Three Conshy Classics Come Together By Jack Coll

Three Conshy Classics Come Together

It’s Like I Died and Went to Heaven

By Jack Coll

10-20-16

I was wondering if anyone else noticed the banner hanging at the Great American Pub located at Second Avenue and Fayette Street during the Conshohocken Funfest. In big bold letters was:

“Italian Roast Pork Sandwiches”

I’m aware of the Pub’s Pork Sandwiches, I have sampled many pork sandwiches at the Pub over the years. But under the Pork sandwiches headline was,

“Mastrocola’s Famous—–Great American Pub Bar & Grill—–Conshohocken Italian Bakery

     At first I thought it was nice the three food company’s combined to share a banner, but it was much more than that.

The Conshohocken food scene is among the most robust and vibrant in the tri-county area. Conshohocken has more quality restaurants than any other town or county as far as the map reads. They just took it up a notch when The Great American Pub contracted with a pork supplier whose product was made famous by Mike Mastrocola, Mastrocola’s Famous Pork.

Mike Mastrocola, the onetime owner of Mastrocola’s Deli once located at Ninth Avenue and Fayette Street, (The current site of Lenny’s Deli) was known throughout the Philadelphia area for his pork sandwiches with his special ingredients. Good Luck trying to figure out the special ingredients.

Mike been asked about the special herbs and secret ingredients on many occasions, Mike’s story is that about twenty five years ago, (1991) he traveled to Italy and was hanging out in Tuscany, a street vendor was selling a fabulous hot roast pork sandwich. Pork sandwiches were Mike favorite sandwich and he certainly knew about good pork but never tasted anything like this sandwich. So Mike played it cool and hung around the plaza where he bought the sandwich and when the crowd thinned out he approached the owner of the shop, sparked a conversation and slid in his question, “Hey could you give me the recipe for the pork?”

Silly Mike, the owner didn’t fall for the question, he said, “I can’t, it’s a special recipe.” So Mike explained that he was an American, and wouldn’t be competing with him. So the owner said, ‘if you assure me that you’re not from around here, you’re American, I’ll give you the recipe, BUT first you buy me lunch.”

Mike jumped on it only he didn’t realize that lunch in Tuscany was a full four course meal, and the owner ordered three bottles of home-made wine, the meal cost Mike 120,000 lire, which was roughly $100.00, Mike swallowed hard but got a hell of a deal, the owner was good to his word and provided Mike the recipe. Now-a-days Mike has expanded his pulled pork with the special herbs known as Mastrocola’s Famous Philly Roast Pork. The pork is hand crafted in Lancaster County using premium lean pork and complemented with his secret blend of rustic herbs and spices, with all the ingredients in place the pork is slow cooked for hours in its own au jus.

The product is shipped throughout the tri-state area and can be purchased in local supermarkets, Mike expects the pork to hit the shelves at Whole Foods in the near future. Rob Hurff, who is a regional sales representative for John Martin & Sons, said, “We are proud to be on the menu at the Great American Pub. He noted that Mastrocola’s Famous Philly Roast Pork is a growing favorite in the markets throughout the mid-Atlantic region.

The Great American Pub only uses rolls from the Conshohocken Italian Bakery located at 72 Jones Street. The Pub’s head chef Mike Hamilton was quick to say that there was no decision about using the Conshohocken Bakery, (founded in 1972) “they have the freshest products in bakery needs, often the rolls go from their ovens, to the back of their truck and get delivered to the pub while the rolls are still warm, it doesn’t get any fresher than that. More importantly is the ingredients used in making the rolls are of the highest quality allowing us to perfect the pork sandwich overall taste.

The Great American Pub offers an authentic and memorable experience for those sitting down to dine in one of their four dinning area’s including the very comfortable outdoor dining area. The Pub also has a large banquet hall serving wedding, reunions and other large gatherings.

I traveled to the Pub unannounced, and ordered a “roast pork sandwich on a round roll,” it was out-of-this-world, exactly what you would expect with Mastrocola’s pork and a Conshohocken Italian Bakery roll, do yourself a favor, stop by because you can only get this combination at the Pub.