My only small nitpick about Johns Roast Pork is I prefer broccoli rabe and John's uses spinach. To me that bit of bitterness really sets the taste the sandwich. That being said Johns pork is much tastier.
@@ryangies4798 I'm sure @TRMV is correct. I'm sure they cook fresh pork every morning. I'm sure it was still in the oven at 9:30am to be served fresh during lunch service ;)
I went several years ago.. Also about 10:00am... Very different experience - sandwich extra juicy, no peppers. Lights out, one of the best of all time. I hope they read and invite you back... Should never have been dry.
in order to be considered for a stall in Reading Terminal, you have to be at the top of your food category. You have to be different. We locals love it, and it is by far my favorite place to go eat out in Philly
Welcome back to the area UA (local guy here). I've seen some of your other videos and actually didn't like them at first look. But I seemed to have caught onto your style of review now and went back to view again. I get you now, and subscribed now.
your review was spot on. I was there las thursday and roast pork sandwich was dry and the seasoning is not the same. I also went to Hershels. The pastrami is good but DEFINITELY not Katz level. I was a bit disappointed that the consistency was gone.
great vid as always! Always heard about this sandwich. But you got me hooked as a new fan all because you really do travel on the best eateries, dine-ins, and vintage style restaurants that dont really post alot in youtube. You kind of remind me of Guy Fieri of Triple D but youtube version. Wish you more subs!!
I think the reason things we used to really like when were young no longer taste as good when we get older is partly because the ingredients change, but also because we change, and out tastes change. Just a guess.
Combo of different ingredients (the older you are, the more likely in the past you had better tasting ingredients, but overall less healthy) so there becomes a trade off of how healthy are you willing to eat in combination with how important is actual taste to your food, some foods find the right balance, some spend eternity messing around trying to recreate the flavor that originally brought them to the dance. Also like you said tastes change literally, things that would make you pucker and want to spit out as a kid, suddenly taste good and hit your taste buds in a way you just couldn't appreciate as a kid, basically sour becomes a much sought after taste where as a kid the sweeter the better, we all loved stupidly sweet candies and such that kind of just blow out our pallets as adults. There all of course exceptions in everything, some kids love sour as some adults still crave insane amount of sweets, but in general for most people sweet isn't a priority the older you get. Might be something our body does for defense, as a kid you can burn off sugar with ease where as an adult, excess sugar can cause loads of health issues. Still sometimes it is very obvious when ingredient change is the main culprit as even if you no longer appreciate a certain flavor you can generally tell when the flavor itself is off as opposed to whatever your current taste preferences are. It does help create good memories tho, because somethings clearly do not taste the same in modern day, it helps preserve our memories of certain foods that if they tasted exactly the same these days, we would be less likely to treasure those memories and essentially clear them from our mind as meaningless fluff and the other memories that associate with those memories. So for instance by remembering a favorite a fast food item as a kid, a candy, a pizza place, ect not only do you hold onto those memories with more care, you in turn keep the memories associated with them as well, like who took you to the fast food food/pizza, who you ate it with, shared it with, was it a birthday party, ect, ect. So I suppose that is at least one positive thing about our favorites foods tasting different as an adult as we keep adding new memories to our brain, those old memories are bound to last longer because they become rarer and we put in a little more effort to preserve them in our head even if it is at a subconscious level because we know once we lose those particular memories we essentially will not have a real way to recreate them.
I am an American living in Thailand and I usually visit Vietnam a few times a year. Nothing beats the pork Bahn Mi sandwich they sell in restaurants and on the street. Since the country was a French colony, they have mastered the bread baking which is an important part of the sandwich, and the pork belly can’t be beat.
I agree. My job required me to travel domestically and internationally often. Having tried my fair share of sandwiches(including those that could be loosely called sandwiches), I still think the Bahn mi is the best.
