The sandwich was wonderful. First of all, unlike their brethren across the pond, this sandwich was huge. Not American-obscene-huge, but European-huge. The focaccia was soft and fluffy and oil. The Mortadella was salty, wonderfully thinly sliced and *bountiful*. The mozzarella was actually flavorful and not the cold slug you often get. The tomatoes were pretty bland, oh well, three out of four ain’t too bad.

Simple enough to make, but wonderfully tasty ingredients

It’s a quarter loaf!

See, no short changing on the Mortadella

This piggie’s beef is incredible. Really, fantastic. We’ve covered a few roast beefs in the last few years and while they’ve been tasty, this takes the crown, no questions asked. I had the “That Way” ($8.50) which is roast beef and mozzarella cheese drizzled with gravy on an Italian hero. It’s an incredible amount of beef and it goes down like soup. The beef is so soft and delicious. The worst of roast beef is when they’re stringy, dry and salty. This work of art makes none of these mistakes: the beef is without any stringy fat to catch your bites (it seems shredded), incredibly moist from all the gravy and perfectly seasoned. It’s an incredible punch of savory flavors that you get to taste over and over (Did I mention it’s huge?).

Trust the Piggie, go get some beefy genius.

The menu is simple enough

I was excited and my fingers were shaking. Look how big it is!

Mozzarella

Do you like gravy?

The sandwiches are phenomenal. It’s run as a human business, not a robot business (skynet?): when they run out of ingredients, they don’t serve those sandwiches that day. When you order something, it’s made fresh: you can see the huge chunks of cured meat being trimmed and sliced. To top it off the sandwiches are fantastic combinations of complementary flavors. The smoked turkey and the sweet peppers go perfectly together. The prosciutto and hot peppers and oil mix wonderfully. The bread is chewy and crusty without making you feel like an animal ripping through food with your teeth.

I had the Michelangelo (prosciutto, provolone cheese, hot peppers, arugula for $10.50) and tried my companion’s Marina (smoked chicken breast, fresh mozzarella, sun dried tomatoes, arugula, for $10.50).

Go to Alidoro, it is amazing.

So fresh (and so clean):

Prosciutto heaven:

Thank god there’s another half:

Fresh roasted Marina:

I’m lookin’ at you delicious turkey:

While seemingly nondescript, the sandwich is well constructed. The soft, hot roast beef never exhibited any signs of filling creep, the mozzarella was melted through and the bun kept it all in a neat package while helping the texture and not masking any flavors. That is what this sandwich is all about: texture first flavor second. Sure it tasted good, but the thoroughly soft and warm texture was more inviting. Never was it mushy, or crumbly. Each ingredient provided a slight resistance and came together to soothe like a warm blanket. The portion was large, but not holy-crap-I-can’t-believe-I-finished-it-,-I-can’t-stand-to-walk-and-will-just-take-a-nap-here food-come large. It was the right size.

While I wouldn’t make a weekend event of it, I’d head back there without hesitation. The prices are a little high and the food certainly isn’t gourmet, but Champ’s Gourmet Deli is worth a stop if you’re in the neighborhood (or really like to help tourists with directions). The entrance is really on the south-east corner of Trinity and Rector Streets.

Manhattan Special: Roast Beef, Mozzarella cheese on garlic bread (or in this case a sesame seed roll), $6.75

The sign on Trinity St:

Christmas Surprise:

See all that delicious:

Mmm:

This one is another story entirely: the mozzarella is abundant and fresh, the pesto sauce is flavorful and gently drizzled, and the tomatoes are fresh and crispy. Even the roll is a fine choice: soft and multi-grain, it compressed nicely and wasn’t chewy at all. The pine nuts and arugula provided a nice variation in texture. The only mistake: all those frizze greens. I hate fighting with frizze greens. I tried to flatten them on top and include them with their filler companions, but gave up and removed a bunch of them like unruly school children for a time-out. I appreciate that the chef was trying to add more texture, but the arugula did a good enough job. Moral: frizze greens are almost always a waste of time in sandwiches.

Look past the forest of frizze:

Delicious:

Both of these were delicious, crunchy and decently balanced. Neither of them had any trouble staying together, thanks to the pressing and cheese. Both were filling and left the eaters tapping their belly purring ‘tastycakesssss.’ Which is exactly the response a good sandwich should induce.

In order of appearance:
“Prosciutto and Mozzarella with sundried tomatoes, chopped basil, and a touch of olive oil”
“Genoa Salami with fresh mozzarella, roasted pepper tapenade and sundried tomato and basil mayo”