There aren’t many places left where you can feed a family of four for as little as $10.

Severino’s Variety, on Cumberland Street in Westbrook, is one of those places. It’s definitely carrying on the tradition of the corner store by offering lots of home-cooked food for little money.

If you wanted, you could buy four hamburgers ($2.05 each) and a pint of french fries ($2.35) and have lunch for two adults and two children easily.

I stopped by recently as I was driving through Westbrook. It’s just a short distance off Main Street and downtown. Just head for the giant paper mill on Cumberland Street and keep going for a couple of minutes.

For about $10, I got enough for two big lunches on two different days. For a hot lunch that day, I ordered a small steak sub with grilled mushrooms, peppers and onions ($5.60). And for the next day, I got a large regular ham Italian ($4.25).

The steak sandwich was as big as some larges I’ve had. It was a nice soft roll stuffed with lots of tender steak. The vegetables were lightly grilled, so the peppers still had a little snap to them. The sandwich was hot off the grill and wrapped in aluminum foil, and it stayed very hot until I ate it.

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The large Italian was also on a soft roll, made in the standard Maine Italian way. But unlike some Maine Italians, this one was cut on top, so the fillings didn’t fall out.

Other Italian sandwiches on the menu include salami, capicola, roast beef, tuna, turkey and pepperoni. They range between $3.20 and $5.60 for smalls and $4.25 to $6.60 for larges.

You can also get a wide variety of sandwiches on bread or rolls, ranging from egg salad ($3.25 for a small) to a seafood roll ($5.50 for a large). The hot sandwiches include meatball ($5.70 for a large), sausage ($6.50 for a large), hot pastrami ($5.10 for a large), veal or chicken Parmesan ($6.50 for a large) or a haddock sandwich ($5.25).

The grill menu is extensive, with a wide range of inexpensive items like a cheeseburger ($2.15), grilled cheese ($1.75) or hot dog ($1.35). For just a little more you can have dressed-up versions of these items, including a double cheeseburger, bacon cheeseburger, cheese dog or grilled ham and cheese.

There are also salads, wraps and dinner entrees ranging from chicken nuggets ($6.35) or fried haddock ($6.25) to spaghetti and meatballs ($6.05).

There’s also pizza and a wide variety of beer and wine, groceries and deli meats.

The Features staff of The Portland Press Herald anonymously samples meals for about $7.

 


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