The Deli

I know I've talked about this before. Right now I have a very strong craving for a hoagie. That's a sandwich which Subway and Jersey Mike's has tried to copy, but can't. No matter what, they can't make a hoagie (called a sub by some) like the deli's of South Jersey did and still do.

I'm not talking Philly Cheese Steak -- that's a different sandwich. I'm talking hoagie.

Now, in Runnemede, there was a Deli on the pike. It was always crowded. Always. You took a number (at least if you were invisible by the time your number came up you got waited on), and then ordered.

They had all kinds of Italian meats -- salami -- at least six different kinds, ham -- prosciutto, capicola, pepper ham, boiled ham, baked ham, pancetta -- and cheese -- three kinds -- provolone, swiss, and square -- you folks know that one as American. But it wasn't yellow. It was white. Now I can go into Krogers and get white American cheese, but if I ask for American cheese I'm defaulted to yellow, unless I specify white. In South Jersey if you ask for American cheese they know you mean yellow, but if you ask for "square" cheese (because sliced it is a square hunk) you get white American. Yummy.

Hoagies were the mainstay of the delicatessens. They weren't heated, they weren't pressed, they were just juicy and so very good.

The Deli on the pike went out of business and then on Clements Bridge Road Vince's deli took over where that one left off. I guess Vince's started up in the mid-60s. Mom and I loved to go there. He had the requisite pickle barrel -- you could get a "Jewish" pickle for a nickle, then a dime. Last time I was there, they cost a quarter -- still a good buy, since they are quite large. He had the "roll tub" -- that was a big barrel where the freshly baked rolls were stored and you took a bag and filled it with as many rolls as you needed. Hoagie rolls, that is. He had Philadelphia pretzels, brought in each morning from Philly. And, of course, he had meats. And he also had a good stock of TastyKakes.

There was another deli up at 6th Avenue and the pike, and I think my brother favored their sandwiches over Vince's. Anyway Vince's is gone now, too. People get old, retire, die, etc. So is the deli on 6th.

The last time I went east -- which was three years ago -- I went to Vince's and I did get a Hoagie. He told me at that time -- and he always remembered me as I would visit him each time I returned to Runnemede to get a hoagie and to take back home the meats I couldn't get readily in Cincinnati -- that he was retiring and that he was closing down in a month. How sad. He was, he admitted in his early 80s and he thought it was time.

The hoagie I purchased that day, though, tasted as good as the ones I bought when I was a kid. It just took him a little longer to make it. :)

A hogaie has a special roll -- I have only found them in the Philadelphia area -- they're a mix of Italian and French bread, then you have layered meats, at least six Italian meats, three kinds of cheese, lettuce, not a lot of the stuff like at Subway, tomatoes, onions, oil, vinegar, just the right mixture, and spices, light on the spices, not heavy like at Subway. And to top it all off, hot pepper spread. You can only get the stuff back east. So I stock up. My stock is running low, since I haven't been back there for three years, but then Alan won't eat it.

I always doctor up any subs (hoagies) we get at Jersey Mikes with hoagie spread -- that's what the pepper spread is called. Not ultra hot peppers, but they can cause a sweat. I'm salivating.


PS: I googled Vince's Runnemede and there are some listings for the Deli on the I-net. However, I couldn't find any dates as to whether the place is still in operation, or for sale. Anyway, Vince told me he was retiring and that was three years ago. I suppose he could still not be retired.