Maine Italian Sandwich appears as a signature dish in 1 United States cities. See each city's local variant and where to eat it.
Maine Italian sandwich · Portland
Soft white roll filled with ham, salami, American cheese, sliced onions, tomato, green olives, sour pickles, sweet peppers, oil, salt and pepper.
Giovanni Amato, a Sicilian immigrant baker, sold the first Italian sandwich at his Italian Sandwich Shop on India Street in 1902 to Portland dock workers who needed lunch they could carry. Amato sold them for a nickel. The soft white roll was based on Sicilian-style rolls; the seven fillings stayed standard. The Maine Italian became the regional sandwich of Portland and southern Maine, distinct from any other US Italian-American sandwich. Amato's still operates the original 1902 storefront on India Street; the Maine Italian routinely appears as Maine's signature lunch on national lists.
Where to eat in Portland:
- Amato's Original Italian Sandwich
- Rosemont Market Munjoy Hill