Laspada's Original Hoagies - 17th Street — Restaurant in Fort Lauderdale

During my vacation I had a list of things I wanted to do and hitting LaSpada's for lunch was high on the list. The first LaSpada's Hoagies opened in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea in 1973. The sub shop was opened by John LaSpada Jr. whose family was in the sandwich business. His grandfather was famous for having opened his first hoagie shop in Atlantic City in the 1930's. In 1978, LaSpada sold the business to Harry and Gale Kappes ,who along with their son Phil, now operate 5 locations in Broward and one in Boca.

I have so many fond memories of eating at LaSpadas through the years. They are the freshest subs around and they will customize it perfectly to your taste. LaSapada's is unique in that they throw the meat down the line, partly for theatrics and partly to move it faster. It was a practice started in the 1970's by a frustrated sandwich maker attempting to move the meat faster down the line. I never get tired of seeing the meat fly through the air and landing squarely on the bread. Another thing that makes LaSpadas special is the meat blanket, a second layer of meat that covers all of the toppings. I had the Italian sub but you can never go wrong with a Monster, a ham, turkey, roast beef combo. If you are trying to cut the carbs they also offer salad platters.

In addition to a delicious sub you also get top notch service. Right now inside dining is closed due to Covid. I had no problem taking mine to go and having a lovely lunch in a nearby park. During my visit they had one person working whose job was solely to sanitize and clean. They take your safety seriously. As I was walking out I saw a police officer walking in. If you see the police eating here, you know it's good. LaSpada's is a favorite of mayor's too. It is South Florida...

I stopped in for lunch today and got probably the best sandwich I've ever had. Tons of meat, delicious veggies and fresh bread. The line moved quickly as the team worked efficiently. The guy slicing the meat threw it down the line and the person making my sub caught it! I was amazed! I picked voodoo potato chips out of the huge selection and tried a cup of their tuna, which was better than I can make myself at home. I think it was the manager who was helping a customer place a huge order for New Year's Eve. He seemed really knowledgeable and when he was done taking this giant order for dozens of sandwiches, he seemed to help the the whole operation rolling by bouncing from helping a new guy, to expediting orders, to greeting customers. The whole system was really impressive. Last but definitely not least, I got a fountain drink and they had a bunch of cool sodas: birch beer, strawberry, lemon lime, and orange cream were the ones I remember, but there were a bunch more. I had birch beer and it was awesome, and then I got a refill and mixed orange and strawberry. Pretty cool compliment to the best sub ever. I asked the guy wiping the tables down about their soda and he said that they're from a local small business, which also makes their lemonade and fruit punch. It's great to see small businesses supporting each other. The guy also let me know they have teas and gatorade and coke products in their fridge, for those who like something more familiar. Overall, I couldn't be more impressed with the food, service, and general experience, and now I have a favorite...

My son and I flew into Ft. Lauderdale airport in April and we were looking for a place to eat that would be lighter on the stomach (no fried foods), but still filling and not crazy expensive...JACKPOT! I'm sure we were clearly "touristy" when we came in, and all of the gentlemen working were extremely patient and very funny, they immediately made us feel right at home. They laughed easy and even did a little meat toss while making the sandwiches! I felt like we had just walked into place filled with family. We got our food to go because we had somewhere to be but the atmosphere was very quiet, clean, and laid back so we would have definitely eaten there if we had the time. Our food looked so good while they were making it and then we could smell it once we got in the car (yes, I said we could smell the sandwich 🤤)... needless to say, we didn't make it out the parking lot before tasting. Let me tell you this sandwich will CHANGE YOUR LIFE!! Of course I had them put Everything on my sandwich and my son's was more basic with the extras but we were BOTH thoroughly impressed. I'm not even a "sandwich person" but this place is .... I don't even know what to say - other than PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE GO SEE FOR YOURSELF! I'm a little late on the review but I had to give these guys the thanks and recognition they so clearly deserved. Who knew grabbing a sandwich would be so memorable!

Customer Service, Menu, Prices, Atmosphere, Portions,...