On 2/14/2018 at 8:33 AM, ElsieD said:
What makes a sandwich a "grinder"?
It is a local term for a type of sandwich which were ubiquitous in the few small towns in Connecticut where I grew up. In 7th grade, I waited for the school bus outside of Moonie's grinder shop and on cold mornings Mrs. Moonie would let us wait inside. I would watch her make salami grinders (AKA "regular grinders" as opposed to ham or meatball or turkey). The process went like this: She would take a head of iceberg lettuce, deftly bang it, stem side down, on the counter and remove the plug like core. She would then put it on the meat slicer and finely slice it into a bowl, to which she added a good amount of salt and pepper and glug of olive oil. This was all mixed together with a fork. She would cut several foot long rolls, lengthwise and open them up like books and line them up, cut side up, on the counter. Olive oil was lightly drizzled on each cut side of the rolls. Half moon slices of provolone cheese went down the right hand side of each roll, topped by half moon slices of tomato. Similar slices of cooked salami covered the other side of each roll. Then, big handfuls of the lettuce mixture went down the center of each sandwich, followed by additional salt and pepper and crushed red pepper on a few. A bread knife held the lettuce mixture in place while the roll was folded closed. One by one, each sandwich was cut in half and tightly wrapped in butcher paper and taped shut. A black crayon put a mark one each to let her know what it was. These were for her "regulars" who would pull up to the shop and run in to grab their lunch. She would make most of the others to order while the customer waited during the day. I watched that process thousands of times, as a 7th grader, knowing full well that some day, I would make the magic happen myself.
HC
