The Untold Tale of the Artichoke Parm, the Most Mysterious Sandwich in Brooklyn

In all the parms she'd encountered as a lifelong New Yorker, writer Katie Honan had never seen one like this. The tart, herby sandwich became an obsession—one that revealed an intimate slice of New York history. . .

Then one day last spring I stepped inside a Brooklyn deli I’d never been to before. And there, listed between a pastrami and an eggplant parmigiana, I saw a sandwich I’d never heard of: an artichoke parmigiana.

The sandwich in question was at Mama Louisa’s Hero Shoppe in Prospect Lefferts Gardens, Brooklyn. With a handwritten menu and a sign with a drawing of a chef, it felt familiar, though it was my first time there. There was one other customer inside with me that Saturday, and I spun toward him. “Artichoke parm!” I said. “I’ve never seen that before! Have you?” He smiled, and assured me it was good. It was only $9 for a large hero, and I had to order it. Along with a more traditional Italian cold cut hero with prosciutto and capicola, the artichoke parm rode delicately in the passenger seat during my drive home to Queens.

At home, I immediately opened the hero on my kitchen counter, taking it in. It had a weight to it. When I pulled both halves of the sandwich apart, I saw the hero bread perfectly enveloped the artichoke mixture inside, which I would later learn had bits of scrambled egg mixed in with artichoke hearts and mozzarella cheese. The smell coming out from the warm halves was herby and tart.

The sandwich was unlike anything I’d ever tasted. It was creamy from melty mozz and a little tangy from jarred artichoke hearts and marinara sauce, hefty without spilling out of the sides. The bread was strong on the outside yet pillowy inside.'>

https://www.bonappetit.com/story/artichoke-parm-history-new-york?