Catching Up: DiNic's

Joe Nicolosi and wife Christina were beaming at celebratory party on the night Adam Richman's Best Sandwich in American aired.

A few score of the Nicolosi family's friends joined them for the viewing party at Molly Malloy's within the Reading Terminal Market.

As has been noted by others, the lines have only gotten longer since DiNic's won the competition.

Of course, the finals seemed unfair to DiNic's competitors. I mean, did you really expect either of two chicken sandwiches to best pork? Even if one of them did have bacon?

I think the toughest round for DiNic's was the first, when they went up against Primanti's behemoth capicola and egg topped with french fries and, more importantly, Katz's corned beef-pastrami combo with slaw and Russian dressing, a combination that's always been one of my favs.  But as Richman showed throughout the series, he has a predilection for simple sandwiches with just enough ingredients to make it interesting while keeping everything in balance. And that's exactly what any of DiNic's sandwiches do, whether it's the roast pork, the brisket, the pulled pork, the roast beer or the meatballs.

Still, the chicken liver and tongue sandwiches from two of the other finalists are on my Sandwiches To Taste Before I Die list.

First Day at Dinics

Joe and Tom Nicolosi pose with meat they're prepping for first day at new location

Nothing is easy or goes without bumps.

In moving from old to new location within the Reading Terminal Market last night, the staff at Dinic's found that one of the ovens simply wouldn't fit through the opening in the old counter. So out came the sledgehammer to create a suitable opening.

"I almost cried," said Tom Nicolosi, proprietor of Dinic's.

But that wasn't the end of the oven problems. Because of electrical box issues, the electric ovens wouldn't work at all, and the gas oven needs electricity to drive its fan. Undaunted -- and with assurances from the electrician that all would be well soon -- Nicolosi, son Joe and the rest of the crew still planned to be serving their pork and beef sandwiches for lunch.