Sometimes cultural epicenters sprout up in unlikely places. Take Wooster Street in New Haven, Connecticut, for example — absent any previous knowledge, one wouldn’t expect to find arguably the best pizza in the world here, but one does. Similarly, Newtown Square, PA happens to have a mile-long stretch of Rt 3 in that houses three of the best Italian-style roast pork sandwiches anywhere. Because Philadelphia is famous for these sandwiches (much like NYC is famous for pizza), it is not all that surprising to find a good pork sandwich in the suburbs — but 3 great ones in one mile? It’s odd for sure, but we aren’t complaining.

All three are slightly different, but excellent in their own way, and we haven’t been disappointed with any of them. Here’s a little more info on each:

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Whole Wheat Baguette

South Philly Italian bakery Carangi Baking Company has recently opened at 1556 Lancaster Ave. in Paoli, bringing a wide variety of freshly-made breads, pizzas, stromboli and other Italian specialties to the ‘burbs.

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Burgers are the hot trend of the moment, at least in this area. This summer, approximately 347 burger joints have opened in the Delaware Valley alone – from chains like Elevation Burger to indie joints like Downingtown’s Doghouse. Despite their trendiness, however, burgers are no tapas – they always have been a part of our lives and always will be. Still, we at MLD not afraid to jump on a good trend when we see one.

When riding home after experiencing Butcher & Singer’s “Best of Philly” $6 burger special (which was very good but unlikely the actual best in Philly), we got thinking about where one would find the best burger on the Main Line. Magazine Main Line Today recently crowned TJ’s in Paoli the winner, which, out of the ones we’ve tried, is a solid choice. But what of the ones we haven’t tried? Surely there are some other contenders out there.

So… To the point: we’re on a mission to find the Main Line’s very best burger, and we need your help. If you have a favorite burger, post a comment below with where to get it and why it is so great. This fall, we’ll try to eat as many as we can (prioritizing the most compelling descriptions below) and pick our winners at the end of the year.

Oh, and one more thing: No chains. We just can’t be bothered with that.

Go!

We’ve submitted a review of Luigi and Giovanni’s great Porchetta sandwich to Best of Philly Blog Unbreaded.

Read the post on Unbreaded.

Looking for something different at breakfast that isn’t too unhealthy*? Try this baby out.

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After a short run, Lew’s NY Deli is closed in Paoli. Personally, we had hit or miss experiences there, loving the “Fancy Schmancy” and the “Einstein”, but not really liking the pastrami (there’s something wrong with that, of course).

At least we still have Murray’s!

Lew’s is now open, and they have a website!

http://lewsnydeli.com/

Bad news, WC sandwichionados: Murray’s Deli of West Chester will be closing very soon. We were enamored with the sandwiches and upscale bar of Murray’s but we suspect the location (on the much less tred Market St vs Gay St — It’s amazing what a block can do) and the questionable service (as commonly reported by readers on this very website) did them in.

Great news for Western Main Liners though: Deli War II is set to begin! Murray’s will be opening a Berwyn location, and while that isn’t exactly across the street from the planned Lew’s NY Deli in Paoli, we’ll be sure to compare the pastrami as soon as possible.

Update: along with the deli, upscale bistro M is also planned for the same location (575 W. Lancaster Ave.)

The September issue of Philadelphia Magazine has a brief piece entitled “Pig Out”, listing the top 10 Italian style pork sandwiches in the area. As far as the ‘burbs go, Angelina’s Italian Kitchen in Pottstown ranks #2 and Soprano’s Deli & Catering of Broomall ranks #3 — however it is an omission that makes the biggest mark in our book.

How did Luigi and Giovanni’s of Newtown Square not make the list? For our money, their Italian-spiced pulled pork sandwich, with a slice of sharp provolone and lots of homemade roasted red peppers on luscious, chewy, sesame-seeded Italian bread, is one of the best — if not THE best — sandwich around, pork or otherwise. It’s available out front of the store on weekends, and some weekdays as well. If you’ve never had the pleasure, it is worth the detour. (3601 Chapel Road., 610-353-2080)