Lunch Like A Local: Lucci's In Wilmington

WILMINGTON, MA -- Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask declared the Italian sub from Lucci's Market in Wilmington the best he had ever tasted, we were skeptical. Rask was serving as a judge on a morning drive radio show that was trying to find the best Italian sub in the state. Lucci's won the contest but we were left wondering what it was about stopping pucks that qualified Rask to be a food critic?

My wife, on the other hand, works in the food business and, when she was four months pregnant with our daughter, had such fierce Italian sub cravings that she sampled half a dozen in Pittsburgh while visiting relatives in search of the best one. As for me, I paid for part of my college degree slinging subs and think I know a thing or two about food -- or at least more than I know about hockey. So we set out one night earlier this month to finally sample the Lucci's Italian sub and see if it met our exacting standards.

The first thing we noticed, even before we unwrapped the butchers paper, was the heft. The density of the sub was a good thing, my wife said, implying that the guy that made it didn't skimp on ingredients. My own test for a sandwich is that there needs to be a bite of everything in every bite: in other words, it needs to be carefully constructed so taste everything every time you take a bite. Otherwise, it means someone slapped it together without giving two thoughts about the end user. Lucci's passed that test as well.

Otherwise, it came down to the quality of the ingredients. The bread was pillowy soft with just enough cunch on the outside. There really is a noticeable difference between the fresh sliced meats and cheeses Lucci's uses compared to the pre-sliced versions other places use. That dusting of oregano -- barely noticeable at other places because its so old and stale -- was fresh and woke up all the other flavors in the sub.

Our daughter is now two and my wife's Italian sub cravings are long over, so we have no plans to go out and samples dozens of other subs to determine whether Lucci's is the best in the state. And we don't really need to, as it's the best Italian sub either one of us has ever had, so on that point, we can agree with Tuuka.

Lunch Like A Local is an occasional series exploring unique, one-of-a-kind and locally-owned eateries. To nominate a restaurant, email dave.copeland@patch.com.

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Photo by Dave Copeland/Patch.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).