Anthony & Son Panini Shoppe — Restaurant in New York

It’s been a while since I last went to Brooklyn, but Anthony & Son Panini Shoppe has been hyped up so much that I had to see if it was worth making the trip. The place’s got that old-school charm from the outside with the Italian flag painted above the sign and looks legit like it owns the block on Via Vespucci (Graham Avenue), it’s got that authentic vibe like you’re about to step into a little slice of Italy in NYC. But then you step inside and boom! Reality check. The vibe shifts from a potentially interesting panini shop to just another deli, like a thousand others. Once inside you immediately lose that typical “Italian joint” feeling and I gotta say, as someone who’s actually Italian, it felt a bit off. You’d expect a certain kind of atmosphere from a place with that kind of rep, but it just wasn’t there. It literally looks like any other Deli. The staff was made by 3 apparently Mexican guys and a girl with a dude handling the register behind the counter. No italians (or American-Italians) here and I was surprised to find out that every sandwich has been “Americanized” to meet people’s taste, resulting unoriginal despite being very appetizing. You can’t just use Italian names for cured meat hoping they look fancier than regular deli meat. Felt a bit cheesy in retrospect (I should probably mention that I am Italian, born and raised). You know that any (even remotely) original Italian place in New York is seen in a good light, like it’s holding a unique experience, however, this ain’t the case of “Anthony & Son”, despite its renowned reputation, it did not live up to expectations in terms of atmosphere. The staff was aloof and just working, nothing happened to be inviting about hospitality (which is typically Italian). Now the food: I went for “The Godfather”, one of their signature best panini and it was totally worthy, I was salivating when opening the wrapping paper and it’s a great sub with multiple cured meats such as capocollo, spiced salami, pepperoni (definitely not a thing you could find in any Italian panini ever made), soppressata, mortadella (bologna) and prosciutto, (basically all kinds of cold cuts!), fresh mozzarella, arugula, roasted sweet green peppers all topped up with a delicate balsamic vinaigrette. Gotta tell you it’s been love at first bite, the panini is flavorful and so tasty you’re gonna remember it for a while. As I went on eating, it was like biting into a memory of Grandma’s kitchen, all those flavors just hitting the right notes, the saltiness and richness of meats, the slight acidity of peppers, the sweetness of mozzarella, the bitter aftertaste of arugula, Man! What a delicious combination! It’s definitely one of those sandwiches you’ll think about long after it’s gone and it is definitely a good sandwich. But here’s the thing, while the panini game is strong and despite the huge selection added to the “make-your-own-sandwich” option, which I really appreciated, the spot’s layout is nothing special, long counter, big fridge full of drinks, and zero ambiance that says “Italy”, and let’s be real, the sandwiches are a little overpriced. Dropping between $15 and $20 for a panini on average. There aren’t many seating options, except for a couple of tables with benches outside, right around the corner open to the elements, so no canopies when it’s raining (like today!), which make it a pickup and takeaway only. The overall experience was slightly above average for the quality of food, but the place is pricey, the staff is not interested in giving customers any pointers or suggestions and the total absence of anything truly Italian made it less exciting than expected. Definitely worth a visit if you’re in the area and craving a solid sandwich but honestly you can find a lot more as equally good...

A restaurant? Not quite. A deli? Close. Came to the area because my friend was craving a chicken parm sandwich and this place had good reviews for Yelp. I expected to see a little shop with seating and tables, but this place looked as casual as can be. Due to the pandemic, the only way to order is via window where the cashier opens and closes to take your order. They do have options to order online via the food delivery services (Seamless/GrubHub) and also in person ordering (which they give you a number written on a post it). They accept both card and cash.

Luckily they do have a bench around the corner of their shop which is where my friend me I enjoyed our sandwiches and appetizers. I ordered the “Off the Boat” panini (prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, arugula, and sun dried tomatoes) with a side of mozzarella sticks. My friend ordered the FDNY hero (chicken cutlet, vodka sauce, fresh mozzarella on garlic bread) with a side of sweet potato fries. We did the switcheroo with half our sandwiches just to get the balance.

I loved my panini sandwich, eating it without feeling guilty, and with the filling to bread ratio just to my liking (I am normally not a bread person). The saltiness of the prosciutto was balanced nicely with the sweetness of the sun dried tomatoes, and the crunch of the arugula and bread, with the softness of the cheese provided a perfect envelope of flavors into each bite. Normally I am not a crazy arugula fan due to its slight bitterness in nature, but because of the cheese and the other ingredients, you can hardly taste the bitterness. The mozzarella sticks were huge, and fresh, with each bite having the stretch that I loved playing with. Unfortunately, I was not a fan of the marinara sauce because it was too thin and watery. I have always preferred my sauce with little more substance and thickness.

The FDNY sandwich for me was a little dry for me, as there was not much sauce in the sandwich. Also, there was a little too much bread for me. The sweet potato fries were good, and I did not expect anything less.

In the Brooklyn area, towards Williamsburg? Craving a sandwich worth your money? Definitely check...

Finally got a chance to grab a couple sandwiches from this neighborhood staple and they were pretty much as expected. They’ve got a lot of creative combinations and obviously have a following which requires a dozen workers behind the counter and an entire section towards the back that’s gated off purely for Uber/Grubhub/pickup etc. It’s neighborhoody Brooklyn old school Italian but it’s definitely been modernized featuring stylish t-shirts and fitted caps in the back and even ash trays like a true gift store. I think this spot has become popular mostly due to the hype and it was a little anticlimactic taste wise. We got the D’onza special hero and the Matt and Steve 2.0. The sandwiches were $19 and $21 and though they certainly put that amount of money’s worth of ingredients - it lacked a little love and when we got home we ended up adding our own sauces from the fridge because they were both really dry. I was looking forward to a juicy vodka sauce situation and it looked more like a sentiment or whisper of sauce with which you can’t really taste. All in all they were big bad sandwiches that would feed a good amount of people but it lacked in flavor which could be because the high volume they’re throwing these things out to various delivery services. If you want something with a little more finesse and old school touch - Emily’s pork store across the street never disappoints. Get the Italian sandwich on a hero and make it...