A plaque remaining from the Big Apple Night Club at West 135th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem.

Above, a 1934 plaque from the Big Apple Night Club at West 135th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem. Discarded as trash in 2006. Now a Popeyes fast food restaurant on Google Maps.

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Entry from June 08, 2009
Torpedo Sandwich

Entry in progress—B.P.
 
The long list of the names of sandwiches served on long rolls includes blimpie, bomber, Cuban (medianoche), Dagwood, garibaldi, gondola, grinder, hero, hoagie, Italianjawbreaker, muffuletta, peacemaker (La Mediatrice), pilgrim, pistolette, po’ boy (poor boy), rocket, skyscraper, spiedie, spucky (spuckie, spukie), submarine (sub), torta (Mexican po’ boy), wedge and zeppelin (zep).
 
Wikipedia: Submarine sandwich
A submarine sandwich, also known as a sub, grinder, hero, hoagie, Italian sandwich, po’ boy, wedge, zep, or torpedo, is a popular Italian American sandwich that consists of an oblong roll, often of Italian or French bread, split lengthwise either into two pieces or opened in a “V” on one side, and filled with various meats, cheeses, vegetables, spices, and sauces. The sandwich has no apparent generic name, and major US cities have their own names for it. The usage of the several terms varies regionally but not in any pattern, as they have been used variously by the people and enterprises who make and sell them. The terms submarine and sub are widespread and not assignable to any certain region, though many of the localized terms are clustered in the northeast United States, where the most Italian Americans live.
(...)
. Torpedo (shaped like a torpedo) — New York, New Jersey, other areas.
 
17 March 1927, Sacramento (CA) Bee, pg. 5, col. 7 classified ads:
OPEN a Business. Start a Torpedo Sandwich stand. See demonstration Why-not store, Friday and Saturday.
(...)
WANTED—District Distributing Manager for Torpedo Sandwich machine. See Russel, 618 Ochener Bldg.
 
10 May 1940, Trenton (NJ) Evening Times, pg. 24, col. 2 ad:
ARCADIA CAFE
GREENWOOD & BROAD
Torpedo Sandwich…13c
 
19 September 1940, Trenton (NJ) Evening Times, pg. 21, col. 4 ad:
...OUR JUMBO TORPEDO SANDWICHES… 
THE BARTOLINI CANTEEN
 
27 September 1940, Trenton (NJ) Evening Times, pg. 20, col. 4 ad:
ORLANDO CAFE
184-86 Anderson St.
Come Out Enjoy Our Italian Sausage
with Peppers—Torpedo Sandwiches
 
8 November 1940, Trenton (NJ) Evening Times, pg. 29, col. 5 ad:
THE BARTOLINI CANTEEN
Jumbo Torpedo Sandwiches, 10c.
 
21 March 1941, Trenton (NJ) Evening Times, pg. 22, col. 8 ad:
ANCHOR INN
Featuring Nick’s
Torpedo Sandwich
15c
Nick Latoof, Prop.
 
20 February 1950, Newport (RI) Daily News, pg. 12, col. 5 classified ad:
EXCLUSIVE! Torpedo Sandwich. A meal in itself. “It’s the Talk of the Town.” Cafe 200. Pizzaphone 232.
   
24 May 1951, Fairport (NY) Herald-Mail, pg. 6, col. 1 ad:
THE COTTAGE HOTEL’S NEW
COFFEE SHOP
FEATURING THE NEW
TORPEDO SANDWICH
Consisting of sliced Salami, tomato, cheese, lettuce and onion, served on a Pistaloni loaf.
 
15 July 1951, Lowell (MA) Sun, pg. 49, col. 1 ad:
Try one of our Famous Torpedo Sandwiches
30c 45c
(Wilmington Diner—ed.)
 
