The Real Hoagie

Dea Zazula

Fresh rolls of bread, condiments and sodas on ice.

So, apparently you do not have to physically be in Philadelphia to have a "real" Philly hoagie. In case you were wondering, hoagies are just another way of saying sandwich. Apparently different states have different names for these delish subs.

Dea Zazula

Deano's Deli Menu.

Deano's Deli sandwiches follow the traditional Philadelphia theme. Evidently, this Northeastern state knows how to do a sub sandwich the right way! There were only two girls running the truck. Just like last week, I went during lunch hour so there were a lot of people on their lunch breaks at work which meant a busy lunch rush!

The menu was really simple consisting of only six sandwich types and a few side choices. The fresh bread was on glass display. The menu, to the left over here, is pretty self-explanatory but to brief those of you who don't feel like squinting to read the small font...

The subs: Turkey, Italian, roast beef, prosciutto, veggie and hot pastrami. The sides: Tortellini salad, potato salad, fresh potato chips and the no-bake chocolate cookie for dessert! 

Dea Zazula

Deano's Deli hoagie.

Since the line was fairly long, the sandwiches took a few minutes to be ready but once I got mine I didn't really care about the wait anymore. I was instantly glad that I had chosen to go with the half sub rather than the full. Unless you are sharing or absolutely starving, I would recommend going with the smaller sandwich; I couldn't even finish mine and it felt like it weighed a pound!


The pastrami swiss hoagie was a warm sub up and meat was really tender. The mustard and pickles added good flavor. Sometimes pastrami gets a little chewy and stringy so I was relieved that I didn't have that problem. One thing I did notice was that the bread was a bit soggy (from the pickles I'm assuming) but that was the only small downfall of the hoagie.

Dea Zazula

Thick pastrami sub.

The girls made fresh chips in the truck by throwing potato pieces into boiling grease. It looked like a quick and easy process and honestly it made the chips taste so good. I hardly had any room left in my stomach to finish them or even think about dessert though.

I was intrigued by the "no-bake chocolate chip cookies" on the menu so I just had to find out what all of that was about. One of the girls briefly explained the recipe to me when I asked her before leaving. She was busy so she gave me a quick run-through but basically the cookies are made with chocolate that is melted in a pan with sugar, milk and butter. Once the chocolate becomes a fudge-like consistency it is put in a bowl and oats are added. Apparently the oats solidify the fudge and there you go! The cookies stay soft and they require no baking. Next time I'll save room for dessert!