cheesesteak bread

[jrichman]

where do all the big time famous cheesestak places in philly get the bread from? I want to visit them!

[MarketStEl]

Two leading suppliers of bread to local sandwich shops are Amoroso's Baking Company and Villotti-Pisanelli Baking Company.

Amoroso's is on South 55th Street in Southwest Philly, right by the R3 tracks, which means I see the place every morning. Villotti-Pisanelli is on 11th between Fitzwater and Catherine in Bella Vista.

Neither of these outfits' bread holds a candle to Sarcone's, two blocks east of V-P on South 9th Street at the northern tip of the Italian Market. However, they are better known as supplier to the area's best hoagie shops, including their own deli just up 9th from the bakery, at the corner of Fitzwater. And best of all, unlike the other two places, you can buy their bread at retail direct from the bakery, which is housed next to the retail store on 9th Street. If you want to do that, though, plan to visit very early in the day, as their bread sells out quickly. (Edited to add: Make that "unlike at Amoroso's." Vilotti-Pisanelli also has a retail store at the bakery that sells surplus bread. The bread Sarcone's sells at its store is baked fresh that day--that's why it sells out so fast.)

You can probably find Amoroso's bread at a supermarket near you, as they have distributors from coast to coast. It's not the greatest bread, but outside Philly, it's probably among the best you will be able to find for this purpose.

Edited March 5, 2007 by MarketStEl (log)

[Mummer]

I thought you were talking about those killer stuffed breads, like you can get at Marciano's in Manayunk.

My favorite is the one with pepper & eggs. As Ben Franklin said about beer (quoted on the tile wall of the Gray Lodge gents) "...proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."

Edited March 5, 2007 by Mummer (log)

[Andrew Fenton]

As Ben Franklin said about beer (quoted on the tile wall of the Gray Lodge gents) "...proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."

(Actually, he said it about wine. The beer thing is a misquotation, though a very common one. Anyway, the main point-- that wine, beer, cheese, bread and other products of yeasty goodness are miraculous-- is beyond question!)

[Rich Pawlak]

Check in with the owner of Carmen's Hoagies in the RTM, Carmen Diguglielmo, and ask him where he gets HIS bread. He sources the best bread always, and it isnt always the same provider, but his outrageously finicky nature gets him the best hoagie bread. The man is one fussy hoagie maker.

[jmbrightman]

I stole Maria Gallagher's post on the Show Us What You Got thread:

Roll call....

DiNic's uses Cacia's rolls.

Tony Luke's claims to bake rolls on the premises.

John's Roast Pork uses a seeded roll from Carangi's for large sandwiches, and a kaiser roll for the smaller sandwich.

George's on 9th Street uses Sarcone's and Vilotti.

Chickie's Italian Deli uses Sarcone's bread for the large hoagie Tuesday through Saturday; Vilotti bread is used for large hoagies on Mondays, and for small hoagies all week.

Pat's uses Vilotti rolls for the pork sandwiches.

[philadining]

Last time I got a hoagie from Carmen's, there were Liscio's bread boxes stacked everywhere. They were awesome rolls... I think I've seen those same boxes piled behind Pat's.

Jim beat me to cross-posting Maria's roll-call from the sandwich thread, and it reminded me how complex this gets, that some places use different bakeries for rolls for different sandwiches, or on different days of the week.... It's important to note that some of these places might use different rolls for the chesesteaks than they do for the Roast Pork or for hoagies.

But clearly there's no one roll for a cheesesteak. If you counted up all the food trucks and pizza places and corner delis, Amoroso probably sells more rolls for cheesesteaks than anyone else, but that doesn't mean the best places use them.

Edited March 5, 2007 by philadining (log)