Ferdinando's Foccaceria

Edible Manhattan chose Ferdinando's Foccaceria as it's location to interview King Phojanakong, the Brooklyn Chef behind Asian tapas. An interesting location choice, but one that gets at my heart strings. Francesco is from Carini, the town close to Palermo that my family originates from. I played soccer with Francesco's son, Christian, in high school, and it is also one of the few places left in the neighborhood where you can still get panelle, vastedde and frutta di mare.

"Francesco Buffa, the Sicily-born chef and owner, grew up cooking his childhood chow, like the street food favorite vastedda (spleen served with ricotta and a sprinkle of pecorino Romano, all stuffed between fresh focaccia), and naturally turned his passion for his cuisine into a local eatery.

We ordered the arancina special, a breaded rice ball filled with a brawny amount of chopped meat and peas, fried to a crispy blond shade and topped with just enough red sauce to fill the plate. The chickpea panelle (that’s a chickpea flour fritter) sandwich was also brilliantly fried, but it was then topped with a spoonful of ricotta and grated cheese and nestled ever so gently in focaccia.

We also had the pasta con sarde, a straightforward spaghetti noodle, but with a foreign-to-me flavor combination of sardines with wild fennel, pignoli (Italian for pine nuts), raisin and spices."

In recent years, Francesco (who also is a landlord in the area) has tried to make some improvements to the business, including an expanded wine selection and a back garden. However, it seems like the clientele are still the same. Which is good for us, but not necessarily great for the future of the business.

via Word on Columbia Street.