" Little Portugal in Newark "

October of 2010,City Sandwich made its way to NYC - in the heart of Hells Kitchen. A concept I launched in Lisbon a few years ago which to my surprise, did not work out as I planned.

"ItaLisboNYka"inspired sandwiches. Three cultures deliciously infused between a good quality portuguese bread...the end result, Mediterranean perfection !

Delicious press, feedback from locals, mouth watering opinions of those who are up to date with todays trendy way of social media - is making Portugal something more to talk about. Alheira, Morcela, Paio, Sardines to name a few, will soon become a household name before I'm done in this " never sleeping city ".

The variety of Portuguese restaurants in NY are limited - could be due to the fact the "heart of Portugal" is just on the other side of the river, New Jersey, where you will find 1st,2nd,3rd-even 4th generation Portuguese making the area as "Portugal as it gets".

Who needs to eat in Manhattan when you can get the true essence and surroundings just a short ferry or tunnel ride away- the distance is almost the same as Almada is to Lisbon. Thanks to this dedicated community, it made it possible for me to research, learn, and bring back to life my Portuguese inspired sandwich shop. Supermarkets, restaurants, deli's, even the electronic stores are mostly run by Portuguese who speak their language so well, you would think they "just got off the boat" - no matter what generation - the community sure takes pride in being who they are..Portuguese !

I remember the way Little Italy used to be - if you didn't speak Italian, you would feel like a minority walking through the streets of Mulberry and Mott. You were able to get a full taste of the culture- expressed in the food, the language or simply a screaming italian on every other corner - Italy was there !

I solute the Portuguese for keeping their culture alive - for understanding the importance of ther heritage and roots and passing it down to "their off springs".

Take a moment to visit http://www.portuguesecircle.com/ need to know what's going on in NY with the Portuguese community - this is the site to visit.

Chef Guerrieri