Muslim fish hoagies are a Philly sandwich ‘game changer’

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.

I had my first Muslim fish hoagie at Sister Muhammad’s Kitchen and Bakery. Sister Sharon Muhammad and her late husband, Brother Abdul Rahim Muhammad, ran this Nicetown institution from 1999 until September 2022. They served popular Philly staples alongside dishes associated with the Nation of Islam, including bean pies, navy bean soup, candied carrots, and fish fried rice.

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Sister Muhammad’s Kitchen and Bakery’s most iconic item was the Muslim fish hoagie, and her version had a dedicated following.

The key to Sister Muhammad’s Muslim fish hoagie is whiting that has been marinated overnight in a mixture Muhammad keeps secret, dredged in flour, lightly fried, and chopped on a griddle. Creamy American cheese binds that chopped fish to a honey whole-wheat roll. Sliced sweet peppers, cubed bell peppers, shaved white onion, briny chipped pickles, sliced tomatoes, and iceberg lettuce add a crunchy freshness. Sweet and tangy black raisins sprinkled throughout pop with each bite. They tie everything together. It’s all layered with a secret “Muslim sauce” — think: Thousand Island dressing with a spicy kick and a smoky finish. Food influencers took notice. JL Jupiter, Philly’s preeminent street food influencer, described the Muslim fish hoagie “as a “game changer” and said that he “never had a fish hoagie like this ever … especially with that Muslim sauce.”

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.”

But alas: since September 2022, you can no longer get Sister Muhammad’s Muslim fish hoagie in Nicetown. While Sister Muhammad still makes Muslim fish hoagies and other popular dishes from her restaurant and bakery, you have to drive to Abington or order delivery. Like so many local foodways, this sandwich 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 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. (Sister Muhammad’s Kitchen and Bakery was evicted for back rent from their original location.) 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.”

“There’s a fundamental paradox and contradiction,” Strong observes, “because we see the way that those cultural histories are celebrated and become emblematic of the city, but yet the people and communities that are responsible for affording those histories are being dislocated and decimated.”

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 (Supreme Oasis Bakery and Deli), 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.

The fish special, unlike the Sister Muhammed fish hoagie, featured at SOBAD recalls the Muslim fish hoagie, however with a Baltimorean twist in their spice blend. The daughter, Shon, proudly tells me “I think that what really makes us stand out — we do have these Maryland spices, these Maryland flavors.” The fish special still has chopped fried whiting and melty American cheese, but swaps the raisins for hints of celery salt and sweet paprika that suggest Old Bay.

Wherever you pick one up — from SOBAD or Sister Muhammad’s catering company — the continued existence of the fish hoagies packed with chopped fried whiting, crisp vegetables, and a secret-recipe sauce offers a story of Black and Muslim resilience. You’ll be tasting the deep tradition of Muslims in Philadelphia and the tenacity of the small-business owners who keep it alive.