29 June 1952, Syracuse (NY) Post-Standard, “Better Know Food Names On Your Trip” by Bob and Shirley Sloane, pg. 33, col. 4:
Those fabulous italian meat, cheese and tomato sandwiches (made of a whole loaf of French bread sliced lengthwise) are just Italian sandwiches or grinders in New England, poor boys in New Orleans, and torpedoes and submarines in various other parts of the country. (...) In the South most sandwiches are spread with mayonnaise; in the North with butter.
 
2 July 1954, Portsmouth (NH) Herald, pg. 17, col. 4 classified ad:
AL’S B-Z-B MARKET
FEATURING
ITALIAN TORPEDO
SANDWICHES
40c ea.
 
24 September 1955, Newport (RI) Daily News, pg. 3, col. 6 ad:
Sirloin Steak
Sandwich
On Toasted
Torpedo Roll
Or Toast
60c
(The Charcoal Galley, Middleton, RI—ed.)
     
8 May 1958, Blytheville (AR) Courier News, “Hero Sandwich Ideal for Parties” by Cecily Brownstone (Associated Press Food Editor), pg. 12. cols. 3-4:
A MAMMOTH-SIZE sandwich has been getting around under a lot of aliases. Call it a hero, jawbreaker, grinder, submarine, wedgie, poor boy, hoagy, dagwood, zep, gondola, torpedo, gismo, or BIG SANDWICH. It all depends on where you live. But one thing is certain, this sandwich is made from an individual loaf of French or Italian bread—white or whole wheat—or a long loaf of the same, cut into shorter lengths.
 
Its filling is something out of this world—a mountain of savory foods to dream about. Ham, salami, bologna, head cheese are some of the meats that may be piled on top of each other, layer on layer. Tuna fish, smoked salmon, anchovies might be the layers of fish. Next comes cheese. Then vegetables—green peppers (raw or roasted), pimiento, raw onion, tomato, lettuce. Olives and pickles give everything extra savor. No law says you have to include all these; that’s the best part of these structures—you can choose your favorites for the filling.
   
Google Books
How to write and sell magazine articles
By Richard Gehman
New York, NY: Harper
1959
Pg. 209:
I began in Manchester, New Hampshire, where one day on Elm Street I saw torpedo sandwiches advertised.
     
Google Books
Gillian
By Frank Yerby
New York, NY: Dial Press
1960
Pg. 278:
I was eating one of them torpedo sandwiches— a yard of bread with salami, sardines, onions, olives, and every other thing Silvetti had left over in his hash house.
   
13 January 1960, San Francisco (CA) Chronicle, Herb Caen column, second sec., pg. 15, col. 1:
Barnabull Conrad is about to stretch his tentacles across B’way. Working on a deal to take over Mike’s historic pool hall, where the now classic Torpedo Sandwich originated, and turn it into a fancy Hof Brau operation called Portsmouth House.
 
19 February 1964, New York (NY) Times, “Mrs. Russell Cruikshank Dies; Civic Leader in Brooklyn, 75,” pg. 36:
Although she was active in many philanthropic and civic organizations in Brooklyn and gave her energies to historical and patriotic societies, Mrs. Cruikshank probably considered the time she devoted to the Navy Street Canteen during World War II as the most rewarding period.
 
It was during this service that she learned about culinary tastes, living habits and social mores of a variety of servicemen. She was one of three women who organized the canteen before Pearl Harbor in an abandoned schoolhouse at Navy and Concord Streets, near the New York Naval Shipyard.
     
Lesson From Sailors
Mrs. Cruikshank once recalled her shock at learning about new foods.  “I’d like a torpedo sandwich, please,” a sailor asked during the early days of the canteen.
   
She was stumped and admitted it. But she made it her business to find out what it was.  Thereafter, no request for a torpedo sandwich stymied her. She knew that it consisted of a long French bread slit lengthwise and crammed with all the things that a serviceman’s peculiar tastes sought.
   
5 September 1971, New York (NY) Times, pg. XX1:
The Traveler’s Guide
To Hash-House Greek

By DAN CARLINSKY
(...)
How else would you know that to order submarine sandwiches (those grand concoctions of onions, sandwich meat, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, oregano and oil served on a long roll) you must ask for hoagies in Birmingham, grinders in Hartford, heros in New York, poor boys in New Orleans, rockets in Cheyenne, torpedoes in San Diego, Italian sandwiches in Louisville, and Cuban sandwiches in Miami.
     
