Sure, everyone knows Wise Guys for pizza. The thin crust with just the right crunch, the perfect cheese-to-sauce ratio, the golden color that tells you it’s been cooked exactly right. But here’s what most people don’t know: Mike’s story didn’t start with pizza at all.
It started in a deli. His uncle’s deli, to be exact, back in the 1970s when Mike was just a kid learning the craft from Uncle Tommy. And when Mike finally opened his own place in 1990? It wasn’t a pizzeria—it was Arthur Avenue Imports Italian Deli in Fort Lauderdale. Before there was Wise Guys pizza, before there were specialty pies and wing flavors, there was the Italian deli craft. The art of building a proper hero sandwich. The knowledge of which meats pair together, how fresh mozzarella melts differently than the aged stuff, why oil and vinegar beats mayo every single time.
These signature subs aren’t afterthoughts on a pizza menu. They’re not something Mike added later to round things out. These sandwiches represent the foundation—35 years of deli expertise that came before the first pizza ever hit the oven.
In New York, they’re called “heroes,” not subs or hoagies. And there’s a reason for that. A real New York hero isn’t just ingredients thrown between bread—it’s architecture. It’s engineering. The bread has to be right: crusty outside that gives you that satisfying crunch, soft inside that yields to the bite but still holds up to generous fillings. Because in New York, everything is piled high, but it’s never sloppy. It’s balanced.
The construction matters. You can’t just throw cold cuts and cheese on bread and call it a hero. There’s an order to things: the meats go down first, then the cheese, then the vegetables, then the oil and vinegar. Each layer serves a purpose. The cheese acts as a barrier between the wet vegetables and the bread. The oil and vinegar season everything without making it soggy. The vegetables add crunch and freshness to cut through the richness of the cured meats.
These aren’t Subway sandwiches where someone asks you fifteen questions and you end up with something that tastes like corporate cafeteria food. These are New York deli heroes crafted with 35 years of knowledge—the kind of knowledge that only comes from spending decades behind a deli counter, watching what works and what doesn’t, learning from masters like Uncle Tommy who’ve been doing this since before it was trendy.
When Mike builds a hero, he’s drawing on muscle memory that goes back to the 1970s. He knows exactly how much meat creates the perfect bite. He knows which ingredients sing together and which ones clash. He knows that a great hero isn’t about piling on everything you can find—it’s about the right things in the right proportions.
Ham, ham cappy, genoa salami, pepperoni, provolone, lettuce, tomato, onion, roasted red peppers, oil & vinegar, on a hero
Small $8.95 | Large $14.95
This is the foundation of Italian deli craft right here. This is what Mike learned to make as a kid, what he perfected over decades, what he built his reputation on before anyone ever tasted his pizza.
Look at what’s in there: ham, ham cappy (capicola), genoa salami, pepperoni. Four different cured meats. That’s not random. Each one brings something different to the party. The ham gives you that clean, salty base. The capicola—what New Yorkers call “cappy”—adds spice and a different texture. The genoa salami brings richness and fat that coats your palate. The pepperoni gives you that kick, that little bit of heat that wakes everything up.
And the cheese? Provolone. Not American, not Swiss, not whatever corporate cheese product they’re pushing this week. Provolone is the traditional Italian choice because it’s got tang, it’s got flavor, and it stands up to those assertive cured meats without disappearing.
Then come the fresh vegetables: crisp lettuce, ripe tomatoes, sharp raw onions, and here’s where it gets interesting—roasted red peppers. Those roasted red peppers are key. They add sweetness and complexity that you don’t get from the standard lettuce-tomato-onion trio. They bridge the gap between the salty meats and the fresh vegetables.
And the finishing touch? Oil and vinegar. Not mayo, not “Italian dressing” from a bottle, but real oil and real vinegar like they’ve been doing in New York delis for generations. The oil enriches everything, the vinegar brightens it, and together they turn a collection of ingredients into something that tastes complete.
This sandwich has everything: salt from the meats, fat that satisfies, acid that cuts through the richness, crunch from the fresh vegetables, freshness that keeps it from being too heavy. The small feeds one person generously. The large? That’s easily split between two people and nobody walks away hungry.
