This Restaurants Serves The Original Philadelphia Roast Pork Sandwich

There are probably a few things you already know about Philadelphia: It was a very important city in colonial America, it's the setting for both "Abbott Elementary" and "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," and it's the home of the cheesesteak (which originally didn't have cheese). But did you know the cheesesteak is only Philly's second-best sandwich (depending on who you ask)? More often than not, locals will enjoy a roast pork sandwich served with sharp provolone and greens on a submarine sandwich roll. Their favorite place to get this local classic is John's Roast Pork, the restaurant that started it all.

Well, okay, it wasn't the first place ever to serve a roast pork sandwich, but it was the first place to serve what Philadelphians now know as a roast pork sandwich. It was the invention of one Domenico Bucci, an Italian immigrant who ran a catering business before opening a small shack which he named after his son, John. Almost 100 years later, it's now a Philly institution that still serves the rich, meaty, garlicky sandwich that brought it into existence. And not for nothing; they serve some killer cheesesteaks, too. The correct answer to "Pat's or Geno's" is, in fact, John's. (Although, according to Anthony Bourdain, the best cheesesteak is from New Jersey.)

Several generations in, John's Roast Pork remains in the Bucci family and serves a wide array of sandwiches for you to enjoy. There's the eponymous roast pork and cheesesteak sandwiches, as previously discussed, but they've also got meatball subs (fried or served with red sauce), chicken sandwiches, and breakfast sandwiches — unlike the ones at McDonald's, you can get them at any time of day.

Speaking of time of day, that's historically been something of a sticking point for John's. Although it's now open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday, the shop used to close at 3 in the afternoon — the kind of hours you usually only see with antique stores run by the elderly. Even with its current hours, John's closes much earlier than most other sandwich joints in Philly, so it's not the place to go for late night munchies. You'll also find that, located far to the southeast of Philly, it's a bit of a schlep to get to. But the right sandwich will make you travel to the ends of the earth. Eating dinner at 4:30 and taking a cab is a relatively small price to pay for such juicy sandos.