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 Maine Italian sandwich in Portland

2 editor picks for Maine Italian sandwich in Portland, ranked by editorial score. All Portland signature dishes · Maine Italian sandwich across every city.

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Make it at home

Serves 420 minEasy

Ingredients

  • 4 soft long white rolls (sub rolls or Portuguese rolls)
  • 200g sliced ham
  • 200g sliced Genoa salami
  • 200g sliced American cheese
  • 1 large white onion, thinly sliced
  • 2 ripe tomatoes, sliced
  • 100g pitted green olives, halved
  • 12 sour pickle slices
  • 60g pickled banana peppers, sliced
  • 60ml extra virgin olive oil
  • Kosher salt, black pepper

Method

  1. Split each roll lengthwise without cutting all the way through.
  2. Layer ham, salami and cheese inside each roll.
  3. Add onion, tomato, olives, pickles and banana peppers in even thin layers.
  4. Drizzle each sandwich with olive oil.
  5. Season with salt and pepper. Press the roll closed.
  6. Wrap in butcher paper and rest 5 minutes before serving. The roll absorbs the oil; this is the point.

Editor tip. Soft roll only. A crusty baguette is not the Maine Italian; the soft pull of the bread under oil is the signature texture.

Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy.