What Micky Eats...: Sarcone's Deli

Sarcone’s Deli opened in 1997 and has been a star ever since. Located only about 50 feet away from the famous bakery, on the corner of 9th and Fitzwater, their family has been baking bread in South Philadelphia's Italian Market for five generations. The Sarcone's Hoagie Roll is a work of art. A delicately crunchy crust and a soft, dense interior, the combination of which makes for the perfect bread to be filled with meats, cheese, oils, vinegars and herbs. Name an award and Sarcone's has won it.

There’s a great selection of hoagies, ranging from the traditional (Italian) to the inspired (Sinatra) and the modern (Ultimate Veggie). But don't be intimidated, you can not go wrong no matter what you order. Try to arrive early - the place is so popular that it can run out of bread by 3 pm. In fact, Sarcone's recommends you call ahead to place your order, so that it will be waiting for you upon your arrival. (An absolute must if you're going on a Sunday during football season — Eagles fans LOVE Sarcone's.)

Before our return drive to DC, we stopped at Sarcone's to eat lunch as well as pick up extra sandwiches to bring back home with us. The shop is pretty small and you simply place your order at the counter, wait for it to be ready, and then pay and go. A couple tiny tables are available to sit at right outside. I ordered a hot chicken cutlet sandwich - the Chicken Capon. It comes with prosciutto, abruzzi spread, and mozzarella. The abruzzi spread was spicy but tasted great on the hot chicken. The bread was perfectly chewy and the sesame seeds give that little extra oomph. Keith ordered the other hot chicken cutlet sandwich - Chicken Parm Supreme with prosciutto, provolone cheese, and "red gravy" aka tomato sauce. He enjoyed his sandwich very much and especially liked the added prosciutto.

To bring home, we both ordered the Old Fashioned Italian (Gourmet). It comes with thinly sliced prosciutto, hot sopressata, hot coppa, sharp provolone, herbs, oil, vinegar, herbs, lettuce, tomato, and onions (but we got ours sans onions - and Keith added hot peppers onto his). We enjoyed our cold hoagies the next day for lunch. I was impressed how well the bread held up overnight - I was worried it might be soggy, but it wasn't. The Italian meats were high quality and the sharp provolone marries perfectly with the meats and veggies. Overall, this sandwich was my most favorite and a must try for those visiting Philly.

Total Rating: 4.03
Food: 4.5, Price: 4, Service: 3, Ambience: 2, Accessibility: 5

What I ate:

Chicken Capon

chicken cutlet w/prosciutto, abruzzi spread and mozzarella