When people talk about Italian sandwiches in the Bronx, they usually bring up Casa Della Mozzarella, or maybe Mike’s Deli (the one inside that food hall where you can also get an espresso.) We love those places too, but if your only Arthur Avenue sandwich experiences have involved waiting in line at Casa, you’re missing out. Just a few blocks off the main drag, Joe’s Italian Deli has been quietly cranking out some of the city’s top sandwiches since 1979—they also make their own mozzarella, and also pass out so many free samples of meat and cheese while you wait that you might be full by the time your sandwiches are ready.
photo credit: Kate Previte
Joe’s looks a lot like other Italian delis, except you can tell the shelves are being stocked by someone who knows what a shoppy shop is. Since the owner’s son took over the family business, they’ve added Graza olive oil and tinned fish to the giant, old-school jars of peppers and cans of tomatoes for sale. Browse those and maybe pick up the Prima Donna brand cheese you just tasted while waiting for your sandwich. Those sandwiches are all big, classic and perfectly constructed, but get the Calabrian Sting first. It’s essentially a vodka parm, but if you’ve had a vodka-sauced Italian sandwich before, we can promise you this one is better.
Food Rundown
The Calabrian Sting
An absolute must. Vodka sauce-slathered chicken cutlets are topped with their fresh mozzarella, but what really makes this sandwich is the heat from the calabrian chili spread and the freshness from the pesto. And since this is a hot sandwich, you should also obviously get a cold one. For balance.
photo credit: Kate Previte
DSNY “The Strongest”
It seems that at some point since the invention of the sandwich, an unspoken rule emerged that you can’t put more than one fried item on a sandwich. Why? This one has fried eggplant and a chicken cutlet, plus prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, and roasted red peppers. It doesn’t hold back on anything.
photo credit: Britt Lam
Con Ed “The Brightest”
It sounds similar to the DSNY on paper, but when you swap the chicken cutlet and roasted red peppers for arugula and sun-dried peppers, this becomes a whole new sandwich. The unlikely highlight is those sun-dried peppers, which stain the bread bright red and provide the sandwich with just enough olive oil.
photo credit: Kate Previte
The Marco Pollo
That’s not a typo, it’s a chicken sandwich, dripping with stracciatella. The cold, creamy cheese, fatty prosciutto, sweet balsamic glaze, and seeded bread make for an impressive combination of textures.
photo credit: Britt Lam
Italian Combo
The Italian combo isn’t particularly interesting in comparison to the other sandwiches here, but there’s nothing wrong with it—how could there be when it’s stacked with ham, mortadella, and soppressata?
