Roast Pork Sandwiches: Where to Find the Philly Cheesesteak's Greatest Rival

While the bar traces its roots back to 1902, Taberna Cherry Street didn’t start appearing on food maps until 1977. That’s when a regular told then-owner Bill Loughery that he needed a signature sandwich to pair with his 25-cent beers. The result? Hot roast beef and roast pork sandwiches, which people keep coming back for all these years later.

Cherry Street’s roast pork is simply yet delicious — thinly sliced pulled pork, kissed with sharp provolone, on a kaiser roll with a “gravy drip.” Do yourself a favor and ask for a side of long hots and a frosty Yuengling to keep your taste buds balanced. 

Estilo: Si Saludos had been filmed in Philadelphia. (Fun fact: Basketball legend Larry Bird used to drink here during Celtics road trips.) 

Founded in 1973 by Italian brothers Frank and Siro Dattilo, Dattilo’s Delicatessen is a beloved corner counter in Northeast Philly's Rhawnhurst neighborhood. 

Known for colossal-sized sandwiches — think: longer than the Flyers’ Stanley Cup drought — Dattilo’s dishes out foot-long roast pork hoagies. The shop keeps the treasured tenderloin in the oven until it’s well done (juicy, never dry!), then slaps crunchy broccoli rabe and sharp provolone on it. 

No te pierdas: Dattilo’s deli case. This is a fully stocked deli and market, featuring everything from freshwater mozzarella and hot soppressata to pasta and panettone. 

Desde hace más de 80 años, el lema de La tienda de sándwiches de George has been “once you try them, you’ll always buy them.” It’s that confidence that has kept folks coming back for addictive sandwiches like their cheesesteak, meatball parmesan, hot roast beef, tripe — really, Andrew Zimmern once highlighted George’s TNT Sandwich (beef tongue and tripe) — along with a fantastic roast pork.

En Italian Market staple’s roast pork hot sandwich is served on a Sarcone’s roll with a choice of American cheese, mild provolone, sharp provolone or Whiz. Note that the shop is a simple walk-up order window with no on-site seating (though there are a few sidewalk tables next door at Lorenzo’s Pizza).

No te pierdas: Ask for George’s signature sauce to enhance your sandwich, featuring olive oil, seeded peppers and au jus from the cooked pork. 

Deja que Ganador del premio James Beard  Ellen Yin to breathe new life into a classic. Centro de la ciudad’s elegant Calle Mayor de Filadelfia — co-created by Yin, Roberto Sella and Chef Eli Kulp — offers a leveled-up take with its inventive roast pork sandwich.

The restaurant’s novel interpretation features creamy provolone melded into slow-cooked roast pork (brine-cured for two days), topped with zesty “long hart” and tart broccoli rabe kimchi — fermented and spiked with garlic and chili. Then the whole creation is placed on a seeded semolina roll baked on site.

Estilo: Since High Street is a Michelin-recognized restaurant, you can brag to your foodie friends – you know, the ones that can’t stop talking about El Oso. 

La buena fe está en el nombre: Cerdo asado de John, run by third-generation owner John Bucci, Jr. The diminutive stand with its four-table outdoor seating area has been an oasis at a triangular South Philadelphia intersection since 1930, easily identifiable amid a sea of big-box stores (across the street from an IHOP and Hair Cuttery) with a smiling cartoon pig on the marquee.

The shop’s eponymous signature item offers a sesame seed-crusted Italian hoagie roll wrapped around juicy thin-sliced roast pork (watch the cook ladle the juices over the meat) with sharp or mild provolone. There’s no broccoli rabe at John’s; the staple veggie here is sautéed spinach.

Lo que debes saber antes de ir: There is usually a line, but it’s well worth the wait. For a different experience, try it “Dad’s Way,” with mustard, raw onions, hot seeded pepper and American cheese (no spinach or provolone). 

Cocina Liberty deli and cafe keeps stacking sub-stantial sandwiches since opening its original Fishtown location in 2019. From hoagies and hot dogs to chicken cutlets and tomato pies, this is an Instagram-worthy spot — now open for breakfast, too! — which also hosts chef-taught workshops and classes. 

Come for the artisan vibes but stay for the traditional roast pork, made from braised pork shoulder with a specialty provolone chianti spread, long hot relish and broccoli rabe on a seeded roll. Stop by the original Fishtown shop or locations in Chestnut Hill y University City, inside Two Locals Brewing.

Estilo: Your friend from college started binge-watching Beat Bobby Flay! 

Flanqueando la entrada de West Passyunk's Old Original Nick's Roast Beef son carteles de neón rojo y verde que brillan con dos palabras atrayentes: ROAST a la izquierda y BEEF a la derecha. Aunque la ternera es la reina en Nick's, también destacan en el clásico cerdo asado.

The divey old-school spot offers a slow-roasted, thin-sliced roast pork sandwich with homemade gravy and sharp provolone on a fresh-baked Kaiser roll — paired perfectly with their gravy fries. The South Philly location has been operating since 1938, with newer spots in Springfield and West Chester.

