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The address is 74B E Main St., but you won’t be walking by The Hero Joint on your way to a show. The main entrance to this hidden gem is in the back village parking lot, directly behind Kilwins and next to the Patchogue-Medford Library’s rear entrance.
The gourmet specialty sandwich shop first opened to fanfare in Patchogue in 2018.
For locals who haven’t tried, here are five things to know.
artisan bread
The Hero Joint only uses artisan bread made by a small-batch bakery in Suffolk County, not a massive factory, says owner John Murray, III. This vendor also supplies many of Newsday’s Top 100 restaurants, he says. The baker supplies all the bread, including the hero rolls, multigrain buns, sourdough, marbled sourdough and rye. The Hero Joint also offers wraps in whole wheat and spinach herb.
then there’s the meats
Much of The Hero Joint’s meat is roasted in-house, “and we don’t use any national brands,” Murray says, preferring to get much of his meat from New York City. “But we’re free agents,” he added, “so if I ever find something better and tastier, I’m going to get it.” He’s also a huge fan of his own smash-hit chicken salad, made from rotisserie chicken that’s roasted and shred in house, then mixed with grapes and dill.
small bird cutlets
Murray announced in March that THJ is now exclusively using top-grade chicken cutlets from smaller birds. “Most commercially available chicken that gets distributed is harvested from larger chickens,” Murray explained. “They’re plumped up big and give you nice, big cutlets,” he noted, but they also tend to be rubbery at times, dry, or tough. “You never want a tough piece of chicken,” he said. And you never will at The Hero Joint.
meat-bread ratios
“We don’t believe in bread sandwiches where you have a drop of meat in the middle,” Murray often says. At The Hero Joint, while the bread is premium, the meat is always the star of the sandwich. The way it aughta be. “I’ve designed these sandwiches to be filling, especially if you’re somebody who works on your feet all day,” he tells us. “These sandwiches will keep you full for hours.” And that’s because the bread to meat ratio is on point.
beers on tap
Yes, fans to sit-down munching, there is beer on tap at The Hero Joint. It’s not like at a local deli where you have to grab a bottle to drink on a bench. “We have a rotation of crafty, tasty beers we’ll change seasonally. But don’t worry, we also have Bud Light,” Murray said.
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