Question - Italian Sausage Sandwich?

Ok, I was having a converstation with a girl at work, and brought up an Italian Sausage Sandwich. She seemed appalled, and couldn't imagine anyone actually putting that on their menu, and how in the world would that appeal to customers? etc. First of all, if I had never heard of it, I would think to myself, "Wow! That sounds great!" Anyway, I told her I see it on menus all the time, but she says she never has. I shared this conversation with my husband, and he was baffled as well. So I researched, and I can't find a sandwich on a locally (posted) menu called an Italian Sausage Sandwich. I found the sandwich on Melillo's menu, but it's called a Manhattan. I'm from WV, near an area that has a large Italian population, and my husband is from Wisconsin, so I'm wondering if this is a regional item? Any thoughts?

I know you can get them in chicago and its a common menu item at all the hotdog places there.

GG.

We have seen/had them in NJ, WV, PA, OH, CO, IL, FL, IN, NY. But when I thought about KY, I can only recall getting them at food stands at the State fair and various festivals. In the Northeast I remember getting them either sweet or hot with peppers, onions and tomato sauce. Yum! Now I have to go get some hoagie rolls and make some for dinner this week!!

My guess is that Lonnie's in St. Matthews has them.

They were a special menu item at Mario's St Matthews in the late '70's
On a short sub bun or large. Red sauce, provalone cheese.
fresh onion sliced rings and dill chips on request. All done to "a tasty turn".

[Robin Garr]

I'm wondering if this is a regional item? Any thoughts?

Slugger Field has them at one or two of the Grill Stations. Served on a hot dog bun with (optional) grilled green peppers and onions. The sausages are very good quality, but I always pass on the veggies because they make them remarkably greasy.

I would be shocked if one could not procure one of these at the Come Back Inn.

This is somewhat of a sore point with me. Impellizeri's has an Italian Sausage Sandwich, with onions and green peppers, on their menu. I ordered it and got a sandwich with italian sausage, pizza sauce and cheese, which is -- believe it or not -- the other Italian sausage sandwich on their menu. It looked good, so I ate it. The next time I was in for a sandwich, I ordered it, and said to the waitress: "The one with the green peppers and onions," AND I pointed to the menu item.

I got the same pizza-sauce-and-cheese sandwich.

The waitress said the sandwich I wanted had actually been taken off the menu, but they were making it for me anyhow. What I got was the sandwich I had returned with green peppers and onions on it as well. Still not what I wanted or ordered.

I haven't been back to Impellizeri's since.

Back to the topic -- Joe's Older than Dirt has a very tasty Italian Sausage sandwich, on grilled bread with peppers and onions. Makes me want to go and have one right now!

You can get one at Lonnies, they call it a Wells St. Italian sausage. 502 895 2380. They are the only place we have found that makes it like they do in Chicago. It is my preference to get a COMBO, that is a sausage that also comes with Italian beef as well. I do think this is a regional item, very rare to get a good one outside of Chicago--same goes for good pizza.

It's not actually on the menu, but yes, you can get an Italian sausage sandwich at Come Back Inn. We have a few regular customers who get them frequently. Unless otherwise specified, its served with peppers, onions, and red sauce.

At Melillo's, we have two Italian sausage sandwiches. The Manhattan comes with mozzarella cheese, sausage, roasted red peppers and romano cheese and the Newark comes with Italian sausage, peppers, onions and romano cheese . . . marinara optional on both. The Manhattan is one of our best sellers.

Just to go with a chain (also making them readily available), I have found that the sausage sandwich at the Penn Stations is very good -- almost as good as back home in NJ. It's got excellent Italian sausage with grilled onions and peppers and cheese, with pizza sauce optional, then the sandwich is broiled. One big difference is that they slice the sausage rather than serving a link, but it's actually easier to eat that way and in no way takes away from the dish. I choose it often when I'm on the road in unfamiliar territory.

Amerigo has an Italian Sausage and meatball Hero on their lunch menu. It's tasty.

I make myself Italian Sausage sandiwches all the time. We cook em up tailgating at the football games at least twice a season. I'm floored someone would have a) never heard of it or b) not think it sounds like the tastiest thing of all time.

Of course, I'm also from WVa originally (and of Italian descent), so Italian Sausage sandwiches and pepperoni rolls have always been a staple of my life.

Amerigo has an Italian Sausage and meatball Hero on their lunch menu. It's tasty.

I make myself Italian Sausage sandiwches all the time. We cook em up tailgating at the football games at least twice a season. I'm floored someone would have a) never heard of it or b) not think it sounds like the tastiest thing of all time.

Of course, I'm also from WVa originally (and of Italian descent), so Italian Sausage sandwiches and pepperoni rolls have always been a staple of my life.

Exactly! I also thought the entire world ate pepperoni rolls all the time. It wasn't until about 4 years ago when I came back from WV with some, and offered one to a girl I worked with to go with her soup. She had no idea what it was, but loved it, and soon, my entire dept. was talking about the pepperoni rolls and how good they are. And it wasn't until then that I realized that most people around here had never had one or even heard of them! When I did more research, I realized they are a WV original. Seems like I should've known that a long time ago, but I just never thought about it.

We usually make our own Italian Sausage and peppers as well, also grilled. Sometimes as a sandwich, sometimes with pasta, sometimes just by themselves. What's not to like about those flavor combinations?

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions! Some of the places I knew about (Come Back Inn, Melillo's, Lonnie's), others I did not, particularly the ball field (have to get one of those next time we're there). I was really trying to find a menu I could show the girl I work with that specifically said, 'Italian Sausage Sandwich'. It still baffles me as to why that would sound anything less than extremely appealing to someone!