The sandwich that ate boerum/cobble/carroll gardens

[frozenintime]

(Sorry, I refuse to call it BOCOCA.)

Once upon a time there were two truly exceptional sandwich joints in this 3-part neighborhood - ZOILA on Hoyt & State and CHICORY on Degraw & Clinton. In the case of Zoila, I might go so far as to say that Martha made LITERALLY the best sandwiches I've ever eaten.

But then - the dark ages. First Zoila closed a couple years ago, in the hopes (they said) of finding a larger space. And then Chicory shut this spring. And I find myself missing a great sandwich in this neighborhood.

I've been to Tazza (Henry just north of Atlantic), which is good, and there's a new place on Clinton Street at Cobble Hill Park (the old, red Delicatessen space) that is a little less good, and the Margaret Palca Bakes (or rsomething similar?) on Court has a good prepared foods bar but is really, really hit or miss with its sandwiches.

As a work-at-home freelancer, I love nothing more than a great sandwich!

Any suggestions? Want to commiserate on our communal losses? Have any clue what happened to the Zoila crew (it was a family affair)? That place changed my life for the better.

[deepyarn]

I concur that one can get a great Italian sub at Mastellone. Depending on who makes it, D'amicos can be the source of a good sub too. While I have not tried them, I think the tea lounge next to Thrifty's makes sandwiches.

[lambretta76]

For just general deli sandwiches, I really like the market at Atlantic and Bond. (I don't know the actual name, but it's the one on the west side of Bond. It used tobe "far Jesse's" when both bodegas on that side of Atlantic were called Jesse's and when I used to live on Hoyt.) Just standard Boar's Head fare, but they have a great selection with decent turnover and some decent toppings. I usually go for:

Roast beef and dill havarti on portuguese roll with lettuce, tomato, onion, and horseradish

Rosemary ham and swiss on rye with lettuce, tomato, and spicy mustard

Blazin' Buffalo chicken with gruyere on onion roll with lettuce, tomato, and a little mayo

Are these the best sandwiches in NY? No. But they're probably the best bodega sandwiches I've had in the city.

[Ruby5510]

i've had some great sandwiches @ D'Amico's too. Happy to hear the good news about Mastellone!!

[sarapeater]

the Italians are back (after that Korean interlude) which means delicious heroes are back on Court at the corner of Degraw. you know what I'm talking about: Mastellone

[frozenintime]

hey hey
thanks for all the thoughts!

you are all right, there are some great italian (and vietnamese, though i'm less a fan of that style i suppose) sandwich joints around here that i do frequent.

i guess, to put a finer point on it, what i am missing is a somewhat uppity, fancy-pants sandwich spot that actually DELIVERS (i.e. tazza, with the exception of its tuna salad sandwich, doesn't really deliver for me). something possibly less on the 'gut-busting' level than a 'painfully delicious' one. it is lunch, after all!

it's sour grapes unless i take it upon myself to open said shop myself, but that seems highly unlikely. and the disappearance of the aforementioned long-lost holes-in-the-wall may indicate the financial difficulty of operating such an establishment around here at this point.

[Tay]

frozenintime
I'm still not really clear what ingredients you feel constitute a 'fancy pants' sandwich, but perhaps Lasson & Hennigs (sp?) on Montague would do. They do a lot of lunch catering for us and they make very good,albeit not gigantic,sandwiches. I also like their pasta salads and cake by the slice.

[Widmark]

I know what he/she is talking about, because I'd been to Zoila and it was amazing. In that case it's a combination of things...very high quality and tasty meat well beyond what Boars Head has to offer, fresh tasty crusty bread, nice greens, really awesome condiments like homemade tapenade. I think a good Bahn Mi or a well-dressed italian sub comes close, but Zoila was definitely special.

[jimmyjazz]

if you're looking for an Italian sandwich, go for Caputo's on Court/3rd. amazingly fresh mozz(made in the back), and all kinds of meats. moved to Winsor Terrace about a year ago from Carroll Gardens and miss this place most of all

[Nehna]

Oh and I went for the prosciutto balls of course, but when I popped into Joe's Suprette I noticed a variety of people coming in for some tasty looking subs. Anyone attest to whether they're good? They looked good...

[bobjbkln]

We use Joe's for the large (3-5 Ft) heros which are great, so I would assume that their regular ones are pretty good, too. Of course, you can't go in there without coming away with a couple of those prosciutto balls.

[chezfredo]

Caputo's for sure! Also try a Penelle Special at Ferdinando's on Union Street (Columbia/Hicks). And there's always Vinny's for a hot hero. But yeah, there are a bunch of old neighborhood places now gone that are missed.

[MShapiro]

Try the pork store on Court & DeGraw - the name slips me - across the street from the bakery (great ices and pastries) - their deli counter's in back. Not sure if they’re the best, but when I was there recently they were making this Italian gut buster special that looked really good.

[Nehna]

Ive had a great sandwich or two from the pork store. Love that place.

[Nehna]

Hanco's for Bahn Mi sandwiches. It's become a weekend tradition for us lately.