Torrisi Turkey, Part 1
Torrisi Italian Specialties, located in Nolita (North of Little Italy) in Manhattan and owned by Mario Carbone and Rich Torrisi, has quickly become a cult favorite. Dozens of people, tourists and locals, are lined up at all time around lunchtime and dinnertime each day to get a look, feel, and bite of some of the finest Italian-American soul food in New York. The shelves inside are lined with many of the grocery staples used in their house recipes, including Progresso seasoned breadcrumbs, breadsticks from Parisi Bakery, plastic Polly-O ricotta containers, and Stella D’Oro cookies. Rock and classic soul and blues music flows through the air. The cooks and cashier wear little white paper hats as they work an amazingly teeny kitchen, prepping and assembling to order. All against the backdrop of old-school deli menus hung on white subway tile. You can’t help but notice all of these things as you’re surely waiting in line, salivating, jealous as you watch others sitting at the hard-to-snag tables grinning as their orders freshly arrive. But you find joy …