Hoagie City in Hilliard, Ohio: A Taste of Philadelphia with

We’d been hearing tell of a new-ish sandwich shop out in Hilliard, and finding ourselves there one night we managed to run into the place: Hoagie City. We made a quick stop for a couple sandwiches, chatted with the owner, marveled at the little slice of eastern PA, and would gladly rank them up there with some of the best sandwiches in Columbus.

Hoagie City should appeal to anyone, but ex-pats of eastern Pennsylvania will be especially pleased by the taste of home.

Hoagie City’s menu covers cold sandwiches, hot specials, and cheesesteaks, of course.

We were warmly greeted by owner Bob Farlow, who recommended we try the Italian hoagie and the cheesesteak. While he stacked the giant sandwiches he regaled us with stories from his many years of running a sandwich shop in Pottsville, PA. He sold it years ago but it’s still going.

We ordered half sandwiches, which were incredibly filling. A full sandwich could easily be split by two people.

I love a classic Italian hoagie. Theirs is generously loaded with meats, mayo, Italian seasoning and a dash of oil, then plenty of crispy lettuce, onions, and tomatoes.

And the classic cheesesteak is full to bursting with shaved steak, onions, peppers, and provolone.

We almost decided to eat these sandwiches in the car but waited until we got home. Wise decision: it would have been a gigantic (albeit delicious) mess.

If you’re from eastern PA you’ll find plenty of flavors of home, from Dietz & Watson scrapple…

…to Taylor’s pork roll.

You can even spot a sign from Bob’s old PA shop.

Even in a city rich with great sandwich shops, there’s a reason Hoagie City has been getting a lot of love. It’s really hard to argue with it when you’re biting into one of their massive, well-constructed, flavorful sandwiches. I know we’ll certainly find our way back to them soon.

Hoagie City is open: