NoonEats: Meatball Parmigiana from Tom's Pizza

Growing up in an Italian family that owned a pizzeria, meatball parmigiana sandwiches were always a favorite. My uncle would pull hot homemade from the steam table, cram them on a soft baguette, cover them with red sauce and slices of mozzarella cheese, and run through a rolling pizza oven to melt the cheese and toast the bread. We ate homemade Italian sausage and roast beef the same way,  with the addition of hot or sweet peppers.

It's with these memories in mind that I visited Tom's Pizza Pasta and Subs on Mountain Avenue last week. Open since 1990, Tom's offers a diverse lunch menu, from pizza slices to hot and cold subs, burgers and wraps.

Larger-than-life photos of all of the above—plus shrimp, clams and plates of spaghetti—line the walls of this Mountain Avenue eatery. Posters of Venetian canals, the Amalfi Coast and the Spanish steps would be more appealing to the eye. Offering only four indoor tables—three tables for two and one table for four—Tom's advertises free delivery throughout Springfield and to neighboring towns.

At lunchtime, the owner takes orders just behind the counter. Most  cooking is done farther back in the kitchen, where pots and pans hang from the ceiling. Pizzas are made up front, and while I could see that my meatball sandwich ($6) was mostly assembled in the back, it was heated in Bakers Pride pizza ovens in the front.

That oven crisped my bread well—gold and crispy on the outside—but failed to heat the meatballs through. The meatballs were dense, but flavorful and made in-house, according to the owner. I could see and taste the chopped fresh parsely. I wiped out the whole sandwich, but was disappointed.

On that first visit, I told the owner that while I was leaning toward the meatball parm, I was open to his recommendations. The chicken parm and the Philly-style cheesesteak were popular items he told me, so on my return trip, I ordered the chicken parmigiana sandwich ($6).

The second time around, after several minutes of waiting, I took my sandwich to go, opened it within two minutes and tasted the same result: warm crisp bread, cool meat. I love flavor, but the breading on the chicken was over-seasoned, I thought; it overpowered the taste of the meat, sauce, cheese and bread. Again, a decent meal that I finished, but far from the best.

Tom's gives a good amount of food (10-inch sandwich) for the $6 price. And maybe if I heated the sandwich in my own oven and enjoyed it hot, I wouldn't be as disappointed. But I don't think I'll be back for a sandwich. Perhaps a slice or a burger next time around.