Skip to main content

Mazzola’s lunch special, Brooklyn, Special Guest Correspondent, Clifforia Mublake




While I’ve eaten some noteworthy sandwiches in the past year (gloopy mess from Marius in Montreal, I’m looking at you), none have been really inspiring enough to write about until now. And besides, I’d much rather start things off on a positive note. At first, the “lard bread” description almost scared me off, but the classic tomato, basil, roasted red pepper, mozzarella combo was too much to pass up. In the end, a very good choice, enjoyed while sitting in a rickety chair out front of Mazzola’s, watching Brooklynites walk their myriad dogs and kids on the first sunny day of the season. My sources tell me that the sandwiches are a relatively recent addition to the menu here, and I will definitely be back for more.

Whatever lard bread is, it is wonderful. Soft and a little chewy without being at all hard, golden brown almost croissant-like exterior, and not a hint of crust-burn. Okay, okay those might be bits of bacon in there adding a little spice, but I stopped being an official vegetarian years ago and obviously already performed some very particular psychological gymnastics to get over that whole lard thing. Excellent distribution and ratio of fillings, with basily peppery bites throughout and just the right amount of tomato. The thin stacked slices of mozzarella were a bit soft (one degree further and we might have turned the corner on soggy), but in the end were balanced with the overall softness of this sandwich. Also, they threw in a free bag of rosemary and olive oil chips and their Americano is consistently decent. Lunch success!

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Monty’s Bakehouse wrap, Air Canada

I’d rate this wrap as strange. Its packaging created expectations of a more appetizing experience, which it was not. After a vastly superior egg salad sandwich from London Heathrow, I could not greet this airplane freebie with serious interest, but at least it was hot, and  at least I could review it for this blog. Steaming contents were oozy and largely undistinguishable, but suggested some kind of red pepper or sundried tomato origins.
Post a Comment
Read more

Haloum Grille, Depanneur Le Pick Up, Montreal

A friend and I agreed the personality of the sandwich changes with each person who prepares it, and today we felt something was a little less than parfait with our Haloum Grille. Folks at Le Pick Up seemed stressed . The longest wait ever, and our lunches sat around too long. Temperature of the cheese is important to experiencing haloumi’s firm the texture and the release of its saltiness, and I prefer when it’s grilled directly before entering the sandwich.  Creamy spicy slaw of red cabbage, carrot, and kale soothes the major crust burn associated with the crispy multigrain toast. Ideally it’s the bread that should be soft and the haloumi that gets to shine as the crispy grilled champ that it is.   Nevertheless, we stayed for hours at the back picnic tables, chatted with the servers, overheard some drama about the evening closing procedure, broke a dish, and spilled a coffee. A good day. 
Post a Comment
Read more

Panini, Piazza Barberini, Rome

Having recently returned to Rome, I was quickly reminded that sometimes the most simple is the most delicious. By the third bite, this panini sandwich picked up from the Piazza Barberini neighbourhood interrupted my thoughts with " Good Lord, this sandwich is awesome !" Taking a photo so that I may remember for possible replication here at home, this sandwich was most straightforward: a very seedy fresh wholegrain bread, Italian salami, oven-roasted yellow bell pepper, soft mozzarella, and arugula. I'm seduced by the mystery of Italy, and how everything tasted so amazing there ... is it the freshness of the olive oil? Absolutely wonderful.
Post a Comment
Read more