When your sandwich jones calls, go to Parisi Bakery

It seemed like every time I asked SYB what he wanted to have for lunch or what he had eaten for lunch, he would mention some kind of sandwich from Parisi Bakery. Much like his love for noodles at Marco Polo (now closed!), his devotion to this small Little Italy storefront is unparalleled. So finally, when I met up with him in SoHo one afternoon, he led me to Parisi, according to all reports long unchanged despite the entire neighborhood having morphed around it.

Parisi Bakery has the feel of an old school place, alright, and I hope it stays that way. I also hope it'll stay around for pretty much forever. In a schoolyard nearby SYB and I split a sandwich on a sesame-speckled semolina loaf as large as my head, and it was delicious. The massive amount of bread, which looked overwhelming and dry before I bit into it, was fresh and dense and a bit sweet, standing up perfectly to the mozarella, capicola, and sweet sopressata layered between it. I also tucked in a few huge pieces of marinated sweet pepper, which provided a perfect tangy contrast to the meats and bread. Normally I wouldn't eat so much, but that afternoon I found myself polishing off the entire half. My stomach paid for it afterward—but it was so worth it.