I lived in Perth in the 80s and the Re Store was legendary. I remember the generosity of staff, constantly pushing little morsels of meat, cheese or pickles into your hand to sample while making their monumental rolls. Attempted the same at the famous Casafiecio Borderi in Syracuse, Sicily last year, but the queue was too daunting. Now, living in Auckland where there is a desperate lack of the good Italian, Greek and middle eastern food so abundant in Australia.
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Love the Re Store,
We meet every Saturday with a group of friends for coffee cake and a catch-up.
Often pop down during the week for one of their famous mixed meat and cheese rolls along with a great coffee. The week never seems the same with out Re Store visit. ❤️❤️
On October 15th, 2003, Ed Levine wrote an article for the NYT documenting that hero sandwiches started in New York in the late 19th century. This was confirmed by research papers written by the sociologist Howard Robboy. Check it out.
@Dave My introduction to hero sandwiches was a 1940s Saturday Evening Post eulogy about a hole in the wall lunch place in New York which had invented the ultimate hero sandwich stuffed with delicacies imported from Italy and named it “the submarine”. The queue each lunchtime went right round the block. Their rapturous description of the exotic Italian meats, luscious black olives, sun dried tomatoes, the oil, basalmic vinegar, garlic were more than a child could bear .... particularly when I had never heard of any of them.Over breakfast I asked my father who had just come back from war service in Italy. He admitted that such ingredients existed but had been in very short supply and talked about starving city dwelling Italians grateful for any food they could get. He also mentioned salami as an Italian specialty. This brought a lecture from my mother on its probable providence (dead donkey) and how lucky I was to live in New Zealand where we had the best produce in the world and didn’t need to subsist on processed meat and olive oil. They both told me to get on and eat my porridge or I’d be late for school. Today I often think of the dead donkey and the aftermath of war in Italy as we lunch on impossibly delicious home made subs stuffed with locally made (Italian style) processed meats, cheeses, locally grown olives and similar exotica. Sometimes we serve them with a glass of wine.
Casafiecio Borderi in Ortygia, in Siracusa, Sicily makes great Italian heroes and has been in business since 1930. Sicilian delis have influenced New York delis almost as much as Jewish ones, especially in certain neighborhoods (Bay Ridge comes to immediate mind but clearly there are others, Kingsbridge, Bensonhurst, half of SI, etc.).
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You know what else was invented in Perth-the-most-isolated-capital-City-in-the-world-Western-Australia? FOMO.
But now the Re store has a write-up in the NY Times. How awesome is that? We have truly arrived.
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A wonderful whiff of gastronomic culture to Western Australia. However, I could not make it out on the photos, whether the Italian roll is hard and crusty, or as tastelessly soft as the bread buns used in US hamburgers.
No, in the U.S. the Italian roll is delicious and crisp. It is not a hamburger roll. They are not even the same shape, nor are they sold in the same store.
The roll is hard and crusty. Re store is one of my must-go-tos when I get the opportunity to get down to Perth (a mere 1000 mile, 15 hour drive away).
The photos don't do the place justice. It's a huge labyrinthian store full of tasty morsels from the world over. I've bought wine from the foothills of Georgia (the country, not the State), Austrian chocolates, French cheese, German Speck and Italian sausage. As well as, of course, a multitude of Australian foods.
Maine's Italian sandwich is a thing unto itself. It is not a submarine, hero, hoagie or grinder. You can only get it in Maine, and it is sublime. Meat (I am partial to salami but ham is good too), American cheese, pickles (dill, not sweet), onions, green peppers, tomatoes, salt, pepper and olive oil, all on a locally baked Italian sandwich roll. (Some people add black olives, but they are nasty, slimy little things and even one will ruin my sandwich.)
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@ J Maine
Although to each one his taste, I do not share your admiration of American cheese and tomatoes on ANY sandwich. But your good comment, coming from Maine, makes one think that a traditional Maine lobster roll would be excellent, if served on a crusty baguette.
A lobster roll is served on a split top frankfurter bun. I love a crusty baguette, but it would be too crusty for the lobster.
And for the record, I don't like American cheese on anything but an Italian sandwich!
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I don't know why the writer lists sandwich names from grinder to hoagie, then says the sandwich was "invented in Maine" but never comes up with the Maine name for the thing: italian. I am eating one now.It is sublime and cost $3.99.
I am a resident in the US,spent my youth in Sydney Australia, both parents Italian. My mother regularly prepared lunch for the family and their friends which invariably was a crusty Italian/French "baguette" with selective Italian meats, pickled or grilled vegetables .....my mother always had on call various meats,mortadella,salami, prosciutto and her home made variety of grilled vegetables,eggplant,mushrooms, asparagus,zucchini,peppers etc. She called it her "antipasti roll". I think it was just a convenient quick way to prepare lunch for the kids who were always at our house.I still prepare a quick casual lunch to this day, The "antipasti roll" is still a favorite lunch of mine.
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"The crusty roll stuffed with cold cuts is not a sandwich that exists in Italy." That doesn't strike me as feasible. Certainly, we used to head into central Firenze in the 1970s for panini e vini. They were small rolls with cold cuts (with a glass of wine). They are to be seen in photos from at least three places with variations on the name "Panini e vino". Maybe I'm missing a subtlety here.
My name is Anne Ferrari and I am the youngest daughter of John Re, the founder of The Re Stores mentioned.
On behalf of all our family, I thank you for your article on our stores, their place in WA and our rolls which have now built quite a following.
We look forward to welcoming you and NYT readers in our stores when you’re down in
Australia.
I should also clarify that The Re Stores continue to be owned by three of the founding families: Giudicatti, Ferrari and Berti with my nephew Lorenzo managing the Northbridge location you visited.
See you soon Anne
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@ Anne Ferrari (née Re) Perth Western Australia
All the best to the three-family clan that founded, owns, and runs Re Stores. May they prosper and multiply in WA, generally known in the world as the second failed command of Captain Bligh (an unnecessary reminder, the first was "The Bounty").
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@Anne Ferrari (née Re)
one of my fondest primary school memories was an excursion to the Re store. It was part of our Italian class curriculum, I believe. Ahead of the excursion, we took home a form so that our parents would help us order a sandwich ahead of time and send us to school with the payment. I ordered an egg sandwich, because I didn't know any better, and I loved egg sandwiches. I don't remember the sandwich but I remember being in the wonderland that is the Re store, and all the beautiful jars of unfamiliar things, and feeling so adult. Thank you!!
I spent the first half of my life in Perth and now live about four hours drive away. Whenever I visit I stay with friends who live only a couple of blocks away from the Leederville store and I always walk down to the Re Store for a continental roll for lunch. They are simply the best - always have been.
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While I love the Re-Store, the sandwiches always reminded me of the US, but not in the best way: very average bread and excessive portions across a myriad of ingredients to the point where everything tastes muddled. Better and more refined are the piadina and focaccia options alongside Australia’s excellent coffee, at least at most cafés.
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You say you are in "hero-less" Melbourne, but have you tried a bahn mei common in Richmond or Springvale, or any Vietnamese-owned bakeries? There's a damn fine roll.
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