Panini Sandwich (1976)

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   The first "panini sandwich" in the NEW YORK TIMES is...1976!
   This, in a city with lots of Italians, and even a Little Italy.  There
were only three hits ("panini" and "sandwich") in the "Before 1986" database,
but there are over 35 hits after that.  Here are a few of them.


7 October 1976, NEW YORK TIMES, pg. 77:
The menu will offer stylish Italianate salads and panini sandwiches...
(Caffe Orsini on 56th Street--ed.)

14 April 1982, NEW YORK TIMES, pg. 8 Q&A:
A. (...)  Speaking of Italian foods, many readers wrote in about an earlier
reference to "panini."  I stated that the only recipe for panini that I could
uncover in my research was for panini di pasqua, or Easter breads.  Panini, I
was told, is simply the plural of the Italian panino, an overall word for ro
lls.  One reader wrote that "the sandwiches you get on small rolls in cafes
in Italy are 'panini imbotiti'--stuffed rolls."

9 September 1984, NEW YORK TIMES, pg. XX6:
..., soups, panini (tiny sandwiches filled with Cipriani favorites such as
Carpaccio, chicken salad and spectacular prosciutto).
(At Harry's Bar in Venice--ed.)

10 February 1999, NEW YORK TIMES, pg. F9
The panini are particularly good, with combinations like cacciatorini, an
earthy dried sausage, with goat cheese and tapenade; coppa ham with hot
peppers and arugula, and roast chicken with tomatoes and Asiago cheese.  The
press, the culinary equivalent of a dry cleaner's press, gives the ciabata an
irresistible griddled texture and makes each sandwich a compact package,
which I prefer to the typical overstuffed sandwich.
(At 'ino, 21 Bedford Street, near Downing Street, Greenwich Village--ed.)

15 September 1999, NEW YORK TIMES, pg. F2:
_Panini With A Difference,_
_Once Seen Only in Milan_
   A New York branch of a legendary Italian sandwich shop has opened on the
Upper East SIde.  Via Quadronno, 25 East 73d Street, is patterned on the
original paninoteca that was started 30 years ago on Via Quadronno in Milan
and attracted cutting-edge tastemakers despite an out-of-the-way location.
It was such a money maker that the owner, Hans Pauli, wound up buying
Sant'Ambroeus in Milan and opening Sant'Ambroeus branches in New York and
Southampton, N.Y.  Now, he has introduced his heated Italian sandwiches to
New York.
   Unlike most of the panini sold around the city, which are made on soft
rolls, Via Quadronno's come on rustic bread, similar to ciabata, making them
more of a meal.  There are more than 30 varieties, from $5.50 to $13.50,
including some open-face tartines.  The panini range from simple prosciutto
to more inventive combinations like Non Ti Scordar di Me (Forget Me Not);
Brie, speck (like Canadian bacon) and pate.

("Panini sandwich" has about 10,000 Google hits--ed.)