There's No Sinking This Sub

Greetings, Dear Readers!

Welcome back for another excited sandwiching experience in Los Angeles.

This week, I was asked to come to Giamela's Submarine Sandwiches in Burbank for one of their highly praised submarine sandwiches.

What I really liked about this place was how stripped down it was. The sign offered only a handful of choices for sandwiches, and all looked delicious. The interior of the shop was basic: wood colored walls, not many signs, a small TV, and a few tables to sit at. This was a great place to have a dinner and not be distracted by noise.

After taking a few moments to decide between two different sandwiches, I stepped up and ordered the pepper steak and cheese sandwich with everything on top.

The sandwich itself was delicious. In a way, it was very similar to a cheese steak with the chopped steak and melted cheese, but the meat wasn't heated up as much as a cheesesteak normally is. I would have to say it was an Italian sub style take on one of my favorite sandwiches.

Topping off the steak and cheese was lettuce, tomatoes, peppers and onions.

The steak was excellent. Seriously amazing. It was lean, cooked to perfection and delicious. Oh and the quantity was ridiculous. I mean, this sandwich was bursting with meat, it was hard to take the first bite without trying to flatten the sandwich some.

The bread taste good too, and did an excellent job at holding the sandwich together. With that much filling stuffed in there, you'd think it would fall apart after a few bites, but it toughed it out and made it to the end. it's pretty commendable for bread to not only taste good, but be tough enough for a job of this proportion.

The toppings of lettuce, tomatoes, peppers and onions added well to the flavors of the sandwich and were made of some of the freshest ingredients I've had at a sandwich shop in awhile.

All in all, my first experience at Giamela's was an entirely positive one. The next time you're heading to Burbank from further west in the valley, make sure to keep your eyes peeled for this small shop on Magnolia before you cross the 5.

The shop may be small, but it's big on flavor.

Until next week, Readers...

**** Stars

Pepper Steak and Cheese Sandwich

Giamela's Submarine Sandwiches

216 W. Magnolia Blvd.

Burbank, CA 91502

Hometown Hero

Greeting Dear Readers!

It's baseball season, if you hadn't heard yet, and because of that I've decided to celebrate the return of one of my favorite pitchers to my home town team with a delicious sandwich of my own.

So in order to celebrate Cliff Lee's return to the Philadelphia Phillies, I decided to throw a party where we would watch the game, and I would be the sandwich maker under scrutiny.

For this party, I made my own cheesesteaks.

Now I've reviewed a few cheesesteaks from around Los Angeles, from the great to the abysmal. I've also eaten enough in my life that I know what I like and dislike on a sandwich.

So for starters, this sandwich will not include cheez-wiz

For the steaks, I grabbed up a bunch of Steak-umms from Ralph's and gave each sandwich 3 slices.

Off to the side of the cooking steaks, I had two different pans running: one with onions and peppers grilling in a little bit of olive oil, and the second with chopped baby bella mushrooms also in a drop of olive oil.

The problem really becomes co-ordinating the three pans at first. Mushrooms cook very fast and have a very small window of being perfect. A second too long and they're overdone.

When the steaks were just about done cooking, I added the mushrooms, onions, and peppers on top, and the laid down three slices of provolone cheese (i.e. not wiz) and let it melt for a few seconds before stacking it in the roll.

As a surprise ingredient, I had fries cooking in the oven which I then generously added to my sandwich. Taking cues from Primanti Bros. in Pittsburgh, I thought I'd take a shot at this, and it turned out to be welcome addition. Try it next time you make your own at home.

My only regret with the sandwich was the bread. I searched around for good steak rolls, and then even good sourdough rolls but could not find any last minute as I prepared for the game. The rolls I had were somewhat fluffy on the inside, with poppy seeds on the outside. They weren't bad, but could have been a lot better had I time to look at another store.

So, whether you enjoy baseball or not, I highly suggest you try your hand at creating this sandwich in your own home. For me, it reminds me of growing up in a wonderful town that loves its people, its teams, and its history.

Until next time, Dear Readers...

Reading Terminal Sandwich Roundup

Welcome back dear seekers of DANGER!

This week's entry wraps up my trip to my hometown of Brotherly Love.

Philadelphia has far too many spectacular eateries to visit in one week, so I will have to visit even more on my next trip home. Sadly I was not able to review any cheesesteaks from my favorite places or even try the cult famous Schmidtter (next time, sandwich!).

Regardless, I chose to tackle a sandwich that was recommended by about 15 people before I even showed up: DiNic's Roast Pork Sandwich.

I can't remember the last time I was at the Reading Terminal Market, but it's been at least a decade. And for whatever reason, it seemed even more packed than I remember it being years ago.

After wading through people to find DiNic's amid the Christmas Chaos, I was surprised to find a line so long that I waited in line for nearly half an hour. Would it be worth the wait?

I ordered the roast pork on an italian roll with sweet peppers and provolone. The roll was fresh, soft, and delicious with an amazing golden color. When I bit into the sandwich, the roll had just the right amount of give so that it wasn't too mushy or tough. Just right for this sandwich.

The provolone cheese was placed on the roll itself, underneath the pork. Normally, I prefer it to be on top of the sandwich, so that the cheese can melt down into the sandwich, but the pork was just hot enough when added to create a gooey layer of cheese along the roll.


The pork is roasted in a gravy throughout the day, and was very tender from the hours of marinating and cooking. As tender and juicy as the roast pork was, I expected a slightly stronger taste. Something that screamed "I'm marinated for hours and full of flavor" but my expectations were not met.

Did the pork taste well? Yes. Was it as overflowing with flavor as I would have liked it? Not quite.

The strong taste of the provolone and the roasted sweet peppers produced a smoky and then sweet taste to the sandwich, but definitely overpowered the taste of the pork. If I hadn't taken a slice off of the sandwich, I wouldn't have been able to sample the true roast pork flavor. It was great, I just wish it had been more prominent.

Overall, I enjoyed the Roast Pork Sandwich at DiNic's. I think it's worth a try, and I'd definitely give it another shot because maybe I just came on an off day. I'm just not so sure I'd wait another half hour for the sandwich next time.


Roast Pork Sandwich
*** 1/2 Stars
DiNic's Oven Roasted Beef and Pork
Reading Terminal Market
51 North 12th Street, Philadelphia, PA