1980'S SANDWICH SHOP PORTER SQUARE

[pjmm]

Does anyone remember the name of the small sandwich shop in porter square that
was mostly Italian, had a secret balsamico dressing for tuna etc. Can't seem to recall
the name of the now gone shop

[Uncle Yabai]

Marcella's, great place. I have very fond memories of going there over many years. Would have the rotisserie chicken or one of their sandwiches. They had some good desserts, including a rich chocolate cake that I've never seen anywhere else. Very sad when Frank had a heart attack and decided to close up shop.

I still keep one of their takeout menus from the late 80's, the prices were a hoot.

[peregrine]

There was an interview with them in the Globe at the time, including a discussion of price. The interviewer said something like, "For the price of one of your sandwiches, I could buy three Big Macs." To which they replied, "Yes, but then you'd have to eat them!"

[katzzz]

Marcella's -- opened in the late '80s, but really more of a '90s place....grouchy owner aside, they had some very tasty offerings.

[Boatrocker]

Well, one of the guys was grouchy (Frank?, I'm not sure.) There was another guy there who had enough personality to make up for him.

But where in Porter Square can we get a good basil and mozzarella or a good chicken tarragon sandwich? This place also had roasted or rotisserie chickens. I think I heard that Pemberton Farms has them now, and it's not very far from Porter. And we used to stop in for breakfast on an occasional Saturday. I remember fresh bagels, probably cream cheese and lox and French toast, but my memory isn't always correct. The Half Shell seems to be the only place along that stretch of Mass Ave that serves a good breakfast, but not like theirs. Any bagels and lox near Porter?

[phoebek]

Yup, it was Frank. Though initially put off by his grouchiness, at some point we learned that we had a very close mutual friend, and then he couldn't have been nicer. I really miss that place, especially those tuna sandwiches with balsamic dressing!

[Stride]

Yes, Pemberton Farms has really good roast chickens. Just be sure to pull out all the garlic cloves and lemon slices from the cavity when you get it home. I haven't tried their sandwiches, though. Are they as good as Marcella's was? I'd forgotten about it, but they sure did have some great sandwiches!

[Ruprecht]

That was Marcella's. Good stuff, though the owner was all to similar to the Soup Nazi.

[peng]

I'll always remember the time we ordered basil, tomato, and mozzarella sandwiches to take to the park. When we got to where we were going, we discovered that they had forgotten the cheese. All we had were basil-tomato sandwiches.