The Great Italian Gas Station Sandwich- PYMHM with a Twist...

The little cafe that's inside the store I work at has sandwiches and other fresh deli items as well as pastries and coffee.  They have this one sandwich that I totally love but refuse to pay full price for so whenever they have it in the "2nd Day Fresh" aka, yesterday's leftovers section I pick one up.  It's a salami baguette sandwich and it's just perfect.  I was wondering, as I munch on one right now; why do I love it so much?  And I remembered my old favorite pre-packaged sandwich I used to get from the convenience store.  It was called "The Great Italian" and was almost exactly like the sandwich I get from the cafe.  I hadn't seen one in a while so what does any other bored and curious person do? I Googled "Great Italian gas station sandwich" and the only result that looked like what I wanted turns out...  was my very own Noggins post about it from 2006.  HA!!!! 

I didn't intend on making a new Post You Might Have Missed but it was thrust upon me by the internet gods.   

In my original post ... the one I just found on Google, was me in 2006 complaining that my beloved Great Italian sandwich no longer came with pepperoncini in the package.  It was written as a complaint and plea to the Rel's Foods company who made and distributed them.  I just Googled Rel's and they seem to be an Oakland Ca based company but the reason why I haven't seen my sandwich in a while is because they got slammed hard by the FDA in 2009. Not long after I posted that Noggin. Maybe they knew they were being looked at and the problem was contaminated pepperoncinis so they switched to black olives, which I also complained about in that post. 

According to Google AI: 

"The FDA filed a complaint against Rel's Foods Inc. in 2009, alleging that the company was manufacturing and selling adulterated food products, including sandwiches contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. The complaint also named several Rel's Foods employees. While the company is still listed on Yelp with a location in Oakland, CA, the FDA's complaint suggests they are under scrutiny and may be facing challenges in their operations" 

then there's this little disclaimer under it "AI responses may contain mistakes"  thanks I guess. 

Here's an article from SF Weekly about it.  And a sad attempt at a clever headline.  

Oakland Sandwich Maker REL's Shut Down for Selling Creepy Crawlies on Rye

Damn. 

During my research (2 google searches) I also found out they made the Red Hot burritos too. I've been looking for those as well and have had to get The Bomb or El Monterrey which are just not the same.  Red Hot burritos and Great Italians were part of my childhood and teen years growing up in the East Bay.  Sad to see they're fucking up and probably not a company any more.  Now if I could only find a damn pre packaged Piroshki up here behind the Redwood Curtain.