Friday Foodporn: Zito's Daily Specials

For those of us who have been waving the Zito's flag since they opened last August, bringing all the best features of the classic Brooklyn Italian Deli to Seventh Avenue between 7th and 8th Streets, it was a sweet victory when they were named the City's Best Sandwich Shop by Metromix a couple weeks ago.

Their roster of hot and cold sandwiches, ranging from Sixpoint Braised Roast Beef to the Autogrill (provolone, mortadella, capicola, soppressata, and spicy Calabrian pepperoncino) has been discussed thoroughly, but I have to give a shout to their roster of daily specials. Sometimes it's as simple as a chicken cutlet BLT, but they've really been kicking it into high gear lately.

Trippa Siciliana, via Twitter

There's the Sicilian-style tripe sandwich, cooked in red wine and topped with onions, black olives, peas, pepperonata and Cacciocavallo cheese. There's the Steak Pizzaiola, topped with roasted cherry tomatoes and garlic, smothered in marinara, and topped with Pecorino. There's the hot pastrami sandwich (courtesy of Brooklyn Cured), piled high on ciabatta with melted swiss cheese, spicy mustard, and caramelized sauerkraut. They'll be introducing a fried baccala sandwich soon, as well as a housemade spicy sopressata, with some help from Faicco's.

One special I find myself going back to is the deliciously messy porchetta sandwich, above. A pork belly is tied around a pork loin and it's slow roasted for hours with lemons and Italian herbs like parsley, rosemary, and white pepper. Then it's sliced thinly, stacked onto a ciabatta, and topped with garlicky sauteed broccoli rabe and pepperonata. The lean pork loin, the fatty belly, the bitter greens to cut through it all... it's a masterpiece.

Their hot sauce is also worth asking for, made in-house with spicy Calabrian peperoncini, roasted peppers, molasses, and roasted garlic. And who said all their sandwiches need to be savory? Coolhaus will be bringing their line of crazy-good ice cream sandwiches to Zito's soon. And come springtime, they'll be grilling up sausages in the spacious backyard.

And don't forget about our exclusive coupon: two killer classic sandwiches and two 16 oz draft beers for just 20 bucks- now that's what I call a dinner for two.

Zito's Sandwich Shoppe, 300 Seventh Avenue Brooklyn NY 11215. 718-499-2800.

Comments

[ParkSlopePerson]

God, I LOVE this place!!