Consider Bypassing The Grotto’s Pizza For A Focaccia Sandwich

A while ago Lunch’er Deep wrote in with a tip that The Grotto, an underground pizza shop on New St. (btw. Beaver & Broadway), had “good bread” but couldn’t really elaborate on which of the kinds of sandwiches on offer were served on these top notch carbs. With regular heros, ciabatta and focaccia sandwich on the menu, I took a gamble when I ordered a sandwich and I think I won. A look at some great sandwich bread is straight ahead.

Look at this thing! When I opened the bag I thought they had given me the wrong food because it looked like a personal size deep dish pizza instead of the peppermill grilled chicken with prosciutto and fresh mozzarella on focaccia bread ($7.43) that I had ordered. This thing was the size of the regular-size paper plate it was sitting on, to give you an idea of how big it was. You will not go away hungry, especially with the garlic roll you get on the side for more carb power.

Oh, hey there giant sandwich innards! There were about three thinly pounded chicken breast in here with a slight herb seasoning , topped with a couple of slices of prosciutto and a layer of fresh mozzarella. A bit of greens would have been welcome amongst all of the meat and cheese, but whatever. This thing was good.

That bread contains just the right amount of oil without being greasy and is topped with salty tomato, herb and grated cheese combo. I appeared to be cooked in the pizza oven due to the char on the top, or perhaps just took a ride through before being served. If you’re bored of the normal Italian hero, this is a great change of pace and is fairly cheap too.

The bacon jalapeno slice at The Grotto’s also gotten a thumbs up, so it seems you can count on this pizza shop for more than just a go-to for a plain slice.

The Grotto, 69 New St. (btw. Beaver & B’way), (212) 809-6990, online at thegrottonyc.com

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2 Comments

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    Here’s my stream of consciousness about the Grotto.

    I sampled most of the menu. Their appetizers and salads are terrible; awful limp slimy french fries too.

    Their normal pizza is decent, but that bacon jalapeno stuff is nasty. I’m not a big fan of their sandwiches either. They tend to be greasy gutbusters without much flavor.

    Grotto’s vodka slice is amazingly delicious. Not thick or overpowering, really a nice light “white” slice with some fresh tomatoes on top. Highly recommended. The best thing on their menu by a mile.

    Their rolls (sausage, chicken, spinach, etc) are quite good but they have a MAJOR problem reading instructions and usually (not sometimes, USUALLY) forget to include tomato sauce for dipping, even when you specifically instruct them to do it. That seriously pisses me off.

    When I’m in the mood for a gutbuster I get their chicken special of the day, which is usually deep-fried, covered in some sort of gloopy gravy, served with potatoes and salty-ass greens of some kind.

    And of course everything comes with their garlic rolls, which are tasty but greasy as KFC drumsticks and stink up your office like day old hot wings. I have to take out the trash and double-wash my hands and face with soap after eating one.

    Like I said, stream of consciousness.

    Get the vodka slice.

  • Glad you liked it. Looks fantastic!

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