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Beautiful Sandwich: The Norristown Zep
The Web site for the award-winning alternative weekly, the Philadelphia City Paper.
Beautiful Sandwich: The Norristown Zep
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| Open your mouth and close your eyes. |
| Photo | Drew Lazor |
When is a hoagie not a hoagie? When it's a hero, sub, submarine,
zeppelin or grinder. And especially when it's a zep. This Norristown creation possesses subtle but crucial differences from lookalike
sandwiches. A true zep contains only one meat and one cheese — and
lettuce is absolutely forbidden under any circumstances.
Eve's Lunch in Norristown, which is often credited with inventing the zep, still turns out the standard-setting sandwich to much local acclaim. Eve
Mashett has operated the business since 1965, when she bought the sandwich
shop Linfante's from Joseph Linfante, her employer of 10 years. In 2001, Mashett's family took over daily operations. The traditional Eve's zep is
stacked with provolone cheese, cooked salami, tomato, thick slices of
raw white onion cut to order, a dressing of oil and a bit of oregano.
The zep entered the annals of fiction in Jerry Spinelli's classic middle school tearjerker Maniac Magee.
When Maniac is in funds (and not living with the bison at the zoo), his
preferred meal is a zep topped off with a round of Butterscotch
Krimpets. Spinelli, who grew up in Bridgeport and mined his own
childhood experiences for the novel, still goes to Lou's Sandwich Shop to lunch on the lunch he immortalized. Meal Ticket traveled to Lou's to feast on the stinking delight — the incredibly chewy "Conshy roll" combined with the substantial onion crunch makes the sandwich. (Note that our zep was modified with ham instead of the classic salami.)
With a pedigree like that, who needs lettuce?
Eve's Lunch, 301 E. Johnson Hwy., Norristown, 610-277-6600
Lou's Sandwich Shop, 414 E. Main St., Norristown, 610-279-5415
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