The Origin Story Of New York City's Notorious Italian Sub, The Bomb

Go to a sandwich chain like Jersey Mike's or Subway across the U.S., and you can order the same thing you do at your usual location. But you won't find any subs unique to that place like you can at many independent delis across the country. New York City's Sal, Kris & Charlie's Deli has been serving its huge signature sub sandwich — a "hero" in New Yorkese — called The Bomb to its Queens community and others in the know for decades.

Charlie Gordon and his wife, Kris, bought the deli in 1987, renaming it after themselves and a longtime worker named Sal, whom they kept on. One day, also in the '80s, a customer asked Charlie to make a sub for him and told him to use whatever ingredients he wanted. He proceeded to pile on many different cold cuts, cheeses, and toppings. Another customer waiting to order saw this and asked for the same sandwich, sparking the idea of adding what would become The Bomb to the menu. While many old-school sandwiches are no longer popular, The Bomb remains the biggest seller for the cash-only deli, now owned by the Gordons' son, Nick, after his father's 2019 death.

Charlie had always been generous with the cold cuts when he made the sandwiches, Kris said, preparing them how he'd want to eat them (via YouTube). She also said his off-the-cuff stacked sub that inspired The Bomb was additionally influenced by the rolled-up cold cut and cheese slices with a topping inside that Sal would give to customers while they waited in line.

The Bomb features a heavy hitter lineup of Italian and American cured meats and cold cuts — think salami (not to be confused with salumi), turkey, pepperoni, and roast beef, though some versions also include mortadella, pastrami, and ham. These are layered with American and provolone cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, hot and sweet peppers, mustard, mayo, oil, and vinegar. Each sandwich is built on a 14-inch sub roll delivered daily from a local bakery.

Goldbelly ships The Bomb in the United States. The $94.95 package comes with two subs meant for four to six people. The version that's shipped out appears to include ham and chicken, but not pastrami. It won Goldbelly's Sandwich Showdown at the 2019 NYC Wine & Food Festival.

Sal, Kris & Charlie's sales have been boosted by social media discovering the sandwich, as more people have been coming from farther away specifically to try it, sometimes filming themselves to post online. The busy deli opened a second location in Times Square in the fall of 2025.

Many Redditors have praised it. "[It's] just really, really, really, really good," one user wrote. "The Bomb is the BEST!!!!" said another. Some even consider it a bargain, since for $19, you can eat at least twice. However, a few people who hadn't tried it were a little wary of how much deli meat is on it.