Wicked Funny: The Origin Of Maine’s Italian Sandwich

I grew up in Augusta. My family lived on the east side of the Kennebec river. Our house was on School Street. So, my first introduction to this Maine meal staple was at Whipper's on Bangor Street, just a short walk down the hill. As a kid, I started with the classic version of a Maine Italian, very similar to the one in the picture above. Then I moved on to Tuna Italians and Turkey Italians. If you are also a kid from Maine, it's likely that you've scarfed down a few of these in your lifetime. I dare say, they might even be right up there with lobster rolls for us locals.

Have you ever wondered how this cherished sandwich came to be?

According to the dubbahs in this latest video from the Welcome To Maine comedy series, it was created in 1903 by Giovanni Amato.

Here we are over a century later, still enjoyin' this Maine made food invention. Yessuh, we do love 'em here.

Troy gives us the history and Mark brilliantly responds to everything he says, with "Yuht", "Oh Yuht" and "Ohhhhhhhh Yuht". And how the hell does he do that crazy thing with his eyes?
Troy and Mark have hilariously reported from Portland Head Light, The Desert of Maine, The Moxie Store in Lisbon Falls, B & M Baked Beans in Portland, the Paul Bunyan statue in Bangor, Stephen King's house, the Cryptozoology Museum and more.

Watch this hilarious salute to The Italian Sandwich from Mark's Nana's kitchen!

Troy and Mark. They are played by James Theberge and Ian Stuart respectively.

Ian and James can be found performing live stand up comedy for social distanced audiences at Stroudwater Distillery on Thompson's Point in Portland. The shows are on Thursdays at 7pm and ya gotta make a reservation.