On a recent road trip, Between the Bread reader Tiffany took in a sandwich from Big Town Hero in Ashland, OR, which is apparently a regional chain and a delicious one at that. Says Tiff, "Turkey, cucumber, lettuce, cream cheese. Very English. Super yum." Turkey, cukes, and cream cheese is one of my favorite combos.
Got your own sandwiches to share? Email a photo and a description of your sandwich to nancy@betweenthebreadblog.com.
If Manganaro's Hero-Boy is the put-together, friendly, and popular kid on the block, Manganaro Groceria is its somewhat surly (but still worth knowing) older brother. Indeed, this antique Italian market is owned by the older brother of James Dell'Orto, who until he retired ran the flashier hero shop next door.
The brothers haven't spoken in more than 20 years, which made it even sadder to go from bustling Hero-Boy into the spare Manganaro market. But Manganaro Groceria gets points for old-fashioned charm.
Stop number two on my NYC sandwichstravaganza was Hell's Kitchen, on the block that's home to both Manganaro's Hero-Boy and Manganaro's Groceria, two Italian hero shops owned by feuding factions of the same family. Brothers James and Sal Dell'Orto coexisted peacefully, until a disagreement over who could use the Manganaro name to market the 6-foot-long heroes that Manganaro's Hero-Boy became famous for in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Today, James and Sal don't speak, but the restaurants are right next door to each other: the groceria is in its original location, still looking very much like a market serving Italian immigrants in the garment district in 1910. Hero-Boy is brighter and newer, almost like a Potbelly without the colorful signage, and filled with family-size tables. Both joints serve excellent sandwiches. On a recommendation from patriarch James Dell-Orto, I tried the eggplant hero at Hero-Boy. Get a closer look at the eggplant enormity by clicking on each photo.
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