Philly Roast Pork Sandwich appears as a signature dish in 1 United States cities. See each city's local variant and where to eat it.
Philadelphia roast pork sandwich · Philadelphia
Slow-roasted pork shoulder, sliced thin, piled on a seeded Italian roll with garlicky broccoli rabe and sharp aged provolone. The locals' answer to the cheesesteak.
The roast pork sandwich is the Philadelphia natives' sandwich. While tourists queue at Pat's, locals walk into Tony Luke's, John's Roast Pork or DiNic's at Reading Terminal Market for slow-roasted pork shoulder, broccoli rabe and sharp provolone on a seeded roll. The dish traces to Italian-American South Philly between the wars: home cooks roasted weekly pork shoulders with rosemary, fennel and garlic and pressed leftovers into bread for lunch. DiNic's took the format to the Reading Terminal in 1980 and its sandwich was crowned best in America by the Travel Channel in 2013. The trio of slow-roasted pork, bitter rabe and sharp cheese is its own balanced act.
Where to eat in Philadelphia:
- Tommy DiNic's
- John's Roast Pork
- Tony Luke's