Primo Hoagies, Leesburg - A Philadelphia Chain is Poised to Unseat Taylor Gourmet

[chaofun]

I have good news for you doomed to make a run to the Leesburg Outlets. You are no longer relagated to the crap food court in the outlet, there is a really solid choice just across the street near Home Depot.

Primo Hoagies just opened last week and I am happy to say, it is legit. First heard about it on Serious Eats and never got a chance to try it when I was in Philly. I've only been once but the the italian bread is crusty, and sesame seeded. The provolone was sharp and the sandwich busting out with meat.

The medium size sandwich is pretty big, just to let you know. Seemed like 1.25 ft long (Edit: after getting it again, it's 1 ft). Very good, no frills choice if you happen to have to hit the outlets.

Note: The meats are focused on domestic Thumannn's deli meat, but are still really good in the sandwich.

Note 2: These sandwiches travel well.

[buzzy]

In this post, I spoke about what Primo Hoagies would do to the expansion plans of Taylor Gourmet.

I feel that now more than ever.

Now, time to sit back and let the best sandwich win

buzzy

[Fish]

I had Primo in OC last year and I thought my Italian was very good! One of the best I've ever had. My wife had the Sharp Italian and she loved that. I ate the leftovers of it that night and she is still mad at me for that. It was worth it.

[DonRocks]

In this post, I spoke about what Primo Hoagies would do to the expansion plans of Taylor Gourmet.

I feel that now more than ever.

Now, time to sit back and let the best sandwich win

buzzy

All you need to do is smell the nauseating smell of Subway (which you can do from a block away), and you realize the best sandwich doesn't necessarily win.

So, I proclaim a bare-knuckle brawl between PR Reps trying to influence and pay off internet websites (unfortunately for them, this is one that can't be paid off, so the best sandwich really *will* win here).

Truly, may the best sandwich win - such a simple concept, no? Good luck to both companies.

[DrXmus]

Having not had the pleasure of a Taylor Gormet sub, yet, (although there'll be one a mile from my house in 6 months!) I have to say Primo makes the best subs (hoagie...whatever) I've ever had. Mrs. DrX and I went a couple of weeks ago on the way back from Frederick and we've been trying to come up with excuses to drive way the hell back out there for lunch since then. We've found a way to do it by scheduling a tour and tasting at Catoctin Distilling in Purcellville on Saturday.

I had the spicy Italian sub. The key here, besides the bread being sturdy and tasty, is that the provolone is the real aged stuff which I haven't had since leaving Baltimore's Italian neighborhoods. The whole sandwich smells like a spicy, meaty, stanky foot with sesame seeds. Fantastic! I enjoyed the vinegar and oil dressing very much, but I think I'll ask for a smidge more next time. Mrs. DrX had half of her the next day and says it was just as good left over. That's hard for a sub to do, I'd think. The Herr's potato chips are a huge hit with my Baltimoron bride, and I enjoyed them OK, too, but I'm not as much of a chip connoisseur (holy shit, I just spelled that correctly right off the bat!)

If the battle is beginning, I'd say Taylor's has a tough job to be able to overcome this start. Although, when I weigh Taylor Gormet being 2 minutes away and Primo being 30 minutes away (plus $7 in tolls for the express route) Taylor's may win out, but not necessarily for the sub.

[mcbriden]

We haven't tried Taylor's yet, but we stopped by Primo Hoagies on Saturday, on our way to a HS softball game, and picked up lunch to go. We ordered an Italian, an Abruzzi, and a custom sub for my picky younger daughter, along with Herr's chips. I got the pickle flavor potato chips, which were very good, and my daughter got the baby back rib chips, which were, um, interesting.

We got small hoagies so we could split them and try more than one type. The small is about 7 inches or so, and the crust was crisp and the inside was soft. My favorite hoagie was the Abruzzi, which was roast pork and sharp provolone topped with fresh broccoli rabe. This hoagie was outstanding! The roast pork was thinly sliced and flavorful, the provolone was sharp and the broccoli rabe was the right level of bitterness. The broccoli rabe I make at home is much bitterer than this one was, but this version was a good combination with the sharp provolone and roast pork. The Italian was my husband's favorite. It had prosciutto, provolone cheese, hot capacola & genoa salami. It was good, but not what I remember from my youth in Philly. I'm thinking it might not have had enough vinegar in the dressing, but I guess I'll need to try it again to make sure that was what was different about it. My daughter's custom sub had corned beef, turkey and cheese with lettuce. She didn't like the corned beef, so I had to take it off for her, but I thought the corned beef was fabulous. It had a good, spicy crust on it - which was probably why she didn't like it.

This is a great find for us, since we're in the Leesburg area every six to eight weeks for softball, and we'll definitely be back.

Edited to add that I think it was oregeno missing on the italian, not red wine vinegar.

[chaofun]

As gigantic as the primo size may be it is worth it. The bread on the small is not as good IMHO. It's not sesame seeded and to me seems less sturdy.

Also don't be afraid to stray away from the regular hoagies. The Bada Bing, (crispy chicken cutlet with rabe) is really really good. Oh and if you need a hoagie to last you a couple days, just be sure to not have lettuce and tomato on it and you'll be good to go. The lettuce and tomato do not do well in the fridge on the sandwich.

[ad.mich]

I don't think a single outlet in Leesburg will do any direct damage to Taylor's domination of DC. It might be interesting if someone opened a Primo franchise in the city proper though. To be honest, after randomly being in the neighborhood and trying Primo twice, I think the difference between them and Taylor is pretty damn marginal. But I appreciate more options to pick up a massive hoagie and the option to get sweet/hot peppers is a nice touch.