When you eat 50-odd burgers and sandwiches in the space of 60 hours, interesting things happen. You learn that in addition to meat sweats, there are very real physical conditions like meat flush, meat cramps, meat naps, and meat drunk. Your mind begins to simplify thoughts, until your internal monologue begins to sound like the musings of an inebriated Neanderthal. UNGH. Meat good, want more this meat, you silently exclaim, using the back of your wrist to swipe blindly at the juices running down your chin. And sometimes, UNGH. Meat bad. 'Nuf meat, before morosely face-planting into your plate.
These are the conditions under which I came to the following conclusion: Cheesesteak good. Roast pork better.
So much better, in fact, that I'd argue the roast pork sandwich is Philadelphia's greatest culinary attraction—I'm pretty comfortable saying that not one of Philly's best cheesesteaks rivals the phenomenal roast pork sandwiches that made our list. Luckily, one of the great joys of the roast pork sandwich is just how easy it is to find—most places that serve cheesesteaks serve roast pork sandwiches, too.
But unlike cheesesteaks, which almost always suffer from dry, shriveled, unseasoned meat, roast pork sandwiches have a lot more flavor agents working in their favor. There's the roll, typically encrusted in nutty sesame seeds and saturated with a generous ladleful of meaty pork juices. There's the gooey tang of melted sharp provolone and, under ideal circumstances, the pleasantly bitter bite of broccoli rabe. And that's not counting the roast pork itself, or the myriad optional condiments like long hots that you can slap on top.
Of course, this isn't to say that there aren't bad roast pork sandwiches out there. We encountered stale rolls; dry, stringy pork; bland or unmelted cheese; and sad, mushy broccoli rabe. We had sandwiches that were more bread than filling, and fillings that soaked right through the roll. Roast pork is a special breed of sandwich, and the very best ones excel for their barebones simplicity and zen-like balance. Of the 14 we tried, here are the ones that truly triumphed.