Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[Blossom]

I get very confused trying to understand American recipes.

Can somebody explain these terms to me, please.

hoagie roll
vienna bread
hero sandwich
submarine sandwich
muffuletta
poor boy

What is or are
Vidalia Onions?
shortening
sweet onion

[asterix]

hoagie

a long thin loaf of bread filled with salad and cold meat or cheese.

hero


a long thin sandwich filled with cold meat, cheese, salad, etc.

submarine sandwich (INFORMAL sub) a long thin loaf of bread filled with salad and cold meat or cheese.

Poor boy (po' boy)
Another US sandwich that is served on a bun. I have had shrimp, beef and just about everything that will fit between two halves of a bun in the southern USA.

muffuletta - sorry blossom, I've never heard of it. Probably it's another sandwich.

Vidalia onions - are sweet, mild, delicious, onions that originally were developed in Vidalia in the state of Georgia ( I think) in the USA.

Sweet onions - see above.


Shortening is a vegetable fat used for cooking in place of lard or butter. It comes in white 1 lb rectangular blocks (454 g.)

[Blossom]

Many thanks, Asterix.

It seems to me that making sandwiches using long thin loaves is popular but how you tell the difference between a hoagie, a hero, and a submarine I do not know.

But thanks.

[iitimone7]

...it all depends on what city you're in. iitimone7

[Blossom]

Can you tell me which cities use which word, please.

[iitimone7]

well, everything is different in new york - i know that they have different words. i don't live in a major US city, so i don't know for sure...anyone?

iitimone7

[bud]

I'd say that hero and submarine are the most common in the New York City area. In the Philadelphia area, I think hoagie is more common. I think po' boy is common in all or parts of the southern U.S.

[iitimone7]

thanks bud!!

[Blossom]

Thanks everbody.

But they are strange names. How did they arrive?

Why Hoagie?
Why Hero?
Why Submarine

and certainly why Poor Boy (po' Boy)?

[bud]

Well, submarine because it is shaped like a submarine ship; Po' Boy because it is a big sandwich that will cheaply fill the belly of a poor boy.

I have no clue about the others, but couldn't we ask the same question about most nouns? Why do we call things shirts, socks, rocks, bats, hats, etc.?

[clonc]

My etymological dictionary says:

Hoagie: American English. (originally Philadelphia) "large sandwich made from a long, split roll," originally hoggie (c.1936), traditionally said to be named for Big Band songwriter Hoagland Howard "Hoagy" Carmichael (1899-1981), but the use of the word pre-dates his celebrity and the original spelling seems to suggest another source. Modern spelling is c.1945, and may have been altered by influence of Carmichael's nickname.

Hero: the New York term for a sandwich elsewhere called submarine, grinder, poor boy (New Orleans), or hoagie (Philadelphia), is 1955, origin unknown, perhaps folk etymology of Gk. gyro, a type of sandwich.

[advoca]

A muffuletta is specialty of New Orleans, and is a sandwich. It consists of the round loaf of crusty Italian bread, split and filled with layers of sliced Provolone cheese, Genoa salami and Cappicola ham, topped with Olive Salad: a chopped mixture of green, unstuffed olives, pimientos, celery, garlic, c ocktail onions, capers, oregano, parsley, olive oil, red-wine vinegar, salt and pepper. It originated at the Central Grocery in 1906. For almost 100 years, they have served up the Muffuletta sandwich, which is right up next to the Roast Beef Po-Boy as signature sandwiches of New Orleans.

[advoca]

I asked an American friend from New Orleans about Po-boys. This is what he sent me.

Hero. Sub. Hoagie. Grinder. These words are foreign to the vocabulary of the native New Orleanian. That's because here in New Orleans, we eat po-boys. Oh, we eat hamburgers, muffelettas, and sandwiches on sliced bread also, but the po-boy is a staple at lunch counters across the metro area.

What makes a po-boy special is the bread. A po-boy isn't a po-boy unless it's made with good quality, fresh French bread. New Orleans French bread has a crunchy crust with a very light center. The loaves are about 3' in length, and are about 3-4" wide.

Roast beef and shrimp are the most popular fillings for a po-boy, but just about anything can be put inside a loaf of French bread and taste good. Freshness and quality are the two most important aspects of what goes inside a po-boy.

There's really no limit to what can be made into a po-boy. Streetcar Sandwiches does a great smothered duck po-boy, for example [if they still exist, that is]. Fried catfish is growing in popularity. The low-fat movement has prompted several places to add grilled chicken *beep* to their po-boy menus, but the combination of ingredients that make a great po-boy don't lend themselves to restricted diets, so this addition to the menus hasn't been that earth-shaking.

The name "po-boy" is, of course, a shortened version of "poor boy." The name stems from the fact that a po-boy used to be a very inexpensive way to get a very solid meal. The least expensive po-boys on the menu will almost always be those with the cheapest fillings. Luncheon meat, sausage, and French fries. French fries? You betcha! A French fry po-boy with roast beef gravy is a wonderful treat. Watching guys in suits eating French fry po-boys down in the CBD may seem like a "what is wrong with this picture" scene, but you won't understand until you try one. Same for a luncheon meat po-boy with roast beef gravy. Italian and hot sausage po-boys are cheaper than roast beef or shrimp, but they're still good if the sausage is good.

So there you are!

[bud]

It's nice to see all the discussion in here! Interesting comments Clonc and Advoca! I forgot about grinder. Anyone know the origin of that? Maybe because they are so big you really have to grind down on them with your teeth?

[Cathy88]

Hey! Come on guys!

In regions of the United States there are many different terms for sandwiches using long rolls (French bread). In the Northwestern United States, the term "Submarine," "Sub," or "Sub Sandwich" is most commonly heard. These have fillings of meat, cheese, lettuce, tomato, and various condiments, sauces or salad. Because the meat is not fried, submarine sandwiches are generally considered to be healthier than hamburgers.

There are many regional names:

� Bomb -- New England, usually used for hot sandwiches with melted cheese (for example, a cheesesteak is sometimes called a "Steak Bomb")
� Bomber -- New Jersey
� Zep -- New Jersey
� Torpedo -- New Jersey
� Grinder -- New England
� Hero sandwich -- New York, northern New Jersey and the Eastern United States
� Hoagie -- Philly, Pittsburgh,southern New Jersey, other eastern US
� Italian -- New Jersey, Maine, Maryland
� Poor boy or "Po'boy" -- Louisiana
� Spuckie -- Boston, Massachusetts
� Wedge -- New Jersey and Westchester and Rockland Counties in New York
� In the Midwestern United States, they are generally known as subs, though 'hoagies' and 'grinders' are occasionally heard, particularly in reference to hot sandwiches.