jane's joint: It's a grind

Food is strangely regional.

When I moved to the midwest, for example, I was very confused by the term "mostaccioli". On the east coast that pasta is called ziti. People here pronounce gyro what I assume is the correct way - yeeero. Out east? jy-ro. I got made fun of here (by my husband) when I called it that.

Pizza here is totally different. In addition to the whole Chicago deep dish option, which is awesome, even thin crust pizzas are different; they're typically cut into squares vs slices.

And slices just aren't a thing in Chicago. I've never heard anyone ask if I wanted to 'get a slice' nor have I seen many of those countertop heaters in pizza joints from which you could procure a slice. They are ubiquitous in the northeast.

Chicago hot dogs rule. Hot dogs on the streets of NYC and in Shea stadium are epic, no doubt. But Chicago has truly perfected the art of the dog, the kraut, the hot peppers, the spicy mustard, the heat, the whole shebang.

I'd never had a brat before moving to Texas. (At Wurstfest in New Braunfels, Texas, you actually get a beer cup with a hollow handle where you can insert your brat-on-a-stick and alternate between delicious bites and sips. Kinda gross but kinda awesome.) And in Wisconsin brats are de rigueur. No coincidence that both states had a huge German immigrant influx. Wisconsin wins for inventing the beer brat - the concept of poaching the brat in beer before grilling.

Italian beef is a delicious Chicago tradition - slow cooked roast beef cooked in broth and spices and sliced super thin, served on a roll with giardiniera. Never had it before I moved here. Pepperoni is common on a cheese tray out east, here it's hard to get a stick unless you ask for it special.

But one thing I never see out here, but which I grew up savoring, is a grinder. Long loaf of crusty bread prepped with some class of dressing and stuffed with a combo of meat and cheese and veggies and toasted. Outside of the northeast, and specifically the tri-state area (CT/NY/NJ), people tend to call them subs. Or hoagies. Or heroes. Or po' boys. But in my mind? And my heart? And my stomach? It's a grinder, baby.

What is a grinder and how is it unique, you ask? Bon Appetit magazine did a piece a few years ago entitled, "The origin of hoagies, grinders, subs, heroes and spuckies" and here's what they had to say:

Grinder: You’re most likely to find one of these in New England, though the more common “sub” has taken over most of the terrain. “Grinder” shares some flimsy nautical roots with the sub – some claim that it was named for “grinders,” Italian-American slang for dockworkers (who were often sanding and grinding rusty hulls to repaint them)–but the more widely attested origin is about the sandwich itself. Subs, with their Italian bread and piles of fixings, were harder to chew through than your typical ham and cheese on white bread. That toothsomeness got translated into “grinder,” since that’s what your teeth had to do to get through a bite.

Grinders to me are tied up in memories of the beach, tailgating, high school and my beloved Connecticut. My sister Ellie loves herself a grinder and mentions them frequently via email and her blog. Last week's post even included a picture. That right there? That's a grinder.

She even wrote a whole post about grinders once, seeing as she lives in New London, which claims to be the home of the grinder, and they have a whole festival devoted to the grinder. Grinderfest!

So what's a Connecticut yankee in the midwest to do?

Make it. Or buy it.

And this is where La Rosa comes in. Our favorite neighborhood pizza place. In business since 1957. The place where they answer the phone "La Rosa" and I say, 'hey Dom, it's Jane". Now La Rosa doesn't call their sandwiches grinders, but they should, because they are about as close as I have gotten to a grinder in these midwestern states.

Here's La Rosa