The Greatest Day of My Life

No trip to Atlantic City is complete without at least one visit to the White House Sub Shop. No Philly "hoagies" here, instead, you get the real deal. This is a cheesesteak the way Philadelphia wishes it could do it; the best cheesesteak (don't you dare call it a steak and cheese) in America, hands down. I understand that their other subs are good too, but, to be honest, I've never tried them. It's all about the cheesesteak for me.

Allow me to back up a step here. One of the very best and most important things about a sub from the White House is their choice of bread. This bread, known as Atlantic City bread, is virtually worshipped, by those in the know, throughout the civilized world, and it comes from the one and only Formica Brothers Bakery, just across the street from the White House.

The Formica Brothers Bakery, located in Ducktown, Atlantic City, NJ, has been an Atlantic City tradition since 1919, when Francesco Formica and his wife, Rosa first opened the doors. In 1928, Francesco moved the bakery to its current location (2310 Arctic Avenue, Atlantic City, NJ 08401). Today's Master Bakers work around the clock, and hold to the same traditions and recipes that were established over 91 years ago, while producing over 30,000 loaves of bread every day. In addition to their legendary Italian breads, Formica Brothers Bakery also has an extensive selection of Artisan breads, dinner rolls, cookies, cannoli, pastries, biscotti and Nonna Rosa’s famous Italian Tomato Pie.


In 2006, the original retail shop was transformed into a state of the art Wi-Fi enabled Café with outdoor seating (open daily 7am – 7pm). On Saturday nights (7pm-10pm) the café features live music. On December 4, 2008 Formica's opened a second retail bakery cafe in Kensington Square, Northfield New Jersey (open daily 7am - 7pm). The cafes offers daily lunch specials, featuring soups and sandwiches made on freshly baked breads.

http://www.formicabrosbakery.com/

When we opened the door to the bakery, we were immediately overwhelmed by the wonderful aroma of freshly baked bread. The boys raced toward the display cases that were overflowing with fresh, handmade Italian cookies, crisp biscotti, flaky pastries and mouth watering cannoli. At the counter, I was quickly greeted by a young lady, who's name, I regret to say, I did not take notice of. She was very helpful, friendly and polite, and, upon learning that we were from quite a distance away, this young lady volunteered to cut and wrap the bread for us, so that it would stay fresh until we got it home. She went above and beyond the call of duty for us and service like that rarely exists anymore. I bought as much bread as I could carry and after we had brought the bread back to the car, we continued on our way to the White House for dinner. Well, we tried to anyway, but first we had to make three trips back and forth to the car to get everything that I kept forgetting to take with us.

Anthony Basile opened the White House Sub Shop ( 2301 Arctic Avenue, Atlantic City, NJ) in 1946. His hard work and dedication to perfection is what has given the White House its legendary reputastion. There are many reasons to visit Atlantic City but a trip to the hallowed grounds of the White House Sub Shop should be your main one.

Arriving at the White House, I was astonished to see that not only was there no line, there were empty booths as well. Normally, the line extends out the door and well down the side of the building. The take out area was packed, as it usually is, no matter what time of day, or year. We quickly slid into our booth and we were ready to order, no menus were necessary; cheesesteaks all around, with three iced teas (all drinks are in cans at the White House, Pepsi products only). The waitress was there within moments of our sitting down and was gone within seconds as well, our order in hand. Now, a quick note about the wait staff; I think that all of these women have been there since day one and they range from typically South Jersey friendly to the curmudgeon of your dreams (or nightmares). However, they are all professional and tolerate no nonsense. Ask for a special order or something not on the menu, be prepared for a withering look that will make you wish you could just crawl under your table and disappear. While waiting for your food, and it's never a long wait, glance around and drink in the ambiance of the place. Framed, autographed photos of the greats and almost greats line the walls. Frank Sinatra was a regular patron, having subs flown to various locations around the world. You can see the sweaty old towel from his last performance on the wall as well. The Beatles also put in an appearance, look for the photos on the wall to the left behind the cash register. Oh, and I really hope you like the color orange, because it is everywhere; it's on the stools, the booths, the walls, even the aforementioned pictures are framed predominantly in, you guessed it, orange. Or, you can watch your sub being made before your eyes by a small army of premier sub making experts.

Once the food arrived, the boys stared wide eyed at their sandwiches. They had been told to expect the best cheesesteaks ever and they tore into them with gusto. Anthony, my oldest son, became mute (which is no small feat for an 8 year old) for the first time in his life, as he devoured his sub in minutes and clamored for more. Dominic, my 5 year old, was just the opposite, taking his time and savoring each and every bite. When I asked the boys how everything was after their first bite, Anthony mumbled something unintelligible while trying to shove the entire sub into his mouth and Dom yelled for the entire restaurant to hear, "This is the greatest day of my life!" Upon hearing this, our waitress came back over to check on us (which can be a rarity there), asking if everything was okay. You should have seen the smiles on their faces... and hers.

Finishing our meal, it was time for dessert. Unfortunately, the only dessert available at the White House is a Tastycake, so we decided to reserve dessert for custard on the boardwalk. I paid the check and we made our way past the long line of people waiting outside, and we were sated, but for a moment. I was happy, I had what I had made my pilgrimage to Atlantic City for, but I was saddened as well; saddened because I knew that it would be many months until I could enjoy this pefection again. If you find yourself anywhere near Atlantic City, do yourself a favor and heed my advice and treat your belly to a sub at the White House.

I'm not much of a mushroom guy, but my wife loves them.

The White House Special is a cornucopia of cold cuts; huge portions of Genoa salami, ham, capicola, and provolone cheese, all tightly packed inside the loaf, lightly brushed with olive oil, and adorned with just the right amount of lettuce and bits of sweet pepper.

Hungry yet?

Anthony was a vegetarian until he tried his first cheesesteak. He finished the whole thing.

One bite and he says, "This is the greatest day of my life!" You just can't get a better endorsement than that.

I realize that this isn't my normal type of post, but I am trying to highlight various types of writing and this is the first time I've ever done any type of review, for anything. Leave me a comment and let me know what you think.

I do have a very special post coming; a great story about a very spooky night. I'll try to have it up as soon as I can, but please be patient, I want it to be perfect. Take care and thanks for stopping by.

Well, that might be a few more days now. I have a new writing assignment due as well as a speech, but I should be able to post one of those.