To date, THE BEST Hero I have eaten in New York City
LITTLE ITALY- 198 Mott St. New York, NY 10012
How is this for a first post back? My visit to Parisi Bakery in Little Italy went down a few weeks ago, and I have been dying to write about it since. Here it goes…
At this point, it is no secret that I love sandwiches. When quality ingredients come together on freshly baked bread, there is nothing that I enjoy more. These days there is all kinds of sandwich artistry going on out there, but if you want to have a tried and true Italian Hero, the best place I have encountered so far is Parisi Bakery in Little Italy. They have been doing this for over 100 years and there is no end in sight.
When you arrive, you will find freshly baked loaves of bread in the window, a line out the door, and a woman and a couple of gruffy-looking men behind the counter working feverishly to fill the seemingly never-ending orders that are coming in over the phone and from the noticeably excited and eager patrons. Also inside the tiny storefront, on the wall (partially blocked by a beverage refrigerator) sits an old, dirty, pepsi-branded sandwich board that looks like it hasn’t been touched by a Parisi employee since 1989. Normally that would be bothersome, but it did not seem to matter to anyone that was trying to decide what to order.
My decision was easy, I was going to have the “Dennis”. An easy decision for two reasons: first, it was the only sandwich on the board (that I could see) that was actually named after a person, and second, I had heard about this thing before. A Dennis consists of: chicken cutlet with fresh mozzarella, prosciutto, roma tomatoes, balsamic vinegar and pesto. Thank you Dennis, thank you…
The Dennis, like all of the other sandwiches at Parisi come on freshly baked Italian bread. The chicken cutlets are pounded paper thin, fried to a perfect crisp, and layered one on top of another, on top of another, on top of another, on top of another, and so on. Add to those some thin slices of high quality prosciutto, homemade mozz, and fresh tomatoes and you have something that just makes sense. And, if you couldn’t tell from the hero shot above (pun intended) it is monstrous.
Want one? All you need is 9 bucks cash, a serious appetite, and an appreciation for fine works of art. Please Please PLEASE visit 198 Mott St. one afternoon so you can share this feeling of excitement- I look forward to hearing about it.
