Like so many local foodways, the Muslim fish hoagie is part of a long tradition of Black and Muslim dishes in the city — from salmon cheesesteaks to navy bean pies — that stretches back decades and persists through small businesses.
The Muslim fish hoagie lies at the intersection of the cheesesteak, the hoagie, and the Nation of Islam. Chopped fried whiting, melted American cheese, and crunchy vegetables overflow from a long roll that tests the circumference of your mouth. If this doesn’t already scream “Philly,” the cheesesteak-esque chopped fish reminds you which city you’re in.
Sister Muhammad traces Muslim fish hoagies back to the pita-based “fish in a pocket,” a sandwich that was popularized by Nation of Islam establishments in New York City. The sandwich took on its Philly form when members of the Nation of Islam served the chopped whiting and special sauce on a hoagie roll. Muslim chefs in Philadelphia continued to innovate the sandwich, adding raisins and rebranding the special sauce as “Muslim sauce.
The dislocation of the Muslim fish hoagie is a real loss for the city, evidence that, as Philadelphian and Rutgers professor Krystal Strong tells me, “Black cultural institutions are being priced out and foreclosed on” across the city. Strong points out that “part of what makes Philadelphia appealing — what makes it Philadelphia — are the diverse cultural histories, especially those that emanate from our diverse Black and African diasporic communities.
But the legacy of the Muslim fish hoagie persists. You can find other variations of the Muslim fish hoagie around Philadelphia — albeit without the raisins. Perhaps the closest version to the Sister Muhammad sandwich I’ve found is the fish special at SOBAD , a restaurant and bakery located at 44th Street and Lancaster Avenue. Mother-daughter team Nuyen and Shon Emanuel brought SOBAD from West Baltimore to West Philadelphia in 2018.
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