Southwest side subs

Hoping some southwest side lurkers will chime in and with some tips for excellent subs. I know Fontanos on 95th and Freddy's in Cicero, but nothing in between. Help!

Calbria Imports
1905 W 103rd

Peppos
10303 S Roberts Rd
Palos Hills

Frangella
11925 S 80th Ave
Palos Park

These are the ones I could think of off the top of my head. If you do a search, I think jimswside put together a topic of ones he has tried lately.

metro man wrote:Calbria Imports
1905 W 103rd

Peppos
10303 S Roberts Rd
Palos Hills

Frangella
11925 S 80th Ave
Palos Park

These are the ones I could think of off the top of my head. If you do a search, I think jimswside put together a topic of ones he has tried lately.

good call on those -

here is the link to the Orland/Tinley/Homer thread where I tried a few outside chicago in the sw burbs.:

viewtopic.php?f=14&t=646&hilit=

My 2 favorites and totally different sandwiches are Italia & Peppos. As soon as I can open my jaw i'm deadheading to Italia for a sub.

Rosario's Italian Sausage
8611 S Pulaski Rd Chicago, IL 60652
(773) 585-0660

Thanks team!

If you want a straight-ahead submarine sandwich that is a step up from Subway, Mr. Sub, and Jimmy John's, but not quite on the level of Bari's or Fontano's, I think Submarine Port on 51st and California does a solid job. Get the Port sub (ham, capicolla, salami). The bread is not outstanding (it's a sesame seed roll a la Turano's--for all I know, it may be Turano's), but the deli meats are better than your average sub shop. And the price is right, too. The regular sub (which I think is 8 inches) runs under $5. The Yelp reviews are a bit more enthusiastic about it than I am, but it's the best sub I've found I've found in my general neighborhood on the southwest side.

Some good places are mentioned but I wouldn't consider most to be located anywhere between Freddy's (1600 S, 6100 W) and Fontano's (9500 S, 2200 W). The two that are—Submarine Port and Rosario's—serve subs I'm not terribly enthusiastic about. I can't come up with anything better though.

As pointed out above, Submarine Port's bread isn't very good. I'd say the same about the processed cheese, salami and ham that make up the Port. The capicola is enjoyable and I certainly can't complain about the price ($3.99).



I guess I'd rate it above Mr Submarine but it'd be uncomfortably close (I think I remember Mr Sub's bread being better, believe it or not).

At Rosario's, an extra dollar gets you a bigger and much better sandwich. Almost every component of their Italian sub is superior to Submarine Port's but it's still far from my favorite. They use a slightly sweet Italian dressing that if overapplied pretty much ruins the sandwich for me (no plain oil and vinegar is available).



It's not at all a bad sandwich (at least if that dressing doesn't bother you). I'm actually a fan of Rosario's and would recommend a meatball sub or, better yet, a sandwich of their excellent Italian sausage. They serve a breaded steak that I have yet to try.

Submarine Port
2759 W 51st St
Chicago
773-737-6634

Rosario's Italian Sausage
8611 S Pulaski Rd
Chicago
773-585-0660

Rene G wrote:Some good places are mentioned but I wouldn't consider most to be located anywhere between Freddy's (1600 S, 6100 W) and Fontano's (9500 S, 2200 W). The two that are—Submarine Port and Rosario's—serve subs I'm not terribly enthusiastic about. I can't come up with anything better though.

As pointed out above, Submarine Port's bread isn't very good. I'd say the same about the processed cheese, salami and ham that make up the Port. The capicola is enjoyable and I certainly can't complain about the price ($3.99).



I guess I'd rate it above Mr Submarine but it'd be uncomfortably close (I think I remember Mr Sub's bread being better, believe it or not).

There's a Submarine Port in South Holland that I would describe exactly as you did. Unremarkable subs that are popular because there's no serious competition in the areas they serve.


Submarine Port
617 E 162nd St
South Holland, IL 60473

Well, I am grading on a curve here. Out in this part of town, there's not much unless you go all the way down to Rosario's or end up in Cicero. Submarine Port is in that style of Southwest Side sub joints like Submarine Pier, Midway Sub, and a couple more places down Archer towards Central and Harlem whose names I forget (or possibly are even gone. I seem to remember one near Archer and Naragansett. ETA: Actually, I think this may be the Midway Sub which moved into the old Mr. Sub place in the strip mall a few doors down. ETA2: Actually, no, that's not it, as it seems Midway Sub was established as Mr. Sub in 1990 in that location, and is just a rebranded version of the former. I could swear there was a small stand-alone sub place right there on the southwest corner of Archer & Naragansett when I was growing up, and I thought it might have been called Midway Sub, but apparently not. ETA3: Ah, Yellow Submarine was the place I was thinking of. It's a little farther down, near Oak Park Ave.) I remember tons of these places going up.) I find it a clear step up from Mr. Sub (the last two times I've been there, I've gotten bread so chewy my jaw literally hurt and I had to heat up the sandwich to make it edible.) My memories of Mr. Sub from the 80s, though, are closer to what the Midway area joints are like. These are not fine Italian-meat-and-cheeses subs, but I find their cold cuts better than Subway and Jimmy John's. (A low bar, to be sure, but I truly enjoy Jimmy John's. Can't say the same for Subway or Mr. Sub, though.)

Of course, if you want a sandwich around here, your best bet is to get any of a wide variety of delicious tortas.

Whatever that Submarine Port in South Holland may lack in quality, they make up for it in longevity. That place has been there forever.

Binko, the stand alone sub joint you are referring to was Yellow Sub at the corner of Archer and Newcastle. It was in an outbuilding in the parking lot of Adams Furniture. They closed many years ago and the building has been torn down since.

You are correct though that there are no outstanding Italian subs in the area. The only one that I consider even acceptable is Mom and Dad's deli at 6345 S. Central. I would consider them the tallest midget.

Submarine Pier on Archer and California

Ive always gone to different variations of this type of place throughout my childhood and sense i live right up archer and Damen, I come here pretty often. They have just about everything you would want from a Chicago fast food place. Butter & Garlic fries are great, subs are good for what they are, burgers are decent, pizza puffs of course, fish filet sandwiches, hot dogs. Everything is very cheap as well! Never got anything BAD from here (hot dogs sucked at the 51st one).

Just yesterday was a thing of soup, regular Club sub, pizza puff, and some BG fries. Then over to El Guero across the street for dinner groceries and jammin some Dayton Family back home.

The Submarine Piers
4048 S Archer Ave
Chicago, IL 60632