Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Cheesesteak isn't the only food from Philly

At long last, I try a pork roll sandwich

This Egg Roll Sandwich doesn't come with sweet and sour sauce. Giorgino's.
This Egg Roll Sandwich doesn't come with sweet and sour sauce. Giorgino's.
Place

Giorgino's

1237 28th Street, San Diego

A lot's been said about Giorgino's cheesesteaks — after all, the sign over the Golden Hill shop boldly claims to have the best in town. But there's been another item on the menu that's aroused my curiosity, even though I never rightly knew what it was: the "Pork Roll (Taylor Ham) Sandwich."

A recently expanded storefront makes no bones about their cheesesteaks.

To the uninitiated — i.e. those of us who don't hail from metro Philly — the name evokes all sorts of possibilities. Is it thin slices of ham rolled up like a cigar? Some sort of pork-based wrap?

Sponsored
Sponsored

The key is understanding what they mean by Taylor Ham. It's basically a branded deli meat product, slices of seasoned and processed meat tasting somewhere between spam and salami.

In other words, no wonder they stick to calling it "pork roll."

The added seating has some old school diner charm.

Thing is, it's pretty tasty. Giorgino's grills the individual slices, melts some American cheese on it and slaps it on a Kaiser roll. Kind of alluring, to those of us who dig on swine. But that's not what I ordered.

Instead, I went with the egg roll sandwich. And no, they haven't put Chinese finger food on a bun. This is simply a pork roll sandwich with a fried egg thrown in. I doubt Giorgino's is deliberately trying to confuse anyone here, but I'd also wager if more of us actually knew what this sandwich entailed, more would order it.

Regular fries will do. Pesto Fries. Giorgino's.

Granted, no self-respecting food critic can tell you with a straight face that a grilled egg, cheese and ham-product sandwich is delicious, so I won't. So let's just say that Giorgino's hands down makes the best egg roll sandwich in the county. And for a mere seven bucks.

More at issue here is the side I chose: pesto fries. Sounds great right? Well, the fries are good, but whereas I was expecting actual pesto sauce, instead I got what amounts to a few basil flakes and out-of-a-can grated Parmesan. So, pass the ketchup.

Naming issues aside, Giorgino's makes a pretty satisfying, cheap meal. Even if you spend the rest of your life continuing to pretend Taylor Ham doesn't exist.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Tyler Farr, Blue Water Film Festival, Mustache Bash

Events March 21-March 23, 2024
Next Article

Pet pig perches in pocket

Escondido doula gets a taste of celebrity
This Egg Roll Sandwich doesn't come with sweet and sour sauce. Giorgino's.
This Egg Roll Sandwich doesn't come with sweet and sour sauce. Giorgino's.
Place

Giorgino's

1237 28th Street, San Diego

A lot's been said about Giorgino's cheesesteaks — after all, the sign over the Golden Hill shop boldly claims to have the best in town. But there's been another item on the menu that's aroused my curiosity, even though I never rightly knew what it was: the "Pork Roll (Taylor Ham) Sandwich."

A recently expanded storefront makes no bones about their cheesesteaks.

To the uninitiated — i.e. those of us who don't hail from metro Philly — the name evokes all sorts of possibilities. Is it thin slices of ham rolled up like a cigar? Some sort of pork-based wrap?

Sponsored
Sponsored

The key is understanding what they mean by Taylor Ham. It's basically a branded deli meat product, slices of seasoned and processed meat tasting somewhere between spam and salami.

In other words, no wonder they stick to calling it "pork roll."

The added seating has some old school diner charm.

Thing is, it's pretty tasty. Giorgino's grills the individual slices, melts some American cheese on it and slaps it on a Kaiser roll. Kind of alluring, to those of us who dig on swine. But that's not what I ordered.

Instead, I went with the egg roll sandwich. And no, they haven't put Chinese finger food on a bun. This is simply a pork roll sandwich with a fried egg thrown in. I doubt Giorgino's is deliberately trying to confuse anyone here, but I'd also wager if more of us actually knew what this sandwich entailed, more would order it.

Regular fries will do. Pesto Fries. Giorgino's.

Granted, no self-respecting food critic can tell you with a straight face that a grilled egg, cheese and ham-product sandwich is delicious, so I won't. So let's just say that Giorgino's hands down makes the best egg roll sandwich in the county. And for a mere seven bucks.

More at issue here is the side I chose: pesto fries. Sounds great right? Well, the fries are good, but whereas I was expecting actual pesto sauce, instead I got what amounts to a few basil flakes and out-of-a-can grated Parmesan. So, pass the ketchup.

Naming issues aside, Giorgino's makes a pretty satisfying, cheap meal. Even if you spend the rest of your life continuing to pretend Taylor Ham doesn't exist.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

A poem for March by Joseph O’Brien

“March’s Lovely Asymptotes”
Next Article

Tyler Farr, Blue Water Film Festival, Mustache Bash

Events March 21-March 23, 2024
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.