Hoagie
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The hoagie is the term for a lunch sandwich in a region including Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and parts of New York. It generally consists of an elongated roll (called a "hoagie roll", similar in shape to a baguette), and a selection of cold luncheon meats and condiments: cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, sweet or hot peppers, oregano, and Italian dressing. Toasted hoagies are known as 'grinders'.
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[edit] Origin
The original "hoagie" is what is now referred to as an "Italian Hoagie" which includes a variety of traditional Italian luncheon meats: dry salami, mortadella, capicolla, provolone, etc... served with lettuce tomato and onions with a light vinegar and oil dressing.
The origin of the sandwich is likely to have occurred during waves of immigration particularly from Italy in the late 1800's.
A story of the origin of the name 'hoagie' is that, during World War I, a shipyard located on Hog Island in the Delaware River south of Philadelphia employed many Italian immigrants as shipbuilders; their wives would pack them large sandwiches packed with various meats and cheeses. An out of work Philadelphian named Al DePalma went to the island to find work, and noticed the workers eating the giant sandwiches. Mr. DePalma observed that the workers looked like "a bunch of hogs", and ended up opening a luncheonette that served the sandwiches; thus the "hoggie" or "hoagie" was born. A Delco Times article[1], however, claims that it was actually a product of nearby Chester, Pennsylvania.
It is likely that the true origins of this local, cultural food are not known.
Former Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell declared the hoagie to be the "Official Sandwich of Philadelphia".
[edit] Regionalism
Since the 1960's, the popular usage of the term has expanded in the Philadelphia region to include any sandwich made on a long roll. In other areas of the country, this type of sandwich it referred to as a "Sub" or "submarine sandwich" and also as a "Po-boy". Sub varities of the sandwich are named after the principal ingredient.
In other parts of the country, calling something a hoagie is more specifically just the Italian Hoagie original.
Most hoagie shops offer single-meat hoagies (for example, ham or salami hoagies) as well as premium hoagies with upscale ingredients: prosciutto, imported Italian lunchmeats (coteghino, mortadella, sopressata, etc.). A popular variant is the grinder or cosmo, which is essentially a hoagie that has been toasted under a broiler.
On the East Coast around New York City, the term wedge has also been used for this sandwich, and it is cut through the edge lengthwise, not the top like some hot dog buns.
In the Pittsburgh region, a toasted hoagie, may be called a 'cosmos' (rather than a 'grinder').[citation needed], the term hoagie is used to describe any type of toasted sandwich that is served on a long roll, not just one prepared in the specific manner stated above. This usage is considered a standard feature of Pittsburgh English.
In many areas the default cheese on a hoagie is Provolone, while in others it is white American cheese. Cheese-only hoagies (Provolone, American, or Mixed) replace the meat with extra slices of cheese.
[edit] Varieties
- American—typically includes ham and white American cheese, bologna, cooked salami and others
- Italian—typically includes hard or Genoa salami, pepperoni, mortadella, cappicola, and provolone cheese
- Ham and Cheese—hot or cold with provolone cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, mayonnaise or oil, hot peppers and ground pepper
- Tuna—either tuna salad or (especially in more ethnically Italian shops) Italian (canned) tuna in olive oil
- Chicken salad
- Chicken—as lunchmeat, grilled meat, or cutlet
- Roast beef
- Roast pork—hot or cold
- Turkey—hot or cold with provolone cheese
- Cheese—white American or provolone or both (mixed), sometimes also Swiss cheese
- Cheesesteak hoagie—a marriage with the cheesesteak sandwich
- Veggie—usually grilled vegetables, such as peppers, mushrooms, and broccoli rabe; some shops even offer vegan hoagies, with no meat or dairy products
- Meatball—meatballs in marinara sauce often with green peppers and onions and covered with mozzarella or provolone cheese
Condiments include lettuce, tomato, onion, with optional dill pickles and hot or sweet pepper rings or hot pepper seed. Condiments can include salt, pepper, oregano or Italian seasoning, oil & vinegar, mustard, and mayonnaise.
[edit] Popular culture references
- The hoagie was a favorite of Bill Cosby's character Heathcliff "Cliff" Huxtable in The Cosby Show.
- Don Vito of MTV's Viva La Bam loves hoagies. He is always seen throughout the show eating them.
- On The Simpsons, Homer Simpson's dream was to eat the world's largest hoagie.
- In the Scrubs episode "My Sex Buddy", J.D. offered to buy Turk's friend Richard a hoagie and replacement basketball when he kicked the ball away.
- In the computer game Day of the Tentacle, "Hoagie" is the name of one of the protagonists (incidentally there's also a joke about the sandwich being named after him).
- On the Adult Swim TV show Tom Goes to the Mayor, Tom sells hoagies to support a charity for glass eyes. The mayor pronounces hoagies incorrectly as "hoogies".
- On Codename: Kids Next Door, Hoagie is the first name of one of the protagonists.
- An Emergency Hoagie for Dilbert's Boss who is on a diet... [2]
- In a third season episode of House, House and Wilson travel to Atlantic City with a man temporarily awaken from a coma who is in search of a hoagie before he relapses.
- In a Saturday Night Live sketch parodying MTV's The Real World, Jim Breuer portrays a stoner housemate named Hoagie.
[edit] Trivia
May 5 is National Hoagie Day.
