A look at Philly’s Sandwich Legacy in Mike Madaio’s A History of Philadelphia Sandwiches: Steaks, Hoagies, Iconic Eateries & More

Philly is a sandwich town, Mike Madaio contends, in his new history examining the food. In A History of Philadelphia Sandwiches, he takes a deep dive into the hot dogs, hoagies, cheesesteaks, roast pork , and cullet sandwiches that define the cuisine in Philadelphia. The book also more briefly touches on lesser sandwiches available around the city, including items like stromboli (dubious these are sandwiches), and the city’s bakeries that produce sandwich breads.

The book opens on the hot dog, and Madaio acknowledges the competing, confusing, and sometimes conflicting claims about the inventors of the hot dog. The same is true of popular recipes like the Texas Weiner. A champion of Phildlephia’s cuisine, he nevertheless attributes most of the successes to the city. He also tackles the question of whether hot dogs are in fact sandwiches, determining in the end that they are.

The hot dog narratives are important in part because the stands selling hot dogs often ended up selling other types of sandwiches like cheesesteaks and roast pork. Cheesesteak history is fairly well established and documented even without Madaio’s research, but he does a good job of explaining how the sandwich grew in popularity, how shops have differing quality meats, and how the steak sandwich eventually started getting cheese and cheese wiz.

Roast pork sandwiches have a bit more of a mystery to them and are much lesser known outside the city, despite winning national awards and being featured on food television programs. Madaio does a good job of tracking down some the roast pork journey from a humble meat sandwich to one topped with cheese and bitter green vegetables.

The book’s structure is straight forward. Each chapter looks at a sandwich, and these are broken up into many small subsections. This design feels a bit like the book is taking cues from internet writing that tends to lean heavily on short digestible pieces for SEO optimization. In a book, it feels a bit like a narrative shortcut, but does expedite the narrative.

Much of the book relies on Craig LaBan’s opinions, research, and journalism. LeBan is a food reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer, and citations of his work are interwoven through the book. But at times it seems like LaBan is expert on the sandwiches rather than Madaio.Overall the narrative may have benefited from a bit more of Madaio’s personal experiences with the sandwiches.

What the book does have is the photographic examples of the foods. It’s a reminder of how difficult it is to photograph sandwiches, and make them appealing. The images are useful though, especially in full color. They also serve as a kind of proof that Madaio is a fan of the sandwiches and ate them. They are a useful way of documenting these foods, especially in a few decades’ time when they may have evolved again.

The lesser sandwiches discussed in the book are far less iconic. Including them provides a look at the here and now of sandwiches, though most of these are not significant culinary contributions. Including stromboli here is another example, too, of stretching the definition of a sandwich. I would have liked to see a bit more here, actually. Stromboli have appeared in places other than Philadelphia, and like hot dogs, their origin has a debated history.

Generally, A History of Philadelphia Sandwiches delivers a well-researched, easy-to-read look at the sandwiches that are unique to Philly. It’s hard to critique a book that delivers exactly what it claims.