As Hamden native and Olympic hockey goalie Jonathan Quick prepares for Wednesday’s quarterfinal game in Sochi, people back home are cheering him on – by eating the sandwich that bears his namesake.
The Quickwich, a specialty sandwich filled with steak, cheddar and mac and cheese, is a top seller at Ray & Mike’s Deli on Whitney Avenue in Hamden.
Restaurant owner Raymond George said Quick used to frequent the deli when he was a teenager. The sandwich was introduced in 2012 after Quick helped the Los Angeles Kings bring home the Stanley Cup.
After the game, “a customer yelled out over at the line during lunch hour one day, ‘Name something after him called the Quickwich,’” said George.
So they did.
The Quickwich is now a top-three bestseller and “regular customer favorite,” one that Quick has personally sampled and approved, George said.
He added that the community is proud to have a hometown hero.
Quick and his teammates head to the quarterfinals after clinching the win in a nail-biter against Russia and breezing past Slovenia over the weekend.
They'll face Slovakia or the Czech Republic on Wednesday.