.
Some may complain about the Durham Deli Hoagies being sloppy and messy. Don't know how you would make a loaded Italian Hoagie neatly? Counting all the pickled and fresh veggie ingredients, there is no way to make it neat. A tidy Hoagie would have half the ingredients.
Give me a fork and extra napkins any day. It's a Hoagie masterpiece that Leonardo da Vinci would have the Mona Lisa cradle in her arms.
So, how does the Durham Deli Italian Hoagie rate on my Cheap$kate Dining Scale of 1 to 9, 9 being best?
It may be a foregone conclusion, but check out my Cheap$kate video review below. Better yet, when in Bristol, Pennsylvania, make a Durham Deli run for an Italian Hoagie, small or large.
