I was listening to a great podcast from Food52 recently about Italian sandwiches: all the different terms we use for them like hoagie, grinder, sub, etc., as well as what makes them good.  



It had me thinking about my recent trip to Rubin's Deli, a Parkersburg restaurant that has been serving subs, sandwiches and salads for more than 50 years. 



This restaurant offers an Italian sandwich, but I actually ended up going with a Club, which isn't all that different: ham, turkey, bacon, swiss, shredded lettuce, tomato and mayo. But I wanted it cold. I tend to like my hoagies cold. I think of cold cuts with a dressing that I could pick up in a convenience store. I do like warm ones, too, like meatball - but I would call them a sub, not a hoagie. 



Fun fact I learned in that podcast: "Submarine" was given to the sandwich because of its shape. "Grinder" was because you have to gnaw with your teeth to get through it. "Hoagie" is a derivative of "hoggy" - as in, you have to be a hog to finish it. And "Hero" because you have to be a hero to finish it. 



In addition to my club hoagie, I got a bag of Mister Bees chips - a Parkersburg specialty. 



Rubin's has a good, solid hoagie. I liked that it was compact and not unwieldy to eat. It had amply mayo so it wasn't all bread. And the proportions were good. The fresh veggies were maybe a day or two past their prime - not as crisp or as flavorful as they could have been. But still a good sammich. 



Grade: B