Fried eggplant, roasted red peppers, fresh mozzarella toasted on a garlic hero
Small $8.95 | Large $14.95
This is where Mike’s vegetarian option shows his Italian roots. See, a lot of places treat vegetarian like it’s a punishment—like you’re settling for less because you don’t eat meat. Not here. Eggplant Parmigiana is traditional Italian-American comfort food, the kind of thing that Italian grandmothers have been making for Sunday dinners for generations.
But The Cousin Vinnie isn’t just eggplant parm slapped on bread. Notice the details. This is fried eggplant—breaded and fried until golden brown, tender inside with a crispy coating that gives you texture in every bite. Not baked eggplant that turns mushy, not grilled eggplant that can be bland. Fried. The way it’s meant to be.
Those roasted red peppers show up again, and they pair perfectly with eggplant’s earthiness. Where eggplant can sometimes be one-note, the peppers add sweetness and complexity.
And the cheese? Fresh mozzarella. Not the low-moisture stuff that comes in a bag, not the aged mozzarella you grate over pasta, but the real fresh mozzarella that’s creamy and milky and melts into everything around it. This is a crucial distinction that shows Mike knows his ingredients.
It’s all toasted on a garlic hero. That garlic butter toasted bread is crucial—it adds another flavor dimension and gives you that crispy exterior that contrasts with the tender eggplant inside. When this sandwich comes hot off the press, the fresh mozzarella melts into the eggplant, the garlic bread is crispy and aromatic, and everything comes together into something that proves vegetarian doesn’t mean boring. It means delicious.
Grilled chicken with Italian dressing, sauteed onion, fresh mozzarella toasted on a garlic hero
Small $8.95 | Large $14.95
Named after the movie that Mike loves, but make no mistake—this sandwich is all about the craft, not just the name.
It starts with grilled chicken. Not breaded, not fried, just simply grilled. This is the leaner option for people who want something lighter, but Mike doesn’t phone it in just because it’s chicken. The Italian dressing marinates the chicken and adds tang, giving you that bright, acidic note that keeps the sandwich from being too rich.
Sautéed onions—not raw, not caramelized to the point where they’re sweet jam, but sautéed until they’re soft and sweet and golden. They add depth without overwhelming anything else.
Fresh mozzarella again. This is the third signature sub that features fresh mozzarella, which tells you something about Mike’s philosophy. He knows this ingredient. He knows how it behaves, how it melts, how it makes everything around it taste better.
And it’s toasted on a garlic hero. That garlic bread is a constant in Mike’s hot subs because it works. The garlic adds punch, the toasting adds texture, and together they turn what could be a boring chicken sandwich into something you’ll think about later.
This sandwich is lighter than the fried options, sure, but it’s still packed with flavor. The garlic, the melting cheese, the sweet onions, the tangy dressing—every element works together. Nothing competes, nothing gets lost. It’s balance.
Breaded chicken cutlet, pepper jack cheese, bacon, hot peppers, lettuce with ranch dressing toasted on a hero
Small $8.95 | Large $14.95
This is the wild card. This is the one with attitude. This is the sandwich that wants to prove it belongs in the lineup with the Italian classics, and let me tell you—it does.
It starts traditionally enough: breaded chicken cutlet, classic Italian-American style. But then it gets interesting. Pepper jack cheese instead of provolone. Bacon for smokiness. Hot peppers for heat. This thing has swagger.
This sandwich is spicy from the pepper jack and hot peppers. It’s smoky from the bacon. It’s rich from the fried chicken. It’s crunchy from the breading and the fresh lettuce. And here’s the kicker: ranch dressing with hot peppers. That’s the New York-meets-American fusion that makes this sandwich work. The cool ranch tempers the heat without eliminating it, and the lettuce adds crucial crunch and freshness to balance everything out.
It’s called The Wanna Be because it’s got swagger—it wants to prove it belongs. And after one bite, you’ll understand why it’s earned its spot. This sandwich has everything: crunch from the breading and lettuce, heat from the peppers and pepper jack, smoke from the bacon, coolness from the ranch. It’s complex, it’s bold, and it’s unapologetically itself.
