City Sandwich - Portuguese Awesomeness in NYC

City Sandwich is an NYC project owned by my very good friend Michael Guerrieri. He co-owns with his sister Anna Maria Guerrieri. Born in Naples, raised in New York, cooked in Lisbon and back in New York, Michael dubs his shop as a mix of “ItaLisboNyorker” flavours. The products that make the fillings of his sandwiches are entirely based in locally sourced products, with the thin crusty bread being the centre of attentions of City Sandwich.

[wp_ad_camp_2]

About City Sandwich

Michael was keen to develop close ties with the Portuguese community in New York as he knew it was the only way to get first access to the fresh Portuguese produce. “I was fortunate to find a Portuguese baker to help me finalise the perfect light bread”.  This just serves to show you how serious he is about bringing the Mediterranean food heritage to his sandwiches. Yes, at City Sandwich most of the sandwiches have traditional Portuguese flavours! And yes, they also have traditional Italian Flavours! The best thing about it is that New Yorkers love these combinations.

Last week, I bared witness to the 500+ sandwich-a-day frenzy that Michel serves at City Sandwich.  I ordered a “Nuno” which is composed of Portuguese morcela, broccoli rabe, tomato, collard greens and melted Mozzarella.  I cannot begin to tell you how my taste buds were jumping with excitements on that very moment. The strong earth and game flavours of the Portuguese Morcela are balanced out by the tangy and bitterness of the greens.  And the Mozzarella? Well, that just takes it into another level of richness.

[wp_ad_camp_2]

Homemade pickled sardines, octopus salad and smoked pork loin are just a few examples of the deep traditional flavours of Portugal that have gotten New Yorkers eating and crying for more. Piers Morgan is one of them. He and other US TV Stars can regularly be seen eating one of Michael’s sandwiches. A few of these celebrities have taken Michel onboard their own TV shows, where he was able to get them to scream “I love this taste from Portugal, I Love Portugal”.

How amazing is that!  When you speak with Michael you can understand his passion for his cuisine, for his Naples origins, but mostly for his adopted motherland of Portugal.  It is no surprise for someone who went to visit a lady friend for a weekend and ended up staying 16 years in Portugal. It’s not just the bread made by a Portuguese baker or the Portuguese produce that fills his sandwiches. Michael also offers Delta Coffee (Portugal’s favourite brand) and the Pasteis de Nata (Portugal’s world famous custard pastry).

 City Sandwich and the Portugal brand

Can Portugal get a better promotion that this? Yes. We want every American to take home a sandwich filled with Portuguese flavours. We want them to tell the story to their friends. We want them to come to Portugal to discover the living heritage of land and people that make these flavours. Some called them “the gastronomic jewellers of the world’s cuisine”, and I do not dare to challenge such saying.

For APTECE, (the Portuguese Foot Travel Association with whom I am an Ambassador to the blogging community) it is much more than letting the world know about Food in Portugal. It is about helping persons like Michael to spread the word about Portuguese Cuisine and get everyone in the world to scream “I Love Portugal, I Love Portugal foods”.

City Sandwich details:

649 Ninth Ave. New York, NY 10036

Monday – Sunday   9:00 am – 10:00 pm

http://citysandwichnyc.com/