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When in Boston, What Brett Brown Eats

For games with 8:00 start times, the days can be long, especially if shootaround is on the earlier side, which it was Tuesday.

So, for lunch, I decided to channel my inner Bourdain, and go on a little lunchtime excursion.

First, the backstory:

As sure as the water flows peacefully down the Charles River, just about every time the 76ers visit these parts, Brett Brown is asked some variation of the question:

What is it like to come back to Boston?

(editors note: I’ve probably asked him this question more than once)

And just about every time he’s asked this question, Brown responds with an answer that hits the following high notes:

• Grew up in Portland, Maine, the son of two school teachers.

• Traveled to the old Boston Garden with his basketball-coaching dad back in the day, and took Polaroid pictures of all the best players of that era.

• Always enjoys returning to the city, going for runs on famous Commonwealth Avenue, and having lunch at T Anthony’s Pizzeria, a Boston University institution.

When talking about T Anthony’s, Brown typically name drops his regular order, too:

A large steak and cheese sub (local parlance), with extra mushrooms, extra cheese, and ketchup.

I thought Tuesday afternoon, before the Sixers opened their season against the Celtics, presented the perfect opportunity to venture out, and sample this oft-discussed sandwich for myself.

It was about a 20 minute Uber ride from the area where the team is staying to T Anthony’s. The drive, especially on a perfect, 55-degree New England fall afternoon, was nice - pretty much a straight shot along Comm Ave, past the inspiration for the Cheers bar, rows of brownstones, and through the heart of BU’s campus.

With Brown being the salt-of-the-earth guy that he is, I had some preconceived notions about the type of spot T Anthony’s would be. It didn’t disappoint.

Having tossed pizzas and grilled subs at Comm and Babcock for over four decades, T Anthony’s has clearly woven itself into the fabric of the BU community. It’s your quintessential husband-wife, student-athlete-pictures-all-over-the-wall, nostalgia-filled campus dining destination.

The Boston x Italian accents are thick. Chatter among the patrons ranged from Patriots football to politics.

I approached the counter, and gave my order:

Large steak and cheese sub, extra mushrooms, extra cheese, please.

While I waited, I started chatting up the staff a bit, and asked if there were any pictures of the “Sixers basketball coach on the wall.” I was directed to an area just off the right of the counter, and Brown’s place in the mostly red and white mosaic could be found in a photo signed by one-time Terriers head coach Rick Pitino (Brown’s in the middle, giving a big foot stop, and equally big fist pump).

I sat down in an open booth right near the picture, only to later find not too far away another photo featuring Brown (no. 11), and his unmistakable ‘do from back in the day.

A few minutes later, a pleasant woman emerged from behind the grill. Her name was Carmela Rastellini, and she and her husband, Joe, own the place.

Carmela had heard me asking about Brown, and immediately said, “Large steak and cheese sub, extra mushrooms, extra cheese.”

I told her I had ordered one, at which point she expressed some angst. Would the sandwich live up to its hype?

I reassured her that if the grub had gotten Brett Brown’s blessing, it wouldn’t disappoint.

By then, the sandwich was ready. It looked fantastic. It tasted fantastic.

Here are the particulars:

The sub came gently toasted on an 8-inch roll. We from Philadelphia hold rolls to the highest of standards. This one was firm on the outside, and just doughy and pillowy enough on the inside.

As for the meat, it was meaty, a good meaty. Tender and chopped just right, not overly diced, fatty, or flimsy. Carmela said soon after she and her husband opened T Anthony’s in 1976, they decided the meat they had originally used for their steak subs was too tough.

The couple was quick to make a change, and settled on flap meat, which comes from sirloin beef. 41 years later, the anchor ingredient remains the same.

T Anthony’s usually does its steak and cheese subs with American or Provolone cheese, your choice. Carmela made mine with Provolone, and it was melted and gooed to perfection. I’m a mushroom guy, so I was all in on those.

About the ketchup…

As a native of the Philadelphia burbs, I couldn’t with a clean conscience commit to lathering up the whole sandwich with the condiment. I even asked Brown early in the day to confirm, “Ketchup?”

“Absolutely,” he replied.

So, I dipped the sub in the red stuff, if only to live in Brett’s world for a few bites. It didn’t take away from the taste one bit.

Most impressive, at least for me, was that for the 10 minutes it took to consume the sandwich, it retained its fresh-off-the-grill warmth. There was still heat steaming from the meat and the roll by the time I reached my final munches.

All in all, Tuesday’s culinary adventure was a worthwhile one. It’s easy to see why Brown keeps coming back to T Anthony’s whenever he can, all these years later.

“We appreciate it,” Carmela said of her now Philadelphia-based loyal customer.

Then off she went, back to doing her thing in the kitchen. 

Address: 1016 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215 

Rating: Four #HereTheyCome hastags