Il Bambino

Ok, ok, yeah, here's another sandwich menu- sorry. How many sandwich menus can you expect to read? I dunno, but it's summertime, and June is the month of the sandwich. I am declaring it so because there is so much to be doing that your food has to be hand-holdable and in a sort of pocket-form and there are so many good sandwiches out there. This here's a throwback to an old favorite of mine, but when it was my favorite was when it was a new kid on the block- that block being 30th Avenue in Astoria. It was waaay back when it was still fresh to use a pig silhouette on your menu. (But theirs is hand-drawn, not clip-art, so it's ok.)

And waaay back then the sandwiches were a dollar less than they are on here, and I was all about the crostini because they are basically mini sandwiches and you can try more of them for half the price.

I was really enamored because their menu has a glossary of meats, so you can limit your questions to cheeses and spreads. Also the wall in the restaurant has a huge painted cross-section of a pig that enthralls me- or is it an exploded pig?- I think it's the nostalgia.




But seriously, really good paninis to be found here, and really prettily presented on this little paper menu. I used to watch the main chef guy- I think Darren?- preparing the sandwiches and I remember him being so tender with the little arugula leaves, like they were precious. You could never get away with that in Manhattan- it was so Queens of him to be all tidy and careful and kind, and not at all affected about fancy sandwich fixins.



Of course I could never decide what to get but C and I would get 2 and have 2 halves and it would be some amazing combo of fresh (usually artichoke or bresaola) and meaty (usually prosciutto or soppressata) with a little bite of G's chicken (he got it every time). Anyway, that's how we spent scores of weekend afternoons eating them sandwiches. Squished flat sandwiches, that's what paninis are.