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!

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