Now That's A Sub!!

When it comes to subs at The Cheese Shop on Fleet Street in Boston, these guys don't mess around.[FN1]  And they don't measure the bread either.  Like those veteran cops on TV shows who can take apart and reassemble a gun blind-folded, the two and sometimes three man rotation behind the counter have perfected the art of making the prosciutto di parma sub, starting with the preparation of the bread.  Whole loaves instantly become perfect 14" (no, you are not dreaming) vessels for fresh cheese and salty prosciutto.  How, you might ask, can they cut the bread by just eye-balling it?  Easy - they just cut the loaf in half.  That's right - each sub is a full half a loaf of bread!

To fully appreciate the sub, I suggest ordering one "with everything."  The party starts as they drizzle the olive oil, evenly distribute the diced tomatoes, and break apart the fresh basil leaves.  Then the real fun begins.  Your sandwich-maker steps away from the prep station and reaches a ladle into a container of cloudy water in the counter's display case.  You ask yourself what lies beneath, and you are treated to the answer as he pulls out a ball of mozzarella, made fresh daily.  And the reason why it's an entire ball of cheese is because there are no remnants from earlier subs - your sub gets its very own full ball of fresh mozzarella, sliced into slabs, and spread along the sub. 

Then comes the prosciutto!![FN2]  Heaping portions of paper-thin slices of prosciutto.  You watch them make the sandwich, running the meat slicer over and over again.  Will that sub even close?  The answer, surprisingly, is yes.  But not before a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.  The sandwich is then wrapped and placed in a long paper bag, small hurdles to toss aside before devouring the goodness that awaits.  Only one obstacle remains: do I eat the entire sub now, or do I save some for later.  After a few bites, you realize that's not even a serious question.

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FN1: Five days after I moved into my North End apartment, I fired off this tweet: "Just grabbed a 14" prosciutto di parma sub at the cheese shop around the corner from my new apt. This is gonna be a great year."  And so began my love affair with this sub.

FN2:  If everything in life was accompanied by prosciutto, things would be so much better.  For example, if the dentist said "first, we are going to cut your gum and drill deep into the tooth," and followed that up with "then comes the prosciutto," I'd be willing to undergo that procedure.