4 August 1977, Washington (DC) Post, “Please Pass the Subs—Er, Hoagies, Er…,” pg. E10:
Submarine, he (Howard Robboy of Temple University, who wrote an American Speech article on sandwich names—ed.) found, is the most popular name for the sandwich, followed by hoagie, poor boy and grinder. In some cities they go by more than one name, such as Philadelphia, where one finds both hoagies and submarines. Other names are torpedo (Reno, San Antonio, San Diego), Italian sandwich (Louisville, Reading, Allentown), hero (New York City and Newark), rocket (Cheyenne and Cincinnati), bomber in Buffalo, mufalatta in New Orleans, Cuban sandwich in Miami, wedgie in Weschester County, N. Y. and slame in Berkeley. Norristown is the only place it is referred to as a zeppelin, and Madison the only place one finds it as a garibaldi.
     
27 April 1978, Christian Science Monitor, “Heroic as applied to a sandwich” by J. Lee Anderson, pg. 18:
The supersandwich, depending where in the country you happen to live, is variously known as Submarine, Torpedo. Hoagie, Poor Boy, Grinder, Rocket, Bomber, Zeppelin, and what may be most appropriate for this heroic-sized masterpiece, Hero.
     
Fast Casual
Quiznos launches Torpedo sandwich promo
08 Jun 2009
DENVER — Quiznos has announced the launch of its “Where Do You Torpedo?” promotioon, giving consumers the chance to win $10,000 for demonstrating how to eat Toasty Torpedo sandwiches, whether in an unusual place or while doing an unexpected activity.
 
Beginning today, fans of the sandwich can upload pictures or videos showing where or how they’ve eaten a Toasty Torpedo sub to http://www.toastytorpedo.com, accompanied by a brief description and optional musical soundtrack.
(...)
The Toasty Torpedoes are available for a limited time, are priced at $4 and come in five varieties, each made individually to order, including:
 
. Italian: Pepperoni, spicy capicola, ham, mozzarella cheese and red wine vinaigrette topped with crisp lettuce and chopped tomatoes
. Big Kahuna Tuna: Tuna salad, cheddar cheese, sliced banana peppers topped with crisp lettuce and chopped tomatoes
. Pesto Turkey: Thinly-sliced oven-roasted turkey, red wine vinaigrette, mozzarella cheese and basil pesto topped with crisp lettuce and chopped tomatoes
. Turkey Club: Thinly-sliced oven-roasted turkey, crisp bacon, red wine vinaigrette, mozzarella cheese and mayo topped with crisp lettuce and chopped tomatoes
. Beef, Bacon & Cheddar: Thinly-sliced roast beef, crisp bacon, mayo, cheddar cheese, and mustard topped with crisp lettuce and chopped tomatoes
 
(Trademark)
Word Mark TOASTY TORPEDOES
Goods and Services IC 030. US 046. G & S: sandwiches
Standard Characters Claimed
Mark Drawing Code (4) STANDARD CHARACTER MARK
Serial Number 77583597
Filing Date October 1, 2008
Current Filing Basis 1B
Original Filing Basis 1B
Published for Opposition February 17, 2009
Owner (APPLICANT) QIP Holder LLC LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY DELAWARE 1475 Lawrence Street, Suite 400 Denver COLORADO 80202
Attorney of Record Andrew Roppel
Prior Registrations 2892389;2901076;2921118;2971338;AND OTHERS
Disclaimer NO CLAIM IS MADE TO THE EXCLUSIVE RIGHT TO USE “‘TORPEDOES’” APART FROM THE MARK AS SHOWN
Type of Mark TRADEMARK
Register PRINCIPAL
Live/Dead Indicator LIVE

Posted by Barry Popik
New York CityFood/Drink • Monday, June 08, 2009 • Permalink


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