Today's Case:
Pasquale's Hoagie
Re: Hoagie Sandwich
From: Mari
To: Phaedrus
Date: 5/9/2024, 1:20 PM
On 5/8/2024 10:06 PM, Mari wrote:
I am searching for the recipe for a hoagie sandwich that I used to get
(usually to go) in the late 1960’s at Pasquale’s Restaurant in northeast
Jackson Mississippi, can’t remember the street the restaurant was on.
It’s a served warm but not hot sandwich, with some kind of Italian deli
meat, 3 or 4 other ingredients which probably included melted cheese
but not sure. At that time Pasquale’s had several locations in Mississippi
and who knows where else. Presently online are some listings for
Pasquale’s in Laurel MS and McRae MS, so maybe someone there
would know someone who remembers this recipe. I had no luck
finding a sandwich listing on any Pasquale’s menu.
Many thanks,
Mari
Hello Mari,
I was a college student in Mississippi in 1967, and I was the only one on our dorm floor who had a car. There was a Pasquale's Pizza that was not too far off campus and my friends and I would load up in my car and go there often for pizza. At the time, I think it was the only pizza parlor in town. The University was in a "dry county," so we couldn't have beer with our pizza. I usually had "Mountain Dew." However, I never had one of their hoagies.
I found menus from Pasquale's in Laurel, MS in several places on the web. They still sell hoagies.:
Pasquale's Laurel on Facebook
Pasquale's Laurel on Zmenu
On those menus, the hoagie sandwich is described like this: Hoagie: "Delicious Italian Meats, Topped with Pizza Sauce and Melted Cheese"
I had no success looking for a hoagie recipe that said it was from a Pasquale's in Mississippi. I found menu descriptions of hoagies, subs, grinders and "Italian Sandwiches" from several pizzerias that called themselves "Pasquale's," but none of them were located in Mississippi except the Laurel one above. There are dozens of pizzerias across America called "Pasquale's" and there have been more of them in the past. The "Pasquales" are either a very big family or else it is a popular Italian name. Other than the name and the fact that they are pizzerias, there appears to be little or no connection between them. They are not all part of the same chain. They were founded by people with the name "Pasquale", but different first names. I could not find a hoagie recipe from any of them.
That description above from the Laurel, MS Pasquale's menu is not very helpful:"Italian meats" - which ones? "Melted Cheese" - what kind of cheese? (provolone? mozzarella? what?), Lettuce? Tomato? Dill pickles? Italian pickled vegetables? Giardiniera? "Dressing" - "Pizza sauce?" - what's the recipe for their pizza sauce? (There's the rub!) (Do they sell it by the jar in the restaurant?)
This kind of sandwich is very popular and has several different names: hoagie, sub, grinder. Here in the Northeast it's called an "Italian Sandwich." I have them often, but not with pizza sauce. My choice is oil and vinegar. It's the best sandwich there is, I think, although I've had a few fried oyster "po-boys" that equalled them.
Sorry that I can't be more help. The only suggestion that I can think of is for you to go to Laurel, MS, buy a hoagie from Pasquale's, and try to reverse-engineer it. I don't contact places and ask them for recipes for their foods. You can try that if you want. I wish you luck. I've never had any success with it. Buy a jar of their pizza sauce, if they sell it in the restaurant. Look at the Hoagie and figure out the Italian meats and cheeses on it and the dressings and veggies. Get your self some hoagie rolls and there you go.
I will post this for reader input. Maybe an ex-Pasquale's employee will see it and respond.
Phaed
