This bustling Italian market serves up giant, fresh sandwiches bursting with flavor, with a smile from the friendly staff and no indoor seating to speak of.
"A West Village staple with an army of employees pacing behind an L-shaped counter, Faicco’s has been on Bleecker Street since the 1940s. Originally, it was just a pork store, but now the little shop sells Italian pantry items, prepared foods, and oversized sandwiches that could sink a small sailboat if thrown correctly. Head to the back, and you’ll see a few whiteboards with signature offerings, like a meatball parm and a sandwich with sausage and broccoli rabe. If you’re feeling like a pioneer, you can customize your order with anything from sundried tomatoes to fistfuls of bacon. The Order: The sandwich that comes with a stack of chicken cutlets, stretchy melted mozz, and housemade pesto that leaks out the sides." - will hartman, willa moore, neha talreja, bryan kim, sonal shah, molly fitzpatrick
"A Greenwich Village institution, Faicco’s serves salami made in its Dyker Heights factory and other meats to faithful customers, but it also assembles enviable sandwiches, including a mouth-watering Italian special with a dense layering of prosciutto, ham, and soppressata. There’s also a take on a muffuletta, and hot sandwiches as well. Whatever you order, wash it down with one of its Italian sodas." - Emma Orlow, Robert Sietsema
"Sometimes a sandwich displays terroir, making it taste different wherever it’s made. The muffuletta at Central Grocery in New Orleans is not nearly the same as the sandwich at Faicco’s, though both are distinctly Italian and have overlapping formulae. Here, the bread is different: our local Italian baguette is used instead of the round Sicilian loaf used there. Here, its stuffed with contrasting meats and instead of olive relish, we have tapenade, made with darker and more intensely flavored olives. Quite a different sandwich, yet delicious in its own way, $20." - Robert Sietsema
"Faicco’s is a legendary Italian deli that you should scream about to everyone you eat lunch with regularly. It’s been around since 1900 (and has been operated by the same family throughout its entire existence), and it’s where you’ll find what we’re fairly certain is NYC’s best chicken cutlet sandwich. (It’s about the size of The Rock’s forearm.) They also have every kind of high-quality meat to stuff into a long roll. This place is more like a little grocery store than a restaurant, so grab some jarred pesto on your way out." - bryan kim, neha talreja, will hartman, sonal shah
"Of all the wonderful heroes made at Faicco’s, two with cold cuts stand out. One, the Italian hero, comes piled high with prosciutto, capicola, and soppressata, an Apulian large-bore salami made at the Faicco’s branch in Dyker Heights. The other hero, called the American, is filled with boiled ham, roast beef, turkey, and American cheese. Both are great in their own way and constitute a chronicle of Italian immigration." - Robert Sietsema