The menu header says “Home of the Famous Goodfellas,” and that’s where you’ll find the Philly Cheese Steak and Chicken Philly options. But these aren’t just standard Phillies that you could get anywhere. Mike offers them in multiple flavors: Original, Cajun, Sweet & Sour, Spicy Hot, BBQ, Lemon Pepper, Teriyaki, and Garlic Parmesan.
This shows the evolution from pure New York Italian to Mike’s own innovations. He took the foundation he learned in Uncle Tommy’s deli and built on it. He experimented. He tried new things. And now you can get a Philly done eight different ways, each one properly executed.
Small $8.95 | Large $14.95. Same generous portions, same quality control, same commitment to making sure every sandwich looks delicious before it leaves the shop.
Then there’s the Italian Favorites section: Meatball Parm Hero, Eggplant Parm Hero, Chicken Cutlet Parm Hero, Sausage & Peppers Hero. Small $7.95 | Large $12.95.
These are the classics. These are the foundation of Italian-American delis. Homemade meatballs in house sauce on toasted heroes. Breaded chicken cutlet covered in sauce and mozzarella. Sausage and peppers—the combination that’s been feeding Italian-Americans since the old neighborhood.
These are what Mike learned making in Uncle Tommy’s deli in the 1970s. These are what he perfected when he opened Arthur Avenue Imports Italian Deli in 1990. These are what built his reputation before he ever touched pizza dough.
Mike has a philosophy that guides everything at Wise Guys: “We look at every pie or item before it leaves the shop to make sure it looks delicious.” That applies to subs just as much as it applies to pizza.
The bread has to be right. The ratios have to be perfect. Too much meat and you can’t taste anything else—it’s just a salt bomb. Too little and it’s disappointing, like you got shortchanged. The vegetables need to be fresh and properly proportioned. The cheese needs to melt the right way on hot subs. The cold subs need to be constructed so the bread doesn’t get soggy.
Thirty-five years means Mike knows exactly how to build a hero. He doesn’t need to measure anything—he knows by feel, by sight, by decades of repetition. His quality control checklist is simple but demanding: Product Quality. Presentation of the food. Cleanliness. As he puts it: “This is my way or the highway. 35 plus years in the business, I know how to make this work.”
Three of the four signature subs feature fresh mozzarella. That’s not an accident. Fresh mozzarella is different from the aged mozzarella you use for pizza or the low-moisture stuff in the dairy case. It’s creamy. It’s milky. It melts differently—it gets soft and creamy rather than stretchy and stringy.
This ingredient choice shows Italian authenticity. It shows that Mike isn’t cutting corners or using whatever’s cheapest. He’s using the right ingredient for each application, and he sources the best locally available ingredients he can get.
When you bite into The Cousin Vinnie and that fresh mozzarella has melted into the fried eggplant, or when The Godfather comes off the press and the cheese is creamy and hot, you’re tasting the difference that proper ingredients make. You’re tasting 35 years of knowing what works.
When Mike opened Arthur Avenue Imports Italian Deli in 1990, these sandwiches were the foundation. The Wise Guy Combo, the Italian Favorites, the craft of building a proper hero—this was his business. Thirty-five years later, even as Wise Guys has become known for pizza, these subs represent a lifetime of deli craft.
Whether you come for The Wise Guy Combo with its four cured meats and roasted red peppers, The Cousin Vinnie with its fried eggplant and fresh mozzarella, The Godfather with its grilled chicken and garlic hero, or The Wanna Be with its bold, spicy attitude—you’re getting Mike’s five decades of experience. You’re getting the knowledge he learned from Uncle Tommy in the 1970s, the skills he honed at Arthur Avenue Imports, the standards he’s maintained through multiple locations and 35 years in business.
Every sub is inspected before it leaves. “My way or the highway.” That’s not arrogance—that’s commitment to quality. That’s knowing what good looks like and refusing to accept anything less.
Come try them all. Wise Guys Pizzeria, 117 East Merritt Avenue, Merritt Island, FL 32953. Call 321.305.4055. Open Tuesday through Saturday 11am-9pm, Sunday and Monday 11am-8pm during football season.
The pizza’s excellent, no question. But the subs? Those are where Mike’s story begins.
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321.305.4055