Wherever you’re going this summer—plane, train, automobile, beach, campsite, whatever—you’re going to need to bring some substantive travel snacks with you. And while pizza-flavored gas-station snacks are always a worthy choice, the smartest move you can make is a DIY Italian sub. Specifically, a muffaletta: New Orleans’ favorite deli sandwich is one of the few sandwiches that actually get better as they sit. And it sure as hell beats an airport grab-’n’-go chicken salad.

Invented by Sicilian immigrants in New Orleans at the turn of the 20th century, the muffaletta (also commonly spelled muffuletta) is a hallmark of New Orleans butcher shop and sandwich counter Cochon Butcher. They actually make two: the traditional Muffaletta with deli meats and olive salad on a Sicilian roll, and the Gambino, a more traditional sandwich with an herb vinaigrette on ciabatta.