Food: LaSpada's Original Hoagies

My Dad has a pretty simple business philosophy: if you can do something 10% better than everyone else, you can usually get 90% of the customers. So it goes with LaSpada's Original Hoagies, a regional chain of sub shops here in South Florida. LaSpada's subs may not be much better than the competition, but they are better:


It starts with the meat. LaSpada's uses a deli slicer to cut it right when you order, and it's all pretty decent stuff - good roast beef, capicola, ham, and the like. You get your choice of fixings (the usual suspects like lettuce and tomatoes, as well as delicious sweet and hot peppers) and condiments. After a final layer of meat to gird the innards, the hoagie is done, and you're off to the races.

It's not anything extraordinary, but it soundly beats the big chains like Subway, Quiznos, or Jimmy John's. The value is pretty good, too - while the 12" subs cost about $10 each, a person would have to bring a serious appetite in order to down one of those suckers (the large hoagies are so big that the counter workers usually bag half for customers to consume later). In any event, the line at LaSpada's is usually out the door when the lunch rush hits on weekends, so they must be doing something right.

2/4 stars