I had my first panini today at Panini Toscani. This place has great Yelp reviews, so I figured it…read morehad to be legit.
You walk into this tiny little sandwich shop and you better be ready to order immediately. First came the bread selection, then the meat, then the cheese. Pointing at things seemed to work best for me. I managed to say "Italian bread" while pointing to the top shelf, and when I pointed at the meat I asked, "That's pork, okay?" Deep breath... good start.
Then they asked me about cheese. Hold on now, I'm still mentally processing my bread choices -- I'm not prepared for this speed-ordering competition. I finally said, "Whatever your best seller is," and they slapped on some kind of white cheese that I still cannot identify.
Last step: toppings. The lady behind the counter pointed at something green and said, "This goes well with pork." I said, "Hit it."
Finally, ordering complete.
I grabbed my drink, paid the old man at the door who was running the whole operation with grace and happiness, and found the only outside seat available. Good timing too, because halfway through my panini the line was 10+ deep.
That first bite was fantastic. The crunch and crumble of the bread somehow lasted all the way to the final bite. I added tomatoes, and the green stuff had this sweet flavor with a hint of dill. Whatever it was... it worked.
This panini absolutely lived up to the Yelp hype.
And to the old man running the place -- you do good work. Don't overwork yourself.
