Torrisi's Italian Specialties 
 New York, New York            Date of Visit: 07/17/10            
http://piginahat.com/index.php

Prior to a game we were introduced to Torrisi’s Italian Specialties. A small place that just smells serious. Very few seats don’t stop numerous locals from streaming in and out the doors, always leaving with bags of goodies and smiles. Apparently the owners have kitchen resumes toiling under the likes of Mario Batali and Daniel Boulud. Our guides ordered for us and we loitered on the sidewalk until beckoned back to collect our own bag. We strolled down the street and shared some sandwiches in the park across from a fast paced Mahjong match.

 




 


 
 


Lovely
 

Our bag contained three heros (Subs to us or Hoagie Sammitches to Pittsburgers). Having seen the daily  offerings sitting on the counter after our order I fully expected to be in for a treat. We unwrapped turkey, pork and eggplant filled crusty rolls, quickly unleashing another torrent of those smells that had started my saliva rolling in the first place. First things first. I expected to most enjoy the pork, it just looked majestic studded with slowly roasted whole spices and herbs. The first bite I took happened to be the turkey. Absolute brilliance! Tender and juicy with fabulous turkeyness. Next came the eggplant which had a beautifully concocted tomato sauce. The eggplant had a great texture and the whole sandwich was the quintessence of concept and execution.

 

 
 
Should Be for Thanksgiving
 

Eggplant Experts
 

Just a Bummer
 
 
 

If these were so good what could that inspired looking pork taste like. Time to find out. Here’s the dilemma. The pork itself was superb. The problem was, at least for our portion, the pork was also chock full of fat which with the slow roasting had not rendered out at all and had become essentially tire like making biting and chewing nearly impossible and exceptionally unpalatable. It might be something that I just don’t get, one of those things you grow into like coffee or caviar, but I don’t think I would ever learn to appreciate this.
 

 
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        Two Sammies Chewie Pork Surprise    
 
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