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A Mortadella Competition, New Restaurant Openings and More NYC Italian Food News

Take a look at, and vote for, sexy mortadella sandwiches and catch up on NYC Italian restaurant news in our weekly roundup.

2:37 PM EDT on June 23, 2023

mortadella sandwich

Mortadella sandwich from Due Madri in NYC.

No Baloney: Check Out This Mortadella Sandwich Competition

The U.S. salumi brand Fra’ Mani is running a mortadella competition this week, with many top NYC and national sandwich shops creating entries for a chance to win. Anyone can vote through this Sunday, June 25. Be forewarned though: If mortadella sandwiches appeal to you, the photos alone will send you running to the nearest delicatessen.

Some examples of the creativity on display: The new Due Madri sandwich shop at Market 57 at Pier 57 in Manhattan entered a sandwich with their house-made mortadella and pistachio pesto, topped with stracciatella, wild arugula, and olive oil on piazza Bianca. Sullivan Street Bakery from NYC and both well-known and mom-and-pop shops from around the country are competing. The top vote-getter and a selection by Fra' Mani will each receive $1,500 to be donated to the charity of their choice, and "a small mountain of Fra' Mani meats," according to a representative. Vote by Sunday and get in on the action. (Note: Voting has closed, and the winners were announced June 27.)

Harry's Table by Cipriani is now open in Manhattan.

Cipriani Introduces Harry’s Table

Harry’s Table by Cipriani is now fully open within the Waterline Square development near the Hudson River. A short walk from Lincoln Center, Harry's Table features an artisanal food hall, event center and dining. Market fare includes fresh pasta, fruit and vegetables, pantry items, charcuterie, fresh fish and a butcher. Prepared foods include pizza, paninis, pastries, and an array of savory choices including rotisserie. The extensive dining-in menu offers Italian and American standards. A mid-century bar in the middle of the market has an oyster and Prosecco pairing Wednesday and Thursday during Happy Hour. Bellini at Harry's Place has a sophisticated regional Italian menu with a terrace adjacent to the riverside. Harry's Table is located at 235 Freedom Pl S. More information, including hours of operation, can be found here.

Other NYC Italian Food News 
Two big new announcements in Italian restaurant news for NYC this week. The theme, apparently, is out with the old, in with the new. Chrissy’s Pizza, which sells out its orders via Instagram, will move from pop-up to potentially permanent this August, moving into the Superiority Burger space at 430 E. 9th St. in Manhattan’s East Village. (Superiority Burger recently moved into the much larger space at 119 Ave. long occupied by the Ukrainian diner Odessa.) >>> In Brooklyn, under the BQE, the restaurant space recently vacated by Pizza Moto has attracted new owners, according to veteran food journalist Andre Strong’s excellent The Strong Buzz newsletter. Strong reports that the owners of Carroll Gardens provisions and sandwich shop MozzLab (which should have had a mortadella sandwich entered in that Fra’ Mani contest, but I digress…) will re-open the space at 338 Hamilton Ave. in Brooklyn as Farina, with a chef from Campania, Antonio Pisaniello.

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