I had been looking forward to a crunch, but I ended up a little disappointed. It was juicy and delicious, but the chicken was so wet that the breading became soft and largely fell apart. My Meal: After much deliberation, I ordered The Hertha Winch, a sandwich with a breaded chicken cutlet, sliced pepperoni, melted mozzarella cheese, and Cajun mayonnaise on Italian bread. Other than American dishes like French fries, the menu had diverse options ranging from Cuban sandwiches to Middle Eastern gyros and Italian pizza. Customers simply order at the register with a member of the friendly staff and while they wait, they hold onto a device – maybe something like the vibrating table trackers at Panera. The animated logo coupled with the bright green and purple color scheme help create a balanced, modernized-retro style. Inside, there’s subway tile, wooden crates, and metal barrels for decoration. What I ordered: The Hertha Winch with a side of pasta salad ($8.25), Grape Leaves ($4), Italian cheesecake ($4.50), and XXX Vitamin Water ($1).*įirst Impression: From the outside, Undercover Eggplant looks charming and inviting, with the restaurant’s name engraved in a rustic font. Almost everything was sold out.ĭefonte’s Sandwich Shop is open early-thank the sandwich gods-and the egg and potato, laced with mozzarella and served warm on Italian bread, makes me want to get up in the morning.Where I Went: Undercover Eggplant on 421 Chestnut St., Oneonta, NY. When I was a newbie I made the mistake of sending my husband to pick up all my favorites one Saturday at 3 p.m., thinking I could have Defonte’s Sandwich Shop for dinner.
UNDERCOVER EGGPLANT DAILY SPECIALS PRO
Here’s a pro tip: Arrive early, especially on weekends. The rabe is garlicky and has a great crunch, while the eggplant and pork are creamy and rich. I add mayonnaise but traditionalists opt for oil, maybe a little vinegar, salt and pepper.Īnother winner is the roast pork special, a hot hero made with marinated pork, broccoli rabe, fried eggplant, provolone and gravy.
One of my favorites is the vegetarian (gasp!) Valentino Special, with eggplant, provolone, roasted red peppers, lettuce, and tomato. Sliced super thin and fried in special batter, it is creamy and crispy and appears on many sandwiches. Salty, sweet, spicy, crunchy this sandwich has it all.įried eggplant alone is something to drive for.
Sesame-studded Italian bread is stuffed thick with capocollo, salami, ham, fried eggplant, provolone, marinated mushrooms, lettuce, tomato and Defonte’s “hot salad,” which is a heady mixture of pickled cherry peppers, cucumber and celery, among other vegetables. The most popular and talked-about is called the Nicky Special. But let me cut straight to the point: Any order will be delicious.īut that doesn’t mean there aren’t standouts. The menu at Defonte’s is long and can give newbies pause. The sandwiches are huge and come in one-third or one-half sandwich sizes, each cut into two pieces. There’s action all around you: customers putting in orders, old-timers doing the same while also exchanging pleasantries with the staff, friends catching up while they wait for heaven on a hero to be handed over. Where is Defonte’s Sandwich Shop?ĭefonte’s sits on a corner in the hard-to-reach Red Hook neighborhood that, despite its proximity to the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and the Hugh Carey Tunnel to Manhattan, is fairly quiet and likely desolate after Defonte’s closes at 4 p.m. We were all hungry for cured meats, provolone and mozzarella, roast beef. On a recent visit I spotted a small group of millennials, two undercover cops, a few men in their fifties, and myself, crying baby in tow.
Today, folks from all walks of life are lined up. When Defonte’s Sandwich Shop opened on the Brooklyn waterfront in 1922, it sold sandwiches to the (mostly) Italian longshoremen that filled the neighborhood before and after shifts on the docks.
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