My Favorite Sandwich Place in the USA. Hi. I'm Steve M. and I'm a sandwich freak. Not just a sandwich freak, but a sub-lover. I know you all call them "hoagies" down here, so that is what I'll do my best to do as to referring to them in the following review:

Anyways... OMFG! These are the best sandwiches I've had in a restaurant by far! God forbid that I have to travel from NYC to Philly to obtain a decent Italian sub (sorry, hoagie!). The hoagie that Primo served me today was probably one of the best sandwiches I have ever eaten in my life.

First of all, the bread: This bread was indeed tasty with all of the flavor that bread should have. The yeasty wheatiness of the innards, the goldenness and crackliness of the crust without it being so crispy that it cuts the roof of your mouth and gums, and its freshness were beyond belief.

Primo uses only Thumann's meats and cheeses. These are the best quality cold cuts that money can buy, way better than Boar's Head - I know this because my brother used to run a sandwich shop and based on his thorough knowledge of all things culinary, this has been shown to be a fact - both in theory and via my experienced taste buds.

Last time I went, I had the "Old Italian" sub (sorry, hoagie!). Good God, was this delicious! Dry cured capacola, prosciutto and sharp provolone on that wonderful bread, with lettuce, tomato, onion and peppers with my choice of mayo.

The meat was flavored just the way Italian meat should be (God bless Thumann's). It reminded me a lot of the cold cuts I had when in Venice some years back. They sliced it razor thin and laid it all on quite thick. The aged provolone was just the right amount of sharp yet mild bite to balance out the meat, too.

At 1 PM the place was mobbed but the friendly staff was way more personable than I expected them to be and they all treated me like I was family. Despite their personal attention to this lone stray out of towner, the hoagies kept flying out of the kitchen at a phenomenal pace and no one had to wait more than seven or eight minutes after ordering at the height of lunch hour.

Besides coming for the Italian classics offered here, feel free to bring along your vegetarian and health conscious friends too, as Primo has at least six particularly low salt/fat specialty subs (sorry, hoagies!) and an equal number of special, dedicated vegetarian offerings too.

The City of Brotherly Love is supposed to be a cheesesteak town, but after having eaten at Primo's I think Philly might just have stolen the Italian sub (sorry, hoagie!) title from NYC. I know THIS New Yorker will certainly be eating here whenever in downtown Philly, just to relive the glorious sandwich era that was once my town. You guys are so fortunate to have such an institution in your locality.

God bless these wonderful folk.