close
close
orange

A Delaware favorite sandwich is served at Citizens Bank Park

Vaseline

play

Maybe it was you. Maybe it was your cousin who lives in Philly.

But a lot of Delaware sandwich fans apparently went to the Phillies’ home in Citizens Bank Park and requested a sandwich from beloved New Castle-area sandwich shop Ioannoni’s Specialty Sandwiches.

This has apparently been true since Delaware Online/The News Journal first reported in March that Ioannoni’s would be served there during some home games.

“I need to come to your deli,” a ballpark chef told owner Michael Ioannoni during a conference call. “Every game we had people asking, ‘Where are Ioannoni’s sandwiches?’

We understand the excitement: the roast pork and schnitzels and hoagies at Ioannoni’s loom rank tall in Delaware’s sandwich pantheon. And when Ioannoni’s finally arrives at the ballpark, it will be the only place in Delaware to offer food at Citizens Bank Park in recent memory, despite legions of Phillies fans in northern Delaware.

But you’ll have to wait a little longer.

Ioannoni’s will appear on the ballpark for just three or four home games this year, one of a handful of hand-picked restaurants that will serve their wares during select home game series this season.

For Ioannoni’s, the first appearance at Citizens Bank Park will be when the Texas Rangers visit starting May 21.

Here’s what Ioannoni’s is bringing to the Phillies ballpark, when you can expect it, and also where you can order it if you’re coming to a game.

What sandwich does Iaonnoni’s serve in Citizens Bank Park?

It will be the Giuliana.

Not known? Maybe you should be.

The Giuliana is an invention of Ioannoni: an Italian roll filled with sharp provolone cheese, smoky broccoli rabe and a house-breaded chicken cutlet pounded flat in Indiana to about the width of a pork tenderloin, stretching far beyond the boundaries of Italian cuisine . roll.

On top of that is a top secret, spicy mayonnaise with a real kick. No long hots are required, but you can ask for them if you wish.

For the sandwiches served at the ballpark, Ioannoni’s breads each of these cutlets ahead of time, and also prepares the sauce and rabe. They bring it all to Citizens Bank so chefs can cook and assemble according to meticulous instructions.

You get the impression that many meetings have been spent replicating the Ioannoni’s sandwich at Citizens Bank Park.

The only big difference? At Ioannoni’s, an unseeded Cacia’s Bakery roll is the choice. But chefs at the ballpark instead use a seeded bun from Liscio’s Bakery, the source of virtually all of the ballpark’s baked goods. (Ioannoni also uses a seeded Liscio’s for his cheesesteaks, but not for the schnitzels.)

And that’s it: that’s the sandwich.

Where and when can you get an Ioannoni’s chop sandwich at Phillies games?

Ioannoni’s will serve its Giuliana chicken cutlet sandwich on May 21, 22 and 23 in the fire engine red Coca-Cola Corner on the left field square.

For those of you handy with a calendar, that’s when the Phillies take on defending World Series champions the Texas Rangers.

Ioannoni said future dates are less certain, but he has been told he will also likely be at the stadium for a series in August, and another in September.

He can also participate in other series, perhaps earlier than August. But these have yet to be confirmed. He will announce each set of dates on the sandwich shop’s Facebook and Instagram pages as they are announced.

How did Ioannoni’s get its sandwiches to Citizens Bank Park in the first place?

According to Ioannoni, it was done the old-fashioned way: People from the ballpark came down, tried the sandwiches and liked them.

Specifically, representatives from Phillies sponsor Coca-Cola walked over to Ioannoni’s on one of the region’s many scouting missions. And they liked what they saw. The meat is freshly cut. The roast beef is roasted in-house, just like the pork. The schnitzels are breaded in the store. We’re guessing the Coca-Cola reps weren’t upset by the big Coca-Cola refrigerator Ioannoni had in the corner either.

Coca-Cola tried those chicken cutlets. And they tried the roasted pork. And then Michael called Ioannoni, starting a long series of conversations that eventually led to Ioannoni getting a yellow card on the baseball field.

If he has his way, he will one day be on the baseball field permanently, Ioannoni said. But for now he is happy to be able to play a few home games there.

If you want to say hi, he’ll be there in person on May 21, back in the Coca-Cola Corner kitchen in left field during the early innings of the game.

“I’ll be there in the well,” Ioannoni said with obvious pride.

Matthew Korfhage is a Delaware business and development reporter covering all things land and money: openings and closings, construction and the many businesses that call the First State home. Send tips and insults to [email protected].

Related Posts