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HRR04202017

30 APRIL 21 – APRIL 27, 2017 BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP DINING OUT Sandwiches and so much more BY HELEN KLEIN HKLEINBROOKLYNREPORTER.COM The How You Doin’ sandwich on ciabatta bread. The housemade mozzarella is just the beginning of the treats at the unassuming Charlie’s Sandwich Shop, open on Third Avenue since early December, 2016. The small store — which functions, amazingly, without a full kitchen — is a treasure trove of overstu ed sandwiches and homemade salads, presided over by Charlie Bellomo, who got his reputation as a “Sandwich Guy” during his years down the block at Artisan. “Everyone came to me for sandwiches,” Bellomo recalled. “I know how to treat customers the right way.” Upon Artisan’s closing, Bellomo made the momentous decision to open up his own place, taking his sandwich magic with him, and adding to it an extensive repertoire of side dishes all made on premises, which, he noted, has the atmosphere of “an old-time deli.” I had the opportunity to sample one of Charlie’s specialties, the How You Doin’, which features fried chicken cutlet adorned with slabs of house-roasted red peppers and the very fl avorful fresh mozzarella that is also available to customers by the pound ($7.99), fi nished with a balsamic glaze. The sandwich, which I consumed on ciabatta ($10.50) is huge and fl avorful — and, yes, I took half of it to go; the hero version ($12.50) is astonishingly even larger. The bread, which comes from Villabate on 18th Avenue, is chewy and satisfying. The balsamic glaze adds a sweet counterpoint to the slight saltiness of the cheese, whose so , but fi rm texture itself balances out the crispy fried chicken. I also tried a selection of house-made BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP/Photo by Helen Klein side dishes, and was particularly taken with the pleasantly tart marinated mushrooms ($7.99/pound) and the mixed olives ($7.99/pound), a combination of Gaeta, Kalamata, Cerignola and other olives spiked with parsley, garlic, oregano and olive oil. For Bellomo, it’s a point of pride that he manages to make so many things from scratch with such limited equipment. That includes not only the mozzarella and the roasted peppers, but also marinara sauce and chewy, sweet sundried tomatoes (the latter also available for $7.99/pound). Not surprisingly, Bellomo comes from a family of cooks.His dad had a pizza place in Manhattan and taught him how to make his special Meatball Parm hero. Overall, Bellomo said he learned to cook at the side of both parents, a er emigrating to Brooklyn from Sicily in 1998, working in his father’s pizzeria and getting not only a culinary education but a businessperson’s education as well. They’re both in evidence in his cozy shop which, new as it is, seems to fi t just perfectly into the neighborhood. CHARLIE’S SANDWICH SHOP 9216 Third Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11209 718-833-3099 Monday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Catering menu Free delivery with $10 minimum in Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights On Monday of last week, my wife and I stopped by SAN CARLO OSTERIA, which is located at 90 Thompson St. near Spring Street. We read about it on Pulsed NYC, a public event daily website. This restaurant was advertising complimentary pasta and live jazz. As the restaurant was recommended on Urban Daddy.com, which is a staple of high quality on its own, we made a reservation and o we went. The restaurant was packed and there was a live jazz band of 3 including a trumpet player ring the beloved standards. I had a feeling we were in for a unique dining experience. Being raised on quality cuisines both home cooked and not, our idea of eating out was going to a quality establishment not of the diner-esque variety. As a native Italian-American and someone who works for the Italian-American Federation for many years, I know the dierence. Ok, on to the food. The complimentary gnocchi special for this particular evening was homemade, fresh and out of this world. We split 3 appetizers, a polenta fondue, an original burrata and artichoke dish as well as a unique grilled calamari. Next, a sampling of dierent types of pasta to view their range and they were exceptional, to say the least. The Ravioli Di Zucca , homemade butter squash ravioli with crispy pancetta. A Calcio Pepe, derived in a piedmont style as well as a homemade ravioli with braised meat in a bollito broth. Stued at this point we still made room for the “secondi” splitting the Bollito Misto Piedmontese, a heavy dish with assorted regional meats. Non salty, with the avorful meat practically melting in our mouths, I felt I had eaten a work of art. The wine collection is from dierent regions of Italy and has been well researched and versed. Price points for the extraordinary dishes and wine is very fair considering you walk away with the feeling of having had one of the best Italian dining experiences of your life. Head chef, Riccardo Zebro , from Milan, is trained in piedmontese cuisine as the regions of Milan and Turin are a short distance away. He greeted all guests to assure the food was to their liking. The wait sta are all native Italian which is pleasant to see and their recommendations are spot on. Last but not least is the hospitable and humble owner, Moreno Cerrutti who has worked hard to bring piedmont style cooking to the forefront of NYC “This restaurant is special because it is dicult to master Northern Cuisine as most people who love Italian are eating food predominantly from the southern region of Italy”. Cerrutti goes on to say. “Piedmonte has high quality trues, cheese, homemade pastas and traditional dishes “. Moreno assures us that all of these recipes are authentic and original and from what I have tasted, there is no argument there. There is a 2 course lunch special for $15.00 dollars and a special aperitivo from 5pm to 7pm weekdays, which oer complimentary pizzette, focaccia, olives, taglierri formaggio. Ask for Moreno and Richard and they will be happy to take care of you! Let them know Lorenzo sent you. LIVE jazz session, Monday, April 24 6:30-9:30 pm 90 THOMPSON ST. - NYC Email: [email protected] Phone: 212.625.1212 / 212.625.1232 Fax: 212.625.1242


HRR04202017
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