Hey, Po' Boy, Meet Some Real Heroes [A GASTRONOMIC DREAM]

NYTimes Food ^ | October 16, 2003 | Ed Levine

[Miss Marple]

What three cities would those be? And what places would one buy a good sammich?

[presidio9]

NYC - Mike's Deli (Arthur Avenue)

Philly - Campo's

Nawlins - Central Grocery

[Miss Marple]

Thanks! I am from Indianapolis, where we don't have good heros We have great corned beef at Shapiro's Deli, but that's a different topic.

I had a great sandwich in Rhode Island, years ago, where they were called grinders, but had the ingredients mentioned here. I have been sorely disappointed in almost all of the sandwiches in our town. Very bland.

[COBOL2Java]

Mr. Capezza, by the by, has a superb hero pedigree; his in-laws owned the legendary Carl's Dairy in Astoria, which closed in 1984, but was known to be among the best hero spots in New York practically from its opening in 1925.

Boy I remember Carl's Dairy! My family simply called it "The Dairy." Used to go there for heroes all the time when I was a teenager. Sorry it's gone.

[Clemenza]

And what say you..where is the best hero in NYC...: )

Mike's Deli, in the Arthur Avenue Market, Arthur Ave just south of 186th, has the best heroes I have EVER tasted in this country. I usually get mine with Soppresatta, an assortment of peppers, mozzarella cheese, sundried tomatoes and Olive Oil. He has a wide assortment of cold cuts, however, that are made by him or by local butchers. The bread is always fresh from Addeo's Bakery, located just outside the market. Whenever I attend an event in Central Park or go to a picnic, I always hop on the Ram Van (a transportation service for Fordham Students between Man. and the Bronx) or hop on the D train to get to Mike's. It is WELL WORTH the 30-40 minute trip from Midtown!

Lucky for us, they even have a website and CATER!: http://www.arthuravenue.com/news99.html

[Clemenza]

Alisasny pinged me and, as you can see from my post above, I wholeheartedly agree, there is NOTHING like a hero from Mike's Deli!

[firebrand]

All this yadda yadda about a sandwich? Mangia peeba, as my father would say.

[presidio9]

Bro, I went to the game last night. I am hurting this morning from all the celebrating I done. Your description of an Eye-talian hero from Mike's still has my mouth watering. PS> I am a big fan of the Ram Van, but it's not like you need to share that secret with the entire world.

[presidio9]

We have great corned beef at Shapiro's Deli, but that's a different topic.

Not to rub it in, but we invented corned beef sammiches here in NYC. My favorite is 2nd Avenue Deli, but a lot of tourists swear by Stage Deli and Carnegie Deli (can a sammich be WORTH $14?). Sorry that you can't get a good sammich in Indy. A couple of the towns that I have lived in had authentic NYC delis, run by transplanted NYers. One even had it's bread flown down every day from Arthur Avenue. If you have such an establishment in Indy, I recommend you check it out.