Emily's Pork Store
426 Graham Ave. (Brooklyn)
8/19/16
Italian Combo (various Italian meats, mozzarella, roasted red pepper, balsamic vinegar)
These angles don't show it, but I promise there were other ingredients besides meat and bread...
Alas, we have reached the final Sandwich Friday of 2016 (although this was actually on Thursday but shhhh)... and it was amazing! Ten memorable sandwiches in, and with our eleventh, we conclude the summer with this beautiful Italian combo from Emily's Pork Store.
Emily's is a small Italian specialty store tucked away in Brooklyn, and from what I could see, it was obviously a place with a strong history of being well-loved by the locals and its owners. They specialize in high quality Italian meats and cheeses, but their sandwiches are definitely a force to be reckoned with. As I was walking in, I saw that they were fixing up our sandwiches and the aroma was absolutely intoxicating.
In that corner of Brooklyn, it felt like I was entering a welcoming community; someone even gave a shout-out and a thumbs-up to my Go-Pro from their car. The folks at Emily's were no exception, as when I asked if it was okay to film, they genially replied, "sure, we'll be on our best behavior!"
I was actually quite nervous as people were grabbing their sandwiches for the last time this summer; I had picked this particular spot, so I had my fingers crossed that it would be a winner and we could end the summer with a bang. I knew it was a good sign when our newly crowned Bread Queen, Elizabeth, was very pleased with this Italian as an offering. "This bread is like the stuff of dreams," she said, commending it on its texture, flavor, and ratio with the meat. Meghan looked on with a big smile as she ad-libbed a Shakespearean ode, "Oh sandwich, oh sandwich. Sweet, sweet sandwich."
It was unanimous: this was just a great Italian sandwich. Meat, cheese, and bread all fresh as can be, and their flavors melding beautifully with the roasted red peppers and balsamic vinegar (which everyone appreciated was put on both sides of the bread)! Sarah was initially worried about it being overly sweet with the balsamic and red peppers, but she was pleased to find that the saltiness of the meat cut through it perfectly.
Some people did feel that there could have been a little something more; even as Sara said that what the sandwich had was pretty much perfect, she continued that "committing to a 5.0 [score] is a lot." While we couldn't exactly agree on what that 'missing something' was, quite a few people would have loved hot peppers. Some also could have used a bit of greens or freshness, and arugula came into the discussion as the best choice.
As I sit here on my last day finishing up this final post, I'm just so happy to have been a part of this project. We've had our highs and lows, our disagreements and squabbles, but I could really see the camaraderie between the newer and the more experienced members of Foothold growing over each of these sandwiches. We may disagree about the integrity of some breads, or how well that cheese paired with that meat, but in the end, we're a team. A team that grows together, laughs together, pokes fun at each other, and above all, enjoys delicious sandwiches for Friday lunch.
...And sorry I just had to point this out. Is it just me or does it look like this sandwich is up to no good?
FINAL SCORE:
4.7/5.0