Philly Italian Pastas & Subs — Restaurant in North Carolina

A group of friends and I rode our bikes up from Alabama to a bike rally nearby and this place was the closest thing to our air bnb so we took a chance on it. Our track record for finding any decent random little food places isn't very good and we've been disappointed quite a few times. This place is NOT on that list.

People of Google, let me tell you, I've been all over the United States and ate at a lot of places but this is one of those rare gems that make the short list of best places I've stopped. The food takes a little while to get and it's a little expensive but thats because these sub sandwiches aren't the Subway style trashy thrown together in a hurry kind of sandwiches you're used to. They're FILLED with hand carved meats and fresh veggies that result in a MASSIVE delicious sandwich that will have you marveling at just the weight alone before you unwrap it. The ingredients are top shelf and prepared in such a manner you know it was done with care. They are worth every minute of the wait and every dime of the cost.

The owner, Howard, is the picture of perfect, friendly, down home customer service that is rare to see. Extremely kind and helpful and makes you feel like you're best friends before you leave his great little establishment. There is an outside deck to eat on with a small stage for live music and kareoke if I remember correctly but he will also throw on the music of your choice when there isn't live music playing. He also owns the motel right next door so if you book with him, you'll always have an excellent spot to eat during your stay.

I cant say enough good things about this place and if any of you decide to give it a try, be good and tip Mr. Howard because he certainly deserves...

I apologize for the truly terrible photos. This sandwich is an example of ugly delicious.

This place is on the side of the highway and if you blink you're gonna miss it. The entry point is the opposite side where'd you expect and spills into a shared parking lot with a motel. The spaces are numbered. Unlikely you'll be towed but there's no signs telling you NOT to park there ...🤷‍♀️

There's also no inside seating, but there is a rather large outdoor deck with plenty of outside seating.

The menu is gigantic. Literally and ..well also literally. Let me help you narrow it down: get the marinara sauce.

I went to the window and asked for the Philly (on the menu as steak and cheese). Howard the owner was like, don't do that. Get the marinara, it's from Sicily. I was like, say more words. He did. You can tell this guy like, LOVES food. And he takes pride in the food he sells.

While I wanted for my sandwich, a guy walked up to get his order. Howard knew him, he was a regular. He nerded out about the menu long enough that I knew he meant it.

I got my massive sandwich home and unwrapped it. It's well wrapped so nothing spilled, which is saying something because once I took it out of the wrapping it was drip central in the best, hedonistic way.

Howard was right. Don't get the philly. It's good, but it's not the star. But get the red sauce. I was scraping it off the side of the bread with a spoon. And the bread. It's soft and flavorful and soaks up the sauce beautifully.

The bread also comes as GARLIC BREAD and protip: YOU CAN ASK FOR IT AS YOUR SANDWICH BREAD.

I will be back and I've got a date with the eggplant Parm. On the garlic bread. You only have to tell me once.

Oh. And they take...

Our visit yesterday was the second one we’ve made to this location. The first time we went was probably 6+ months ago. We ordered two Philly cheesesteaks and two orders of fries. The food was pretty good. Nothing to write home about but we both love Phillies so we planned on coming back for more later since it’s close to home. It should be noted that we were the only patrons there at the time and we waited upwards of 30 minutes for our food to be prepared.

Last night my fiance went to pick up our food. He ordered a roast beef sub for himself and pasta with marinara for me. He was told the wait for food was 35 minutes (which is already a ridiculous wait time for one sandwich and some meatless pasta) The place wasn’t busy. That’s important to note because there were no notable factors for the reason why he ended up waiting an HOUR for our food. He brought it home (5 minutes away) and in that short time his sub was almost cold. The meat was bland and the at jus was flavorless. He ended up throwing away half the sandwich. The marinara sauce on my pasta was actually really delicious. The only reason they earned 2 stars instead of 1 was because the sauce was good and our previous Phillies were good. But the pasta itself was mush; like it had been cooked for 10 minutes too long. As a side they also gave me an untoasted, butterless, garlicless piece of French bread wrapped in tinfoil. Literally just sliced a cold loaf of bread and wrapped it up.

We won’t be going back. We spent $30 on a very poor dinner and waited an hour for terrible quality food. It’s a shame. I love seeing small places like this one succeed but there’s no way we’ll ever be visiting this...