Entry from
July 11, 2004
Hero Sandwich
Hoagie, Sub, Grinder -- there are many regional sandwich names. New Yorkers have a "hero."
The "hero sandwich" term is first cited in New York City in the 1930s, in the Work Progress Administration's Lexicon Of Trade Jargon (1937) and in a column by Walter Winchell (1939).
Double Tongued Word Wrester
1937 Greulich @ NYC LOTJ (Dec. 30) "Armored car guards jargon": Hero. A big sandwich.
23 June 1939, Charleston (WV) Daily Mail, "Things I Never Knew 'Til Now About Coney Island," Walter Winchell syndicated column, pg. 5, col. 4:
Tastiest tidbits on the Island are toasted rolls and bacon at Child's, the clams and shrimp cocktails at the Clam Bar, the honey buns at Hirsch's, the shashlik, fried shrimp, fried clams and chow mein on the boardwalk, the sunshine cocktail and shore dinner at Scoville's, the Hero Sandwich (a loaf of Italian bread with ham and Swiss, American or Bel Paese cheese), and, of course the hot corn and frankfurters all along the route.
9 August 1947, New York Herald Tribune, pg. 9, col. 6:
1,000 Grab Hero Snacks Daily
For Hearty Lunch on Ninth Ave.
(PHOTO CAPTION: A thousand heros a day are built for the Ninth Avenue lunch trade by Manganaro, the grocer)
Sandwich Is Built With
Half French Loaf, Split
Lengthwise, and Fillings
By Clementine Paddleford
Far off the beaten path of the epicures who eat luncheons of vichyssoise, smoked turkey and caviar in the sterile glitter of air-cooled emporiums, is the Manganaro grocery at 488 Ninth Avenue, famous for heros. A thousand men and women push, jostle, crowd to the store's long marble counter each noontime to grab up a hero, a cold beer or coffee. Some seven hundred eat lunch on the spot, another three hundred eat in the street or carry snacks back to their offices.
You know the hero? A monster contraption built like a sandwich but of vaster dimensions. The ordinary size costs 35 cents. That's half a French loaf of bread, the half split lengthwise, then the filling laid in. The filling may be proscuitto ham or mozzarele cheese or the two in combination. You can have tuna fish or sardines or salami. Some want a double hero, that's a whole loaf of the long French bread split lengthwise, then sandwiched, the price 70 cents. No mayonnaise, no butter, just bread and plenty of ham, cheese or whatever. The filling in, the top half of the loaf is clamped on and the whole bundled into a waiting hand.
27 March 1954, New York Herald Tribune, pg. 11, col. 6:
Antolette's Grew From Hero Sandwich
(...)
"What did you folks do before you came here?"
"Ever hear of the Ross Steak House on Liberty St.? We had that and before then Delphi Steak House in Brooklyn. But we got our start serving hero sandwiches down by the Navy Yard. Every move we make the places get nicer."
The "hero sandwich" term is first cited in New York City in the 1930s, in the Work Progress Administration's Lexicon Of Trade Jargon (1937) and in a column by Walter Winchell (1939).
Double Tongued Word Wrester
1937 Greulich @ NYC LOTJ (Dec. 30) "Armored car guards jargon": Hero. A big sandwich.
23 June 1939, Charleston (WV) Daily Mail, "Things I Never Knew 'Til Now About Coney Island," Walter Winchell syndicated column, pg. 5, col. 4:
Tastiest tidbits on the Island are toasted rolls and bacon at Child's, the clams and shrimp cocktails at the Clam Bar, the honey buns at Hirsch's, the shashlik, fried shrimp, fried clams and chow mein on the boardwalk, the sunshine cocktail and shore dinner at Scoville's, the Hero Sandwich (a loaf of Italian bread with ham and Swiss, American or Bel Paese cheese), and, of course the hot corn and frankfurters all along the route.
9 August 1947, New York Herald Tribune, pg. 9, col. 6:
1,000 Grab Hero Snacks Daily
For Hearty Lunch on Ninth Ave.
(PHOTO CAPTION: A thousand heros a day are built for the Ninth Avenue lunch trade by Manganaro, the grocer)
Sandwich Is Built With
Half French Loaf, Split
Lengthwise, and Fillings
By Clementine Paddleford
Far off the beaten path of the epicures who eat luncheons of vichyssoise, smoked turkey and caviar in the sterile glitter of air-cooled emporiums, is the Manganaro grocery at 488 Ninth Avenue, famous for heros. A thousand men and women push, jostle, crowd to the store's long marble counter each noontime to grab up a hero, a cold beer or coffee. Some seven hundred eat lunch on the spot, another three hundred eat in the street or carry snacks back to their offices.
You know the hero? A monster contraption built like a sandwich but of vaster dimensions. The ordinary size costs 35 cents. That's half a French loaf of bread, the half split lengthwise, then the filling laid in. The filling may be proscuitto ham or mozzarele cheese or the two in combination. You can have tuna fish or sardines or salami. Some want a double hero, that's a whole loaf of the long French bread split lengthwise, then sandwiched, the price 70 cents. No mayonnaise, no butter, just bread and plenty of ham, cheese or whatever. The filling in, the top half of the loaf is clamped on and the whole bundled into a waiting hand.
27 March 1954, New York Herald Tribune, pg. 11, col. 6:
Antolette's Grew From Hero Sandwich
(...)
"What did you folks do before you came here?"
"Ever hear of the Ross Steak House on Liberty St.? We had that and before then Delphi Steak House in Brooklyn. But we got our start serving hero sandwiches down by the Navy Yard. Every move we make the places get nicer."
Posted by Barry Popik
New York City • Food and Drink • (0) Comments • Sunday, July 11, 2004 • Permalink
New York City • Food and Drink • (0) Comments • Sunday, July 11, 2004 • Permalink