DiBella's Old Fashioned Submarines

Delivery from over twenty minutes away seems out of the question... especially for a place that doesn't even deliver in the first place. This would be the furthest we have ever got delivery from. DiBella's doesn't have a location in or near downtown Buffalo, but our Rochester friend insisted they are a must try. Interesting enough, they have three locations in the suburbs of Buffalo and most of us Buffalo people have never had food from there before despite hearing about them.

Our Rochester friend convinced Dave the manager and Brian the assistant manager from the Tonawanda location on Niagara Falls Blvd. to deliver, but we needed to meet a $50 minimum order. There weren't any prices on their website so we had to ask also. We originally were going to order from here Monday, but the order would have been called forty minutes before our lunch time and we didn't meet the $50 minimum then.

Today, we had 11 people ordering which would put us well above the $50 minimum. Orders ranged from a Godfather, which was Genoa Salami, Capicola, and Spicy Ham, to roast beef and corned beef. We could say exactly what we wanted on it to the kind of cheese, peppers, oil, etc. A large cold sub was $8.19 and a medium was $6.19. No one got one of Grandma DiBella's Old Fashioned Large Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies for a $1.25, but one of us did get the small box of two dozen mini chocolate chip cookies for $5.89. We were going to fax our order in, but they didn't have a fax machine so we called a day ahead to place our order.

The delivery arrived about five minutes earlier than expected so their timing was fine by not being late with the longer than usual delivery distance. This was the first time two guys came to deliver... one was the manager and the other was for directions. All the subs came in one big box and the manager presented us with a 10% coupon on sub party platters. Gladly enough, each sub had a name on it instead of what it was so it was easy to pass around. This was a solid start before we began eating into the food.

We felt the weight of one sub in our hands and it was heavier than the average foot-long sub. It is only a bit longer than the twelve inch standard. The order came with some napkins and forks and over a dozen menus. Some of us worried if the hot subs would be cold by the time it was delivered. The hot subs were in red paper and they were still warm. The seven inch Red Osier Hot Roast Beef at $5.59 was smaller than expected, but still fine and warm. The cold subs had a similar appeal and taste to Wegmans. The bread is so nice that Wegmans paid big bucks to use their recipe. The meat was stacked high like Wegmans, however, one side of the bread was cut instead of both. The cheese had a great taste and the peppers had a kick to them. The cookies were freshly baked and much better than Chips Ahoy. Their large subs are all you really need to be full for hours.

The enormously high expectations built up from our Rochester friend were met. For not coming here late, writing the names on the orders, or messing anything up in the process of a big order to go out for a long delivery, they did really well. In comparison to other sub places, this ranks above most in Buffalo. Jim's Steakout, DiBella's, and Wegmans could be one, two, and three and they are each unique. We would do the sub platter next since it is cheaper than our current go-to sub platters from Prima.

Final Rating: 4.5 out of 5

DiBella's Old Fashioned Submarines
www.dibellas.com
1420 Niagara Falls Boulevard
Tonawanda, NY 14150-8431
(716) 332-2418