Overall I have to agree that the Bahn mi is better than Philly sandwiches. However a good version of a Philly hoagie is excellent and kind of similar in some ways due to fresh vegetables
I watch a lot of food reviews on the web, who's to say who's right? What 1 might like the other may not. Everyone's taste is different. You like what you like.
An amazing place for hoagies and roast pork is A Cut Above deli located in the philly burbs in newtown square. Add that to your list. They use Sarcone rolls. Their Italian hoagie is great. ❤
Nice job buddy after agree when you get those pork roast sandwiches, do you want some juice on it? I always ask when I go double dip the pork before they put it on the bread. Keep it up buddy. Nice work.
I remember seeing DiNic's featured on Adam Richman's "The Best Sandwich in America" in 2012, so I made it a priority to visit when I went to visit my brother, who lived there at the time. Well, I finally made it there in late 2012 and I was underwhelmed. It was good, dont get me wrong, but BEST in America? Went back a year later, just to see if my taste buds were off (of if I got a weak sandwich) and same thing... underwhelmed. If I lived near RTM, I might hit it up a few times a year, but I felt like it was extremely overrated calling it THE BEST. Ive had better sandwiches in Philadelphia, let alone the country lol /// thanks for the awesome content, UA!
UA good honest review. Bread looked stale or day old to me.Pork looked dry. Where the cheese. I tried it there felt the same as you. The Pastrami place there is on point.
Know why it tastes just so so ? Your taste buds have graduated. It’s like no Hershey bar today tastes as good as the ones you had as a child. Our tastes change as we try different flavors. But John’s Roast Pork is still the benchmark!
I love an Italian Roast Pork sandwich with broccoli rabe with some sharp provolone cheese. I've never had it at Dinic's, but I have eaten one at a Tony Luke's. They even dunk the whole sandwich in some au-jus so that it's extra moist. One of the best sandwiches I've ever eaten... comes in a close second to Katz's Pastrami sandwich.
(1) Italians in Italy and 1st generation Italian-Americans call that vegetable Rappini and not Broccoli Rabe -- the latter was a marketing term coined about a century ago by a wholesaler and adopted by Italian-Americans who are third, fourth or later generation. It is a mainstay vegetable in many regions of Italy, especially in the south. It is slightly bitter (and even bitter if not fresh) and most Italians live that touch of bitterness in their greens to balance either the sweetness of pork or richness of other meats. (2) UA -- make sure to re-test your shellfish allergy as you get older. I was allergic as a kid to both fish and shellfish but outgrew both allergies and have spent the rest of my life catching up for missed time.
I'm pretty confident to say you got those meats leftover from the day before. That's one mistake when you go in early in the morning. Hey, they have to get rid of whatever they didn't sell before, so those gotta go first.
@@christophersmith505 Ya, I'm aware. But if there are any rolls leftover from the day before, they might get used at the beginning of the next day. I worked at a pizza shop in Delco for 9 years. Not saying it's right but it happens.
