The REAL Reel: The Sandwich That Took Us to Naples
My wife added Naples to our Italy itinerary for one reason: a sandwich she couldn't stop watching on social media. Did the real thing live up to the reel?
Adam Rachiele
8/8/20263 min read
The REAL Reel: The Sandwich That Took Us to Naples
Long before my wife ever set foot in Naples, Italy, she had already found a reason to go.
A sandwich.
She started following a little sandwich shop in Naples on social media and would constantly show me videos of the owner making these absolutely ridiculous-looking sandwiches.
Now, sandwiches happen to be one of my wife's favorite foods. And, as she likes to remind me, she was once a "Sandwich Artist."
Anyone who ever worked at Subway will understand that reference.
The videos she showed me usually involved some combination of mortadella, stracciatella and pesto—or at least those were the ones I paid attention to.
At first, I thought they looked pretty amazing too.
What I didn't realize was that I was creating a monster.
She watched these videos so many times that somewhere along the way, trying one of these sandwiches stopped being something that would be nice to do if we ever made it to Naples.
It became a requirement.
So when we started planning our trip to Italy, guess what had to be on the itinerary?
Naples.
Now, I'm a fan of good food as much as anyone, but I'm also skeptical when it comes to social-media hype. I've seen plenty of food online that looks incredible because of the camera angle, lighting and editing, only to be pretty ordinary in real life.
Still, there was an added bonus.
If I was going to Naples for a sandwich, at least I could get a real Neapolitan pizza while I was there.
So I reluctantly added Naples to our itinerary.
Not to see Pompeii.
Not to visit Capri.
Not to explore the tunnels beneath Naples.
We went to Naples because my wife saw a sandwich on social media.
Finding the Sandwich
Once we arrived, we headed through the gritty, bustling streets of Naples with Google Maps acting as our compass.
Eventually, we found Con Mollica O Senza, the little sandwich shop she'd been watching from thousands of miles away.
There was a line out the door.
Luckily, the place is tiny, so the line moved pretty quickly.
When it was finally our turn, my wife walked up to the counter with a giant grin on her face and proceeded to explain—in detail—the sandwich she'd been imagining for months.
They made it right there in front of us, carefully putting together exactly what she'd been waiting all this time to try.
Then they wrapped it in paper and handed it over.
We headed outside to the standing tables.
It was finally time.
The first bite of Naples.
And I'll admit it:
The reel was real.
The creaminess of the stracciatella. The salty, herbal flavor of the pesto. The paper-thin slices of mortadella. The soft chew of the roll holding the whole thing together.
It was everything she'd hoped it would be.
I looked over at my wife and I swear there were almost tears forming in her eyes.
And right there, before we'd really even gotten started exploring Naples, the stop had already been worth it.
What's Your Italy?
That's the thing about traveling to Italy.
Not everyone dreams of the same Italy.
For some people, it's standing inside the Colosseum or finally seeing the statues and paintings they've read about their entire lives.
For someone else, it's wandering through a quiet little Italian town with nowhere in particular to be.
Maybe it's sitting among vineyards in the Tuscan hills.
Maybe it's looking out over the breathtaking coastline of the Amalfi Coast.
But sometimes it's something much more personal.
Maybe it's finding the perfect sandwich you've watched someone make a hundred times from your couch.
Maybe it's walking through the town where your ancestors once lived.
Maybe it's sitting at a café and realizing, just for a little while, that life doesn't have to move quite as fast as it does back home.
Those little things can become the memories you talk about long after you've forgotten which museum you visited on which day.
That's why I don't think the perfect Italy itinerary starts with a list of places you're supposed to see.
It starts with a much simpler question:
What's your dream?
Because you might already be planning your perfect trip without even realizing it.
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