New York City's Primo Italian Sandwiches

A really good sandwich is as sacred to New Yorkers as any cherished landmark in Manhattan or any prime parking spot in the outer boroughs. The mere mention of the word “sandwich” is enough to start heated arguments among coworkers or close friends, as everyone has a favorite and, not only that, everyone has their own definition of what constitutes a sandwich.

Rather than get bogged down in what is or isn’t a sandwich (a hot dog is never a sandwich, but apparently a bagel sometimes is), let’s examine talk about something everyone can agree on: New York’s five boroughs create what are, without a doubt, the greatest Italian-style sandwiches anywhere in the world. Yes, even better than Italy.

Italian-Americans have been developing sandwich perfection for generations—some with the gloriously fatty umami of salted, cured meats, while others build monuments to portable deliciousness with crispy fried chicken cutlets or tender, juicy meatballs. While the proteins often vary, all of the best Italian-American sandwiches come draped in cheese, usually mozzarella but not always. 

But with hundreds of neighborhoods in each of the five boroughs, finding the best Italian-style hero sandwich can be exhausting, and incredibly filling. So, in an effort to lend an assist for your next search for a seriously good sandwich, we scoured the city and came up with one must-eat hero sandwich from each borough’s best Italian delis. 

The list is in no particular order. We’re simply starting in Manhattan and working our way outward. 

Manhattan

Photograph: Michael Skigen  |  Timeout

The Place: Faicco’s Italian Specialties

The Sandwich: Chicken Cutlet Hero Fresh Mozzarella, Pesto (Add Broccoli Rabe)

An old-school deli that’s been in the cured meats and aged cheese game since 1900, Faccio’s (260 Bleecker St.) exists in a world unto its own in Greenwich Village. One of Manhattan’s last vestiges of pure, unadulterated Italian-American charm, Faccio’s heros and hot sandwiches are one of the main draws to this traditional market. While the chicken cutlet and meatball parm heros at Faccio’s are two of the city’s best versions, our personal favorite is the chicken cutlet with fresh mozzarella and pesto, along with broccoli rabe added by request. The combination of pesto and broccoli rabe delivers a pungent herbaceousness that permeates the hero, with soft, silky mozzarella and olive oil taming each bite. The main star here is that perfectly fried chicken cutlet—crispy, juicy, and stacked high, it transforms a sandwich into a memorable meal.

The Bronx

Facebook: Casa Della Mozzarella

The Place: Casa Della Mozzarella

The Sandwich: Mozzarella and Prosciutto

The quality of the Italian food along Arthur Avenue in the Bronx is the stuff of legend—and Casa Della Mozzarella is the brick-and-mortar embodiment of that legend. An old-school nook specializing in Italian deli fare, authentic olive oil, and its main attraction, the housemade mozzarella, Casa della Mozzarella is the kind of place you just know makes amazing sandwiches. But of all the possibilities between bread here, the must-eat request also happens to be the simplest sandwich on this entire list. It’s the sublime, near poetic, fresh mozzarella and prosciutto hero. No roasted peppers, no sun-dried tomatoes, only unctuously fatty prosciutto with thick slabs of Casa’s creamy, hand-pulled mozzarella and just a light drizzle of olive oil on crusty bread—eating this sandwich is like falling in love for the first time. You’ll be dancing on a cloud. 

Queens

NY Eater

The Place: Tony’s Beechhurst Deli or Sal, Kris & Charlie’s

The Sandwich: Tony’s Special Hero or The Bomb

The one and only tie on our list comes from the illustrious borough of Queens, where Tony’s Beechhurst Deli in Whitestone and Sal, Kris & Charlie’s Deli in Astoria both stack entries worthy of a visit. First, there’s Tony’s Special Hero, the namesake sandwich from Tony’s Beechhurst Deli. It features gently folded layers of sopressata, pepperoni, mortadella, and provolone, in a classic mix of Italian cold cuts that melds into one distinctly spicy, aromatic, sharp flavor. Then there’s Sal, Kris & Charlie’s, aptly nicknamed the Sandwich King of Astoria, where the working-class customer base feasts on The Bomb. Stuffed with five meats (ham, salami, turkey, roast beef, mortadella), three cheeses (American, Swiss, provolone), along with lettuce, tomato, onions, hot peppers, mustard, mayo, oil and vinegar, it’s a fluffy, sesame seed-studded hero that’s more than a sandwich, it’s an undertaking. 

Brooklyn

NY Eater

The Place: Defonte’s

The Sandwich: Nicky Special

Brooklyn’s reputation for hipster everything is no match for its foundational role in New York’s Italian-American experience. Nowhere in this fair borough is that history more alive in the present than at Defonte’s in Red Hook. Spicing hams and roasting peppers since 1922, Defonte’s is more than a famed throwback deli, it’s a transformational place where enormous sandwiches are an artform not merely presented for shock value. Sitting at the top of Defonte’s menu for good reason, is Nicky Special, a hero drenched in just as much history as it is in oil and vinegar. It includes ham, capocollo, and salami, along with the aforementioned oil and vinegar, with fried eggplant, provolone, marinated mushrooms, and “hot salad,” a giardiniera-type spread with cherry peppers. Pair it with a Manhattan Special Espresso, and you’ve got Italian Brooklyn in a nutshell. *Note: The above link leads to the website for the Defonte’s second location in Staten Island. 

Staten Island

Italian American Culture Blog

The Place: Ariemma’s Italian Deli

The Sandwich: Chicken Lulu

If there’s one thing that Staten Island has over its more popular borough brethren, it’s places to get amazing Italian-style sandwiches. One of the most highly regarded is Ariemma’s Italian Delicatessen, an eatery that’s five generations and more than 60 years into its existence as one of Staten Island’s most time-honored and trusted Italian delis. With plenty of specialty heroes to choose from at Ariemma’s, it’s hard to go wrong, but one of its most popular sandwiches just happens to be one of its most frugal. At only $5 for a hero, the Chicken Lulu is a heaping helping of fried chicken cutlet, brown gravy, and melted mozzarella. As comforting as it sounds, the chicken cutlet is crisp, hero roll is crusty, yet soft, while the gravy and mozzarella add a richness that sends you into a smiling slumber.