Tommy DiNic's, Roast Pork and Beef Sandwich Counter at the Reading Terminal Market

[mdt]

Amada only had a 5:30 table when I looked and it's now all booked. Unfortunately my wife has to work on Sat morning so I scrapped brunch plans on Sunday at El Vez in favor of visiting the Reading Terminal (after all, our hotel is only 2 blocks away). As it stands, we'll do Chifa on Sat. night (and I'm ready to hate it because I don't think anyone can do a "research" trip to a foreign country and presume to cook its cuisine, and I don't think the restaurant offers much in the way of Peruvian cuisine), taste as many things as possible in Reading on Sunday morning - Dinic's, Herschel's deli (pastrami and bialy?), and then try Chink's and Steve's Prince of Steaks in the afternoon while my wife visits her friend. I don't eat scrapple and couldn't care less about sweets, so what else must I try in Reading?

Don't eat scrapple? Anyway, you need to get a pork sandwich at DeNic's. Make sure to get it with the rapini.

[DonRocks]

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Dinic's - We enjoyed the roast pork sandwich quite a bit, but I'm far from an expert on how it compares to other roast pork sandwiches in Philadelphia. Reading Terminal Market is fun.

I was in Philly overnight this past weekend, my first trip to the city.

Upon arrival, we went to John's Roast Pork for cheesesteaks only to find it closed for vacation so we landed at Tony Luke's instead. I was utterly unimpressed with the cheesesteak although I will give the caveat that we may have ordered "wrong". The roast pork at Dinic's was better, but still pretty uninspiring to me. I liked the bitterness of the broccoli rabe with the pork and cheese, but the meat by itself was quite dry and not that flavorful imo. I much preferred my corned beef Rachel from Herschel's (also in Reading Terminal Market). It's hard to ignore ordering one when you can watch the meat being sliced fresh in front of you. The sandwich itself was piled high with the corned beef, along with a slightly sweet mayonaise-y slaw, 2 slices of cheese, and a healthy dose of dressing and then pressed in a panini machine. SO good.

I co-sign on the poster above who suggested hitting Reading Market on Sunday morning.  Much easier to traverse.  But we grabbed Tony Luke's on the way out of town and I still don't see how anyone can pick DiNic's roast pork over Tony Luke's.  Better bread, and a proper ingredient ratio on a sandwich where that is essential.  Both of my DiNic's experiences were all out of whack with too much broccoli rabe, not enough pork. 

Reading Terminal Market/DiNics "“ Late Sunday morning is a good time to hit up Reading Terminal Market, not crowded at all.  The Pennsylvania Dutch places maybe closed but the line at DiNic's was only 6 people long.  And after a DiNic's roast pork for lunch you won't need to eat again until dinner time back in DC. 

Overall, it looked like Andrew had a hoot in PA. The lines at John's will be insufferable after this. Man Vs. Food's Adam Richmond featured DiNic's Pork* in his Philly visit, then singled out their roast pork sandwich as on of his 5 best in the country. Last time I was at RTM, the line was 40-50 deep, wrapped around the stand.

*I'd like to think I can take some credit for this  Mr. MV and I were enjoying breakfast at RTM when I spotted Adam. I spoke with him in front of DiNic's and asked if he was featuring the roast pork. He wasn't. I told him how that sandwich is a Philly treasure, and not well-known to non-locals. I think he liked it 

I found Dinic's to basically be on par with Taylor.

I also finally tried the roast pork at Tommy DiNic's in the Reading Market Terminal. It was delicious, but I do think Tony Luke's has an edge with their bread. Still worth a trip. pics

So you're there on Sunday? Well, the Amish stalls will be closed, but, mostly everyone else is open!

Iffffffff you were into sweets, I'd say head over to Termini Bros. and get a freshly-piped canoli. Otherwise, you've got the 411 on the highlights. Definitely get a roast pork with rabe and prov from DiNic's.

DiNic's roast pork was ok. I ate mine a few minutes after ordering and the bun didn't hold up to the au jus, but the pork with the greens was very good, but perhaps just a bit too soupy. 

DiNic's roast pork with provolone is still superior in every way to a cheesesteak. 

While the dinners were good, we had even more satisfying experiences at the Reading Terminal Market for lunch--this is a can't miss place. Sandwiches at DiNic's were fantastic, as was the cheesesteak from Rick's. 

Dinic's in the Reading Terminal Market - The roast park with sharp provolone and greens was the best sandwich I've had in the last 5 years. Sloppy and wonderful.

[RWBooneJr]

I can happily report that Tommy DiNic's is the same as it ever was.  A roast pork sandwich with broccoli rabe and sharp provolone is currently $10.50 ($8.75 plus $1.75 for the toppings). Half a sandwich and a couple of doughnuts from Beiler's was a decent sized lunch, though I could have easily polished off the whole sub.
 

[Jonathan]

The Brisket with Long Hots is quite delicious too. I think about that sandwich quite a bit.

[Mark Dedrick]

The Brisket with Long Hots is quite delicious too. I think about that sandwich quite a bit.

Had one of these (with broccoli rabe, long hots and provolone cheese) on Saturday for lunch. It's one of my favorite sandwiches ever. 

[DonRocks]

On 1/8/2016 at 5:58 PM, Jonathan said:

The Brisket with Long Hots is quite delicious too. I think about that sandwich quite a bit.

The only place I've ever had long hots are at Reading Terminal Market - are they a Philadelphia thing? They're really just pickles, but they're awfully tasty.