A true taste of Italy arrives in Midtown in the form of a sandwich shop. Sfilatino is using cured meats and cheeses to offer some of the tastiest sandwiches around. You will find them on West 57th Street between eighth and ninth avenues.
You will also find freshly made salads, pastas and Italian tea sandwiches, but the real star is the Sfilatino itself, a specially made bread that offers a truly healthy crunch. It's made daily and served warm. The menu features more than 30 types of Sfilatino sandwiches ranging from baby shrimp and crab to porchetta with grilled eggplant. I settled on the Pisa, which has a bit of everything. There is saltiness from the thinly-sliced pancetta, sweetness from roasted red peppers that are plump and juicy, and sharpness from the smoked scamorza cheese imported from Italy like most of the ingredients here. It is topped with baby arugula and a delicious artichoke sauce.
The restaurant is also open for breakfast, serving croissants and marmalade tarts, along with a frittata sandwich filled with prosciutto cotto, tomato and fontina cheese. Each sandwich is presented on its own little cutting board with prices ranging from $6.95 to $10.95.
With just three or for tables, Sfilatino is not the place for large gatherings. But with its reclaimed wood, slate floors and tin ceiling it does provide the perfect atmosphere for lunch or a light dinner. Local office workers would be smart to seek it out. Before leaving, the owner, in a thick Italian accent, told me this was his first U.S. shop and that he hoped to open many, many more. With sandwiches as good as these he might just get his wish.