Lo que debes saber antes de ir: Have roast pork, will travel! Nick’s offers a droolworthy takeout package, with everything batched by the pound: sliced sharp provolone and hand-carved roast pork, plus gravy and kaiser rolls (24-hour notice required). 

Para una versión gourmet de su cerdo asado favorito, diríjase a Estilo Philly de Paesano from chef Peter McAndrews. Paesano’s store near South 9th and Carpenter streets has showcased standout Italian-inspired sandwiches since 2022.

McAndrews’ version, known as the Arista sandwich, comes with shredded whole suckling pig roasted until juicy and tender with broccoli rabe, long hots and sharp provolone inside a Liscio’s Italian hoagie roll.

No te pierdas: Menu Tourista, a four-course, family-style tasting selection that runs every Friday at 7 p.m. The menu rotates based on seasonal ingredients — with standout dishes like Bucatini Trapanese, Carciofi Fritti and Pork Osso Bucco, along with complimentary bread service. 

Formerly a popular takeout shop in Fishtown, La Sandwichería de Poe — helmed by activist N.A. Poe — reopened inside imaginative Kensington brewery Robot humano in 2019. (La pieza secundaria de Poe, inside Human Robot’s Brewerytown location, is their second collaboration). 

The former Lo mejor de Philly winner offers favorites like a meatball parm (with mozzarella made in-house), seven different chicken cutlets, the veggie “Commish” with mozzarella and basil pesto, and one of the city’s most underrated cheesesteaks.

Two pork-centric standouts on the menu are the Skinny Joey, featuring Italian-style pulled pork, broccoli rabe, roasted long hots, extra sharp provolone, horseradish mayo and red pepper flakes on a crusty hoagie roll, and the Weedman, a cheffy riff on a banh mi, piled high with pulled pork, sliced long hots, pickled carrot, cucumber, cilantro and house Sriracha mayo. 

Estilo: An Eagles tailgate party broke out at the neighborhood brewpub, with the beanie-clad cook manning the grill and leading the loudest “Go Birds!” cheers. 

Comida rápida y casual de calidad en un ambiente divertido y respetuoso con el medio ambiente, Porchetteria de Porco - situado junto a la deliciosa pastelería Small Oven y la heladería, ofrece un sándwich de cerdo asado sin igual.

Porco’s version, known as The O.G., is filled with six ounces of locally conscious porchetta — made from Berkshire and Duroc breeds raised in a minimal-stress animal welfare environment on family farms in Lancaster. That savory pork is then topped with crispy crackling skin and bathed in au jus, then placed on housemade ciabatta.

No te pierdas: Pizza pop-up nights. On the third Monday of every month, let the moon hit your eye.

The legacy of Shank’s & Evelyn’s, a beloved Italian Market luncheonette operating from 1962 until 2009, lives on at Shank's Original, un pequeño puesto con vistas al río Delaware, en el muelle 40, que ahora dirige Ed Brennan (ex de Tony Luke's).

The current Shank’s — equally known for its award-winning chicken cutlet — is a walk-up window next to thatched-wire patio tables perfect for dining riverside on a Roast Pork Italiano topped with broccoli rabe or spinach and sharp provolone on an Italian hoagie roll. It also makes for a convenient stop while strolling or biking the Sendero del río Delaware.

Shanks’ irresistible sandwiches have been known to tempt hungry celebrities, including Tyler, el Creador, during his tour in Philly. 

Estilo: The type of no-frills place that Rocky would take Adrian to on a first date. 

Uno de los bocadillos más esenciales de Philly es también uno de los artículos más emblemáticos en Reading Terminal Marketservido por una tienda de cuarta generación Tommy DiNic's. 

DiNic’s traditional roast pork features a pile of thinly sliced boneless pork shoulder, sharp provolone and bright green chopped broccoli rabe lining a Sarcone’s Italian roll. For added spice, opt for grilled long hots — long green chili peppers — as well. Despite often lengthy lines, it’s well worth the wait.

The stall’s classic roast pork was even once named mejor bocadillo de América por el presentador de Travel Channel Adam Richman. Recently, the humble shop (under the red and blue neon) was called a “Philly Sandwich Legend” by the Men in Blazers soccer podcast. 

Lo que debes saber antes de ir: Reading Terminal Market, first opened in 1893, is its own Epcot Challenge, spanning the culinary globe from Jewish and Pennsylvania Dutch comfort foods to Caribbean and Creole cuisine. 

Vinnie’s Food Truck somehow, perhaps by design, continues to fly under the radar despite glowing reviews on Reddit, Instagram and Yelp. Here, juicy pork is the star ingredient, flooded with verdant broccoli rabe and sharp provolone on a seeded roll, available in six inches or 10 inches, with an option to add long hots. 

This sleek black food truck sits at the Ivy Ridge train station (on the border of Roxborough y Manayunk), Tuesday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Get there early to avoid the line. 

Lo que debes saber antes de ir: Lunch service doesn’t start until 11 a.m., but Vinnie’s also churns out exceptional breakfast sandos for the early risers. Head across the street to Unity Java for a shot of morning adrenaline.