:Maine Italian sandwich

According to Amato family history, Giovanni and Michillina Amato, grocers in Portland, Maine, began selling "Italian" bread to dockworkers in 1902. By 1910 they had invented the "Italian sandwich" by adding cheese, ham and vegetables to the bread.{{Cite web |last=Routhier |first=Ray |date=2025-02-27 |title=A Maine Italian isn’t just beloved – it’s a rite of passage on a roll |url=https://www.pressherald.com/2025/02/27/a-maine-italian-isnt-just-beloved-its-a-rite-of-passage-on-a-roll/ |access-date=2025-02-28 |website=Press Herald}} The Amatos later opened a sandwich shop named Amato's, and today the sandwich continues to be prepared by Amato's sandwich shops. The Amato's version is traditionally prepared using fresh-baked bread, ham, American cheese, slices of tomato, onions, green pepper and sour pickle, Kalamata olives and salad oil.

Many other Italian corner markets in Portland sold Italians. In the 1960s, Portland reportedly had an "Italian" sandwich shop "every couple of blocks".{{Cite web |date=2016-01-25 |title=Maine Voices: That was amore: When Portland was known for Italian sandwiches |url=https://www.pressherald.com/2016/01/25/maine-voices-that-was-amore-when-portland-was-known-for-italian-sandwiches/ |access-date=2024-07-30 |website=Press Herald}} In the 1970s and 1980s, "Italian" sandwich shops added vegetarian versions of the sandwich without the ham.{{Cite web |last=Kamila |first=Avery Yale |date=2024-05-26 |title=A classic Maine sandwich gets a vegan makeover |url=https://www.pressherald.com/2024/05/26/maine-italian-gets-a-vegan-makeover/ |access-date=2024-07-30 |website=Press Herald}} Monte's Fine Food in Portland was the first Italian shop to add a vegan "Italian" to the menu in 2019. In 2025, Botto's Bakery in Westbrook was suppling "Italian" sandwich rolls to more than 40 shops in southern Maine.

The Maine Italian sandwich is prepared using a long bread roll or bun with cured meats such as ham along with American or provolone cheese, tomato, onion, green bell pepper, sliced dill pickles, Greek olives, olive oil or salad oil, salt and black pepper.

Veggie Italians are made with American or provolone cheese, tomato, onion, green bell pepper, sliced dill pickles and olives. Sometimes lettuce is added to Veggie Italians. Vegan Italians are made with vegan cheese, vegan ham, tomato, onion, green bell pepper, sliced dill pickles and olives.

The Maine Italian is usually served on a long soft roll similar to a New England–style hot dog bun (also invented in Maine).{{Cite web |date=2016-07-11 |title=Video: How to Make an Authentic Maine Italian Sandwich |url=https://www.mainepublic.org/arts-and-culture/2016-07-11/video-how-to-make-an-authentic-maine-italian-sandwich |access-date=2024-12-05 |website=Maine Public |language=en}} It usually has a single cured meat—ham is the most common, though other cured meats can be found as well. By contrast, "Italian" sandwiches elsewhere often include cured meats such as capocollo, Genoa salami and mortadella.{{Cite web |last=Behymer |first=Jim |date=2017-02-01 |title=The Maine-style Italian Sandwich {{!}} Sandwich Tribunal |url=https://www.sandwichtribunal.com/2017/01/the-maine-style-italian-sandwich/ |access-date=2024-12-05 |website=www.sandwichtribunal.com |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Kang |first=Matthew |date=2023-02-24 |title=Highly Opinionated: An Editor's Favorite Italian Deli Sandwiches in LA |url=https://la.eater.com/2023/2/24/23611066/best-italian-deli-sandwiches-los-angeles-highly-opinionated |access-date=2024-12-05 |website=Eater LA |language=en}} The Boston variant of the "Italian" sandwich is typically prepared on spuccadella and was historically called "spuckie", though the use of this term is in decline.{{Cite web |last=Emde |first=Laura |title=Why do some Bostonians call subs 'spuckies'? |url=https://www.boston.com/news/wickedpedia/2023/10/17/subs-spuckies-spukies-boston-ma/ |access-date=2024-12-05 |website=www.boston.com |language=en-US}} This comes from the distinction in the sandwich's name: the Maine Italian is so-named because it was commonly eaten by Italian immigrants, not because the sandwich contains Italian flavors or ingredients.

{{Portal|United States|Food}}

• List of sandwiches
• Submarine sandwich
• Cuisine of Portland, Maine
• Cuisine of New England

{{reflist|refs=

{{cite book | last1=Stern | first1=J. | last2=Stern | first2=M. | title=Roadfood Sandwiches: Recipes and Lore from Our Favorite Shops Coast to Coast | publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt | year=2007 | isbn=978-0-547-34635-9 | url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780618728985 | url-access=registration | access-date=May 27, 2016 | page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780618728985/page/186 186]}}

{{cite book | last1=Smith | first1=A. | last2=Kraig | first2=B. | title=The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America | edition=2d|publisher=OUP USA | year=2013 | isbn=978-0-19-973496-2 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DOJMAgAAQBAJ&pg=RA1-PA351 | access-date=May 27, 2016 | page=351}}

{{cite book | last1=Thorne | first1=J. | last2=Thorne | first2=M.L. | title=Mouth Wide Open: A Cook and His Appetite | publisher=Farrar, Straus and Giroux | year=2008 | isbn=978-1-4668-0646-7 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xZdrKwSZse0C&pg=PT106 | access-date=May 27, 2016 | page=pt106–107}}

{{cite book | last1=Stern | first1=J. | last2=Stern | first2=M. | title=500 Things to Eat Before It's Too Late: And the Very Best Places to Eat Them | publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt | year=2009 | isbn=978-0-547-05907-5 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uha0mHZ-N8oC&pg=PA58 | access-date=May 27, 2016 | page=58}}

{{cite web | title=Eat and Run: Anania's, South Portland | website=The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram | date=September 27, 2012 | url=http://www.pressherald.com/2012/09/27/dininganddrink_2012-09-27/ | access-date=May 27, 2016}}

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• {{cite web | last=Smith | first=Bill | title=Maine Voices: That was amore: When Portland was known for Italian sandwiches | website=The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram | date=January 25, 2016 | url=http://www.pressherald.com/2016/01/25/maine-voices-that-was-amore-when-portland-was-known-for-italian-sandwiches/ | access-date=May 27, 2016}}

{{Sandwiches}}

Category:American sandwiches

Category:Italian-American culture in Portland, Maine

Category:New England cuisine

Category:Italian-American cuisine

Category:Cheese sandwiches

Category:1903 introductions

Category:1903 establishments in Maine

Category:20th century in Portland, Maine