Stefanino Panino e Vino — Restaurant in Melbourne

The fill: "Roma" = house roasted porchetta with crackling, roasted peppers, provolone, rocket and dijon

From: Stefanino Panino

Price: $18.50

After a couple of runs at Keto which absolutely vanquished any hope I had of a sandy I'm back and pwoah. Pwoah! I have been thrust from retirement and rolled a Nat 20 on a glorious panini.

After a successful Tuesday morning I found myself in a princess seat of a vehicle being pushed to choose a lunch option. I reached into my pocket and produced the food finder googling sandwich shops near me. A few classics were suggested but then suddenly in saw it, relatively low in the google search results was a sandwich provider titled Stefanino Panino, quick lil menu peek and it was clear there was choice here, choice that needed to be explored.

So naturally, I selected some tunes for the journey and found myself in Collingwood outside the Collingwood Yards which allegedly contained this provider. After a trip down an alleyway we found it, nestled in a trendy little prison yard looking area in an area so trendy that I felt cooler just being there.

Behind the counter were a bunch of young fellas pumping out coffees and prepping for the lunch rush. I ask to peruse the menu and from behind a a well maintained moustache I heard words instructing me on the specials and the limited number of what was left. Then he said it. "Oh the porchetta is cooked so we have the roma now too".

"The roma?" I asked with inquisitive glee, shuffling on the balls of my feet as I was excited to hear what came next from the man attached to the moustache wearing a beanie thay surely only kept the top of his head warm.

"It's good", the words crashed from his supple lips like a crescendo of happiness and encouragement.

After a short wait I found myself sitting on a long picnic style table in this courtyard area feeling trendier than a person using words like "drip" and "slay"

I looked the panini in front of me, lovely floured roll that had a subtle crunch but didn't crumble and remained bouncy and supple, no fancy nuts or seeds, just a quality happiness house for a filling that was absolute quality. The roasted peppers were kissed by a smokiness that provided that earthy note whilst remaining naturally sweet and just the slightest little amount of spice. They were topped by a single thin slice of provolone cheese which everyone knows is a superior sandwich cheese. Then, a thick, juicy slice of that fresh porchetta which was just heaven in your mouth. The crunch of the crackling left on the porchetta added a nice texture that wasn't like it was going to crack a tooth but just gave you a bit of that nice mouth feel as you chewed through the flavour profiles that are absolutely shagging your tastebuds. To finish the dijon was just the right amount of vinegar to cut through the fat and sweetness to leave you with the absolutely ultimate complete flavour hit in your mouth of sweet, salty and tangy. Tipping it off was fresh rocket which was really good quality and provided the freshness required.

This sandwich has become my new favourite, not only did it shoot me back into the cut throat business that is sandwich reviews but it made me feel good about myself. It saw me for who I was and provided what I needed to elevate my day to a day that will go down as a great one. I will remember this day along with my wedding, the birth of my son, the battle of Palennor fields as truly wonderful experiences.

Before leaving I went back to the front counter which was now a line of people out the door and I extended my hand to the moustache behind the counter. From behind the moustache a hand appeared,

"thank-you, for changing my life" I lamented whilst shaking the hand and doing that weird tickle finger thing.

"Haha, you're welcome man" the moustache responded, and I was welcome, I felt welcome, man.

🥪🥪🥪🥪...

I tried the #8 Il Manzo (Rare roast beef, provolone, pickled and roasted peppers, red onion, Dijon mustard) In all honesty, I could not fault this panini. From the soft bread to the delicate cuts of meat, to the sharpness of the pickled peppers — it was fantastic. The flavours complemented each other, the ingredients are paired so well, the freshness shone through with every bite. This definitely was a more richly-flavoured option on the menu with its various components of acidity, but there are lots of great, simple options too. Less is more in my opinion, and they do that so well here. Service itself was fast and wait times are not long (at least when I went) and staff are so friendly!

This is probably one of the ultimate ‘bang for your buck’ spots in Melbourne. With a place this good, you won’t be surprised to hear they can sell out pretty quickly especially on weekends, so I recommend getting in before 12/12:30pm to avoid missing out. What a win this is for Brunswick East. I can’t wait to...

The first photo on Google map was their old shop, the current location is inside Collingwood Yard. We were a bit lost the first time we got here.

We had Parma, Pollo and Calabrese. The Calabrese was way too spicy for us, I dont know why we ordered it. We quite like the Parma and the pollo was very refreshing. Very good bread, extra crunchy.

A good filling portion too!

Update: On the 2nd visit we had the il Manzo (rare roast beef with pickled & roast pepper & red onion) and Verdure (eggplant, roasted peppers, rocket, stracciatella, basil, pickled peppers and olives).

I think the il Manzo was better than any of the other ones we had 1st time round.

The Verdure had a lot of ingredients. While it had more flavours than the rare roast beef one, it wasn't overwhelming. I would be happy to...