Zito's part two, the revenge. (the delivery, actually)

We changed dinner plans tonight and ordered in from Zito's via Seamless. (Yes, I know that Seamless cuts down on the profit a restaurant makes on its meals, and yes, I know that it can take a little longer. I'm sorry. Sorry, Zito!)

Trying to eat as healthy as possible after a week of junk food from trucks, we ordered the Sicilian Tuna and the Panelle. Unfortunately, they were out of the latter, so it was replaced with the Meatless. (I should point out that this is the second time that we've tried Zito's, and the second time they've been out of a sandwich.) we also remembered that we could choose our rolls and skipped the default Rustico in favor of the wheat.

An hour and change later, the sandwiches arrived. The tuna was a dark brown, which was a little bit of a turn off at first, considering that Tongol and similar are usually a blondish gold at their darkest. this sandwich also comes with balsamic vinegar and olive tapenade, though, which explain the color. Pretty tasty and tangy from caper berries, and kept somewhat fresh with the addition of cherry tomatoes and arugula, it was a good sandwich. For $8.50, though, a person could do better.

The Meatless had plump and meaty grilled portobello mushrooms, bright green and spicy broccoli rabe, and roasted red peppers. The mushrooms were great, and the rabe and peppers were the best of a classic Italian combination of tastes. The artichoke spread listed on the menu, however, was barely perceptible on this sandwich. Again, the price was high for what we got.

Half and Half - the Meatless and the Sicilian Tuna

I should point out here that the bread was excellent. Most while wheat variations of a sub roll can get to be too dense and heavy. These, while certainly substantial, were chewy and light enough to allow the flavors of most of the sandwich fillings to be enjoyed. (although possibly responsible for the artichoke spread disappearing...)

Once more, Zito's is pretty good, but there's gotta be a better sandwich out there for the same price. But i suppose that convenience is a big draw in New York.

-SdJ

Zito's on 7th avenue, Park Slope

You know how sometimes you just want a really good sandwich? Something hearty and satisfying, on good Italian bread? Well there's no shortage of delis in the area, but there's always a little something missing from most of the heros (we call them hoagies where I come from,) that I've tried so far.

My biggest beef (no pun intended,) most times is the bread. Almost all of the sandwiches if tried here have bread that's a little too soft or too fluffy. Long rolls should be chewy. Not stale, but strong. And with a little crustiness to the crust.

Zito's always looks legit when I walk by one of their two locations. There's usually a good looking stack of rolls just visible from the street, and a case of cured meats from Salumeria Biellese instead of the usual Deitz and Watson or Boar's Head. When my sandwich craving hit me this time, I thought maybe Zito's could sate it. They came pretty darned close.

I ordered their version of a classic Italian sub/hero/hoagie called the Autogrill, for some reason, despite having zero ingredients actually come in contact with a grill. You have your choice of roll when you order a sandwich but i didn't notice this option until later, and apparently the default is the Rustic. The foot long roll was exactly what I wanted. It had tooth. It fought back. Perfect.

The interior was equally delicious but sadly under-filled. Salty prosciutto, spicy capicola, and fatty mortadella were of great quality but scarce. For $10.50, I'd expect more than one layer of each. Mild provolone could have been replaced with sharp to great effect. The peperoncini peppers added a wonderful vinegar kick, and the Six Point Sweet Action I got with it was a perfect accompaniment with its slightly astringent hoppy aftertaste.

While I enjoyed the taste of my sandwich immensely, my lovely companion ordered the winner this time. The hot Six Point braised roast beef sandwich was chock full of sliced roast beef in a thick and spicy beer and tomato sauce. The roll had a wonderful crunch to it from some time in the broiler, and homemade mozzarella had melted into beautiful stringy white blobs. Marinated mushrooms and sautéed onions finished it off, and the whole thing was the embodiment of pure tasty comfort.

We finished with an ice cream sandwich from the freezer case by Coolhaus. "Mintimalist" satisfied our love of puns as well as our collective sweet teeth. The chewy chocolate chocolate chip cookie held an inch-thick serving of basic but incredibly powerful mint chocolate chip ice cream. No artificial green color, but enough mint leaves pulverized into it that tiny green flecks were easily visible. Apparently they have a couple trucks here in New York, with crazy flavor combinations I can't wait to try. Expect a review when I can track them down on their twitter feed.

The biggest downer about this place: the Pandora music feed that kept skipping/buffering every 10 seconds while the staff blissfully sang along to Fatboy Slim as if nothing was wrong. The entire time. Seriously, 30 minutes or more of skipping Fatboy with the occasional commercial thrown in. (You can't spring for the monthly membership? And maybe lay off downloading whatever it is thats chewing up your bandwidth during business hours?)

Final verdict on Zito's:

Food: 9/10
Value: 6/10
Ambiance: 5/10
Service: 8/10

-SdJ

The "Autogrill"

Six Point Braised Roast Beef

Sweet Action. For my mouth

Mintimalism...

BEST Ice Cream Sandwich

Shelves full of stuff to make things look fancy