Sports Shooter Academy

By Robert Hanashiro, The Kahuna’s Please-Don’t-Call-It-A-Blog

Friday is travel day, a drive down the Jersey Turnpike with my colleague Bob Deutsch behind the wheel and two hours later, we’re pulling into the parking lot of Citizens Bank Park, home of the Philadelphia Phillies.

John's Roast Pork maybe not much to lookk at outside, but it's what's inside (the sandwiches) is what counts the most! (In the doorway is John.)

It’s important to make a fairly early appearance at the ballpark the day before the World Series resumes with Game 3. Like animals in the wild, we need to “mark our spot on the turf” — pick up credentials, carve out our space in the photographers workroom, get a clamp up early for a remote behind home plate and to find out what shooting locations Major Baseball has assigned us.

In a crusty hoagie bun, the roast pork has a very distinctive flavor.

Making the drive to Philadelphia early was also important because Bob and I are shooting a sort of doubleheader on Sunday: The big Eagles – Giants NFL game in the afternoon and then Game 4 of the World Series later that evening. So we had to not only do our business at the baseball park, but we had to get over to the Eagles’ offices to pick up game credentials for the football game.

The sports complex the city of Philadelphia has established for all of its pro teams should be a model for the rest of the major markets out there. ALL of the gleaming, new venues for the City of Brotherly Love’s professional franchises are bunched together so the Phillies, Eagles, Flyers and 76ers are all neighbors … very close neighbors. And sitting like a small abandoned shack in the shadow of the new buildings is the old Spectrum, former home of the city’s NBA and NHL teams.

The highlight of the day was finally getting a chance to eat at probably the best sandwich shop in town … and it’s not Pat’s or Geno’s … John’s Roast Pork. While I have been looking forward to finally getting to sample a real Philly Cheesesteak, MLB’s Rich Pilling high recommended going to John’s Roast Pork instead. Luckily our colleagues Sean, Coop and H. made it to John’s at 2:57pm … 3 minutes before closing! … and got us pork sandwiches that we hungrily devoured while sitting at one of the outdoor tables.

Just down from the rusting hulk of S.S. United States sitting in dock on the Delaware River, John’s Roast Pork is not much to look at outside … except for those aficionados of cool,dive-looking eating establishments with wonderful food. The pork sandwiches are huge, spiced with a distinctive flavor, one that H. figured out and John (who came out to talk about the Phillies with us) confirmed.

(I could tell you, but you should eat a roast pork sandwich and guess for yourself!)

As I noted in the previous post, the World Series can be long days of sleep deprivation with a lot of work but finding a real gem like John’s Roast Pork makes it all worthwhile.

My colleague "Coop" (David Cooper) holds his roast pork sandwich, Sean Dougherty in the background.