Pork sandwiches

Until our new group of "Regular Guys" is on board to start chatting about casual eats, this is a "Regular Gal" post to praise the porkette sandwich - or slow-roasted pork.

I'm a devoted Tony Luke's fan in Philly and love my sandwich piled high with garlicky broccoli rabe. (I usually skip the sharp provolone, but certainly don't mind the cheese.)

Tony Luke sandwiches also are sold at Citizens Bank Park. Go ahead and try to eat this whopper of a sandwich while seated in the stands. You're going to need a boatload of napkins.

My uncle and I also like the pork sandwiches - Pop Pop's recipe since 1930 - from John's Roast Pork on Snyder Avenue in South Philly or, as we usually call it, "the place." (As in "You hungry? Want to go to the place?" No other words are needed.)

I hadn't had a good pork sandwich outside of Philly until I stumbled into Ioannoni (pronounce it eye-uh-known-ee) Specialty Sandwiches , 624 E. Basin Road in New Castle, 322-5000., a few years ago. The shop (see photo above) makes one mean roast beef and broccoli rabe sandwich as well as one messy, juicy roasted pork sandwich. This is my favorite place, so far, in Delaware.

Mangia Mangia, 530 N. Lincoln St., Wilmington, 654-2223, has a very good roasted porkette sandwich that's packed on a crusty Italian roll that comes from an Italian bakery in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Some family members got slow roasted pork loin sandwiches from Goodfellas, 1317 McKennans Church Road, Milltown area, 995-2891. It got thumbs from my mother - and that's high praise from a very picky South Philly born gal.