What is the difference? The internet isn’t helping much. Is it just when ordering a bunch for friends, you say “what do you guys want?” vs. “what can I get for youse?”
It sounds like the difference is subtle, but then Yahoo Answers.
A sub has the bun sliced completely through, so you end up with a bottom piece and a top piece. A hoagie has the bun still attached on one side, so both pieces are “bottom”, sort of like a hot dog bun.
Interesting. We don’t make that distinction here in Chicago. Subs are quite often not cut all the way through. Even some national sub chains (like Jimmy John’s) don’t cut clean through, either. (For that matter, it’s been awhile, but does Subway cut all the way through?) I wonder what geographic areas the hoagie vs sub distinction is made.
To be honest, I don’t know if that distinction is an actual thing. Back when I went off to college, all the places in my hometown of Cleveland called them subs, and sliced the bun all the way through, and all the places in my college town of Philadelphia called them hoagies, and used the partially-sliced buns. But the partial slice seems to be getting much more common nowadays even in the places that call them subs, so maybe the name doesn’t matter after all.
In any event, how the bun is sliced will certainly affect the proper arrangement of fillings.