Absolutely loved the Reading Market, we were there last year. I ate a cheesesteak there, but I didn’t remember the name of the place. I think the restaurant was directly across from this place,, the cheesesteak was delicious!! The baked cookie place is quite good also
I ate here a few years ago with my old man and little brother. My father swore up and down it was amazing because he had it with his father in law a few years before. My brother and I absolutely hated it though, i was pretty mad we didn’t go to Jim’s for cheesesteaks
You have to get the sharp provolone thats the signature sandwich. Pork broccoli rabe And the cheese. You cant have one without rhe other. Get the peppers on the side and add that shaved cheese. It makes all the difference
UA: growing up in Philly I was exposed early in life to the Reading Terminal Market because my father worked there as a butcher from about 1947-50! This market existed since the late 1800's as part of the Reading Railroad center city terminal! Up until the 1960's it was just butchers, fish mongers, bakers, ice cream(Bassetts), vegetable & fruit vendors & just a few food stalls! The Amish restaurant was one of the first! So, into the 1960's quite a few food take-out businesses started! New management took over about 2000, upgraded the site, raised the rents & started to attract the yuppie crowd! Getting back to DiNics( pronounced Deé-Nick). Their pork sandwich is not the best in the USA or Philadelphia or even the Reading Terminal Market! Hershells hot pastrami maybe the best in the market. The best pork sandwich in Philly is John's Roast Pork on Snyder Ave! Oh, by the way, they charged you $3 for the soggy Broccoli Rabe, YUK! In Philly we eat the pretzels with musterd😅
I love this sandwich, had it from John's not Dinic's. Defonte's in Brooklyn makes a really good one and I prefer their bread. Federoff's in Brooklyn is good as well. I have made this at home a few times, not bad, just hard to get the pork sliced as thin as you would like
Good review, UA. My brother too used to frequent Dinics. I agree with you that your sandwich looks like they went downhill. I haven't been there in a few years, but the line for them used to be quite a wait. Next time, you need to also try some ice cream from Bassett's
To be fair it was around 10am so I am sure the line picked up around lunchtime. I remember really enjoying it back then but it was more than 5 years ago. Hopefully just a bad day
I just wanted to add that, from what I have seen in previous videos about Tommy DiNic's, like many other places the pork leg is roasted, allowed to cool overnight and then thin sliced cold. At the beginning of the day, at DiNic's these pieces are heated in pork broth to gain or regain moisture. By your going earlier in the day, it is possible this pork had not yet absorbed much moisture, may not have contributed in turn to the broth, and maybe they were reluctant to put too much tepid, greasy broth on the sandwich. I'm sure you were correct in saying the sandwich was not very special, but I would also have hesitated to give much credit to Adam Richman's best in US hype--he chose to become known for exhibitions of spectacular gluttony where food was something he had to conquer, rather than enjoy. Too bad we cannot get a Philadelphia roast pork in NYC or Connecticut, even at Italian delis.
Last time I was there it was the same as your experience. Good sandwich but I feel like it missed the mark. Their hidden gem is the brisket sandwich, thats delicious. Great review!
Never, ever go in the morning. You're getting the leftovers from the evening before. The pork will always be dried out the day after. Best time to go is in the evening in order to get the fresh juicy pork.
I still like Dinics. I usually go there when I am running ht Philly half of full marathon. I think the pork is a good sandwich. I didnt find it dry. The first time I went there is 10 yrs ago. There are still long lines for it.
@@Broski__ they’re not bad, but for me you’ve gotta go to the italian market or even a place in south philly like varallo bros will have a better cannoli and it wont set you back $7 or however much it’s up to now at termini
UA You didn't order the sandwich correctly. You forgot to ask to have it. Dunked in the gravy😮. It's so much better when you do that. That's what you're missing from the last time you had one. Have a great day and love your content.
Defontes Sandwiches in Brooklyn nyc 379 columbia street are the best Sandwich in America you need to check them out UA thank you for always informing us with your wonderful videos
Huge fan of your videos UA! But the NBA MVP award can very much be won by the same individual multiple years in a row! It's all about performance. LeBron won it 4 out of 5 years for example, spanning from 2009 to 2013.
In my opinion, right off the top of my head there is 3 sandwiches I would rather eat than Tommy DiNic's... Italian sandwiches such as ones fromAll’Antico Vinaio. The next sandwich I think that also will be tastier is bánh mì. I've never travel to Vietnam but had many in San Jose, Garden Grove and Westminster in California where there is a huge Vietnamese population. In both cases for Italian and Vietnamese, the bread looks much more interesting as it's crispy on the outside and pillowy soft on the inside. And lastly, I would 100% take a pastrami sammie from NYC such as from Katz.
1. The first six minutes are him covering Reading Market 2. The last four minutes are about the pretzel 3. He spent 8 minutes talking specifically about the sandwich and DiNics 4. The marvelous thing about RU-vid videos is that you can skip ahead
They offer two pork sandwiches, this one and the "Hand carved Italian style pulled pork", as you can see from their menu board. I wonder if the hand-carved version is better.
