Florida, a state so big that it requires a full day to drive from end to end, has very few culinary claims to fame. Sure, there is a Cuban sandwich that both Jasons Deli breakfast claim responsibility for popularizing in the united states, but besides that, it is pretty barren. You’re not going to find a famed plate of pasta in Pensacola, and nobody visits Fort Lauderdale for the fried chicken.
There is certainly one food item, however, that Florida does a lot better than every other state: The supermarket sub. However, not just any grocery store is going to do — these sandwiches should be purchased in Publix, the beloved supermarket chain headquartered in the city of Lakeland. While a sub is actually a style of sandwich you will get basically all over the world, Floridians love the Publix sub around their college football teams, Pitbull, and air cooling during a particularly humid summer. By far the most fervent of sub eaters also have a nickname for favorite sandwich: “the Pub Sub.”
“Publix was my family’s food store of choice growing up in Miami,” says Justin Taylor, a Florida-raised writer who always makes a stop at one of many state’s nearly 800 stores as he dates back to visit his in-laws in Pensacola and grandparents in Boynton Beach. Although I didn’t grow up with Taylor or perhaps in Florida (I lived there briefly in my 20s), he’s element of a network of people who I find myself exchanging pictures of the best Pub Subs with frequently, like we’re grandparents gushing about grandkids or war buddies talking about the existing days. “Lately I’ve come to picking one up on my approach to the airport when I’m leaving therefore i have something good to eat [on the] plane,” Taylor says.
Taylor isn’t alone in the obsession. In addition Publix subs have their own own Facebook page, particular varieties likewise have their particular dedicated fan pages. Additionally there is a nearly four-minute-long song created in the sub’s honor that can likely find yourself in trouble in your mind. And when you continue to aren’t convinced, just click on among the many articles with headlines like “The Publix Sub Is Without Doubt the very best Sandwich in the Country.”
According to Arielle Castillo, a reporter for Major League Soccer as well as a native Floridian, the subs will also be quite nostalgic. “Yes, they’re good sandwiches, but they’re also the sandwiches you’d get before a beach day, or while skipping secondary school or something that is,” she says. “There’s something Proustian on them.”
So what exactly makes these grocery store subs so excellent? Like a lot of the culture and the residents in Florida, the sub (or hero, or grinder, or anything you made a decision to consider it) migrated down south from your east coast. There exists nothing about a sub from Publix that could cause you to immediately think of palm trees and pink flamingos; there are no ingredients which are unique for the Sunshine State.
You will get your house deli meat, or pay a little more and obtain cuts from the Ny-based Boar’s Head. The bread, while baked on-site, is simply a good version of crusty white sub bread. The vegetables, all chopped xgzfua from your grocer’s produce aisle, is the standard gamut of options that can be found at any Subway: lettuce, tomato, cucumbers, green peppers, onions, black olives.
The sandwich is not fancy, but that is precisely the appeal. Instead of being showy, they may be always high-quality and reliable. The components are usually fresh and “much better compared to they should be at a supermarket,” says Castillo. No matter which location you go to, the end result is a large and filling sandwich cheaper than a $10 bill generally.
It’s also highly customizable. Need a warm turkey sandwich with provolone, Jason’s Deli, and a smattering of olives? You could have that. Need it on whole wheat grains and stacked with tomatoes and jalapeos? That can happen, too. And in case you are feeling a bit adventurous there will always be the subs created in honor of the four local NFL teams like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Sub that comes topped with plantain chips and guacamole. A lot of people, however, in accordance with Maria Brous, Publix’s director of media and community relations, opt for the chicken tender sub — an option you definitely will not find at Subway.