Primo's Hoagies

I've walked by Primo's almost every day since moving back to Philadelphia. To be honest, it looked pretty gross from the outside. But, if there's one thing we know, it's that you can't judge a restaurant by its apparent cleanliness (e.g. Yue Kee Mobile Kitchen, anything in Reading Terminal).

I probably spent about five minutes looking at the menu outside in order to expedite the process. The combinations of meat and cheese were endless, with add ons such as hot pepper shooters, broccoli rabe, and sweet peppers. Primo's also offers a great selection of sides, such as tortellini salad and shooters by the pound.

I settled on the "Bada Bing," a chicken cutlet sandwich with sharp provolone and broccoli rabe, commonly known in Philadelphia Italian Speak as "greens." The sandwich was served on a Sarcone's roll. Pickles are a dollar extra -- I only eat free pickles, so I skipped the delicious cucumber derivatives. I'll have to go to Rachael's, Tony Jr's, or Roy Rogers for a fix soon enough.

I got home with the sandwich and took a bite. The roll was a little too hard and chewy, the chicken cutlet cold. I stuck the sandwich in the oven for 10 minutes (I'm thinking of investing in the Wawa 35 second sandwich toaaster) and awaited the transformation. The end result was a delicious taste combination. While the chicken could have been less bready, it was white meat and tasty. The garlicky greens were a nice addition, and the sharp provolone had a great bite to it.

I think I'll try Primo's again, but I don't think it's anything special. In fact, without my own oven, the sandwich was fairly mediocre. Two hoagies.