Molto Mario at La Spiga

[richards1052]

It's ALL good. . . I have never made it there early enough to get my little paws on gnocchi, which is a bummer. I always go there thinking I'm just going to buy lunch, but once I get there I realize it would just be WRONG to go home without any prosciutto, pancetta, and/or fennel sausage.

Best thing I've had so far, though, was a monster-size sandwich of prosciutto, goat cheese, and figs. It was a summer thing, and the English guy made it for me. . . I must have winked at him or something, b/c I think I had about a pound of meat on that sammich.

Drawback, as ever--and as many have noted--sad, sad bread. (You know, it might not actually be that bad; it's just unworthy of its companions and suffers by comparison.)

Glad we're in agreement about the bread. It's almost like it's a throwback to the bad old days of Italian-American delis and restaurants: smother the spaghetti w. tomato sauce, put candles in old Chianti bottles & spread red checked table cloths on the tables & there you have it: the bad old days of Italian-American food. Glad to say though that the content of the sandwiches far surpasses the bread. I'd only read one comment here about the bread & I wasn't sure from the way it was forumlated whether it was a criticism or not. Perhaps you've read more on this here or elsewhere. I think you're also right in saying it's not BAD bread; just mediocre. And with food this good, anything bland or medoicre is going to stand out like a sore thumb (again as you said).

[mamster]

I think the bread they use for the porchetta sandwich (a length of baguette) is pretty good, although maybe a bit too crusty. The flat rounds used for some of the other sandwiches are dire.

[richards1052]

I think the bread they use for the porchetta sandwich (a length of baguette) is pretty good, although maybe a bit too crusty. The flat rounds used for some of the other sandwiches are dire.

Mamster: To change the subject...do you know if anyone here (or anywhere) has published, posted or blogged about the Seattle Zagat? I took a look at it after reading Mimi Sheraton's 'take down' of Zagat in 2001 & noted general 'grade inflation' and odd rankings for some restaurants (Le Pichet's ranking at the time was way low, I thought--& there were other odditites). I find Seattle Zagat definitely quirky (a nice phrase someone used in a diff. thread to describe Where to Eat in Canada), but still useful.