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My first job at the Asbury Park Press was as a newsroom clerk, whose duties included collecting school lunch menus to print in the newspaper.
Several years removed from my own high school experience, I remember being impressed — and a little jealous — of the options. A panini station! General Tso’s chicken! A salad bar!
These were a far cry from my high school cafeteria’s offerings of sad hamburgers, greasy pizza and limp french fries.
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But there was one dish I loved, one option that made my eyes light up whenever I saw it on the menu: the Italian sub.
Nearly 30 years later, and with a decade of food-writing experience under my belt, I know this sandwich was a far cry from a true Italian sub. The exact ingredient list escapes me, but I am certain neither soppressata nor capicola made an appearance.
I don’t even think salami was involved.
I remember ham, and maybe — dare I say it — bologna? And not mortadella, but the classic round, pink slices of bologna.
There were squares of waxy cheese that were definitely not provolone, plus lettuce and tomato.
But the real pièce de résistance came when I slid my tray to the cash register. Tucked alongside bags of cookies and packets of ketchup was a small plastic bottle of oil and vinegar.
Most students bypassed the bottle, but the foodie in me knew that the oil (definitely not extra-virgin olive oil) and vinegar (most likely of the cheap red wine variety) would take my sandwich to the next level. Knowing full well I was holding up the line, I would open my sandwich and shake on a generous amount, breathing life — and necessary acid — into the sub.
A foodie’s got to do what a foodie’s got to do.
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At 42 years old, I still remember what that sub tasted like and wonder if the memory is why, when I walk into a Jersey Mike’s, the overwhelming scent of oil and vinegar makes me smile. Nostalgia is funny that way, especially when it comes to food.
These days, I have a high schooler of my own. He has yet to bring me home an Italian sub.
Maybe this is my year.
Sarah Griesemer joined the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey in 2003 and has been writing all things food since 2014. Send restaurant tips to sgriesemer@gannettnj.com, follow on Instagram at Jersey Shore Eats and subscribe to our Jersey Shore Eats newsletter.
Dining and Cooking