Take the Crosby Connection to 'Wichland

Ever since this blog has been around one place has stayed on the ‘wichlist: Crosby Connection (45 Bleecker St, New York, NY). Back then it was a little shop on Crosby Street, where it hits Bleecker. I’ve tried a handful of times to visit it but every time it was closed for one reason or another; the hours they kept were bizarre. It became my white whale, haunting my dreams, taunting me, always there in plain sight, but totally unattainable. I’d read about how amazing it was on various sites (for example) and I kept trying to get one, but was stymied at every attempt. After a few moves, they settled down in the lobby of the Bleeker Street Theatre. I’m happy to announce that today I put my whale to rest and it’s tender meat was every bit as succulent as I’d hoped — all the legends are true: Crosby Connection is incredible.

First of all, the shop is adorable. The menu is hand written (and never actually says ‘Crosby Connection’). The whole endeavor is the concession stand at the theatre and the actual ’sandwich shop’ part is really just a counter for the owner (Joey Cramarossa) to prepare sandwiches. He does each one with a visible amount of love, trying to hurry to keep the line short, but still putting heart into each one. He’s also got this amazing gruff and calm demeanor but this isn’t SimplyAttitudes, so I’ll let you discover that for yourself.

I tried the Suze Special for $7.00: prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, fresh tomatoes, sweet roasted peppers, avocado, basil, virgin olive oil, and balsamic vinegar. I don’t usually appreciate mozzarella in sandwiches, too often it’s just cold and slimy (ever been to Cosi?), but in this case it was room temperature and absolutely beautiful. The bread was fluffy and mild, keeping everything together. The tomato and avocados were perfectly ripe and their combination with thin slices of prosciutto was buttery and amazing.

Next chance I get, I’ll be back to try another. You should too.

It’s got it all: