Hot downtown chefs Rich Torrisi and Mario Carbone are taking their talents to Yankee Stadium.
In a gourmet twist, the men behind Torrisi Italian Specialties are opening their new Parm sandwich stand at the Bronx stadium on Friday.
“It’s surreal,” Torrisi said. “From our vantage point in the Great Hall, we can see all the banners honoring the Yankee greats — including my childhood hero, Don Mattingly.”
The stand, being unveiled about a month before the chefs and partner Jeff Zalaznick open their Parm sandwich shop next to Torrisi on Mulberry Street, will offer their famed turkey sandwich and debut a meatball offering.
“For a small restaurant group, we have a lot on our plates,” Zalaznick said. “We’re probably the first restaurant of our size to do something like this. It’s a totally new market, who we hope will have an equal appreciation for our sandwiches..”
Offering sandwiches in a stadium filled with 50,000-plus fans is indeed a step up from quirky deli/restaurant hybrid Torrisi in Little Italy, which sells about 200 to 300 sandwiches a day and turns into a 26-seat, no-reservations, prix fixe restaurant at night.
But the Yankee deal is hardly out of left field. Torrisi opened about a year and a half ago and quickly became a darling of the downtown food scene, attracting customers like actor/comedian Aziz Ansari, who tweeted about his love for their turkey and chicken parmesan sandwiches.
In addition to opening Parm and having an eye on further expansion, the trio’s Major Food Group is curating a section of September’s San Gennaro festival.