Albert T.
Yelp
I was a bit apprehensive visiting Fortuna over the weekend for lunch. I'm not a huge fan of long lines, as everyone seems to report, not to mention the fact that this place feels like another of those overhyped sandwich shops to newly open in the city. At this point, it seems like some of the hype has died down a bit. At least, when we showed up at around 11:45AM on a rare bright and sunny December morning, there wasn't a line, although the interior was pretty full with people waiting for pickup. The lines seem to ebb and flow a bit. By the time we left around 12:30, there was a line of 8 or 9 people waiting to order.
I especially love the basket of freshly baked schiacciata sticks next to the register, dusted with salt and drizzled with olive oil. The bread is baked hard, giving a stiff crunch, giving a delicious textural element against the fresh and peppery olive oil. After placing our order at the front counter, the food took less than ten minutes to arrive.
Fortuna ($21) - Well I certainly screwed up. I meant to order the Bottega but for some reason I ordered the Fortuna. And I hate olives and gorgonzola cheese. Oh well! I still gave this a good shot. The Fortuna is a hefty sandwich on a 5 inch square of schiacciata. The bread itself is just like the sample sticks - extremely hard and crunchy with no hint of moist or soft interior. It's cut in half and filled with a bounty of flavorful ingredients. Truffle infused gorgonzola is spread on the bottom slice, giving the sandwich creaminess and a funky earthy flavor. On top, paper thin slices of pork, delicate enough to melt on the tongue like snowflakes. While they call it porchetta, I'm not sure that's the correct terminology given the well marbled transparent pink color of the meat and the lack of braising spices. It doesn't seem to be highest quality and tastes kind of like commercial deli meat due to the saltiness and industrial pork flavor. On top of the pork, there's a bundle of quick pickled red onions, strongly flavored with vinegar giving a rich acidic bite to cut through the fattier elements below. There's then a bed of arugula, and a mixed olive tapenade, perched on top of only half the sandwich or so, like it had been applied with an ice cream scoop. There are a lot of strong flavors in this sandwich - there's the truffle, the gorgonzola, the pickled onions, and olives - yet the overall flavor profile is exceptionally balanced. Nothing overpowers anything else, giving flavor harmony in each bite. The main negative - I found the bread to be baked far too long for my tastes. I came out with my hard palette almost completely lacerated, as if I had just chewed on a bundle of razor blades. While there are some weaknesses, the sandwich as a whole is delicious. (5/5)
Caprese ($15) - This one is a much simpler sandwich, but equally delicious. It's only maybe half the height of the Fortuna, but it delivers on flavor and has a better balanced bread. The ingredients here are distributed evenly throughout, so each bite is essentially the same. Since there's so much pesto spread on the bread, it soaks into the schiacciata, allowing it to soften a bit, making it easier to eat. The stracciatella cheese, spread on the bottom, is almost cream-like in texture given how fresh, fluffy, and soft it is. On top, some sliced tomatoes which are a bit mealy in texture. They do still have full blown tomato flavor unlike a lot of grocery store tomatoes this time of year. Given that tomatoes aren't in season right now, I wonder how this sandwich is during the summer with fresher sun-riped tomatoes. Above, there's peppery arugula, then a mixture of pesto and balsamic. It's sweet, a bit fruity, a bit bitter and peppery from the olive oil, and not especially basil forward (in fact, I originally thought it was made with some herb other than basil). This sandwich is really good, and yet I think it would be even better during tomato season. (5/5)
I came into Fortuna fully prepared to hate on the food. I left feeling very satisfied. Fortuna is a fantastic sandwich shop, easily worth the hype. It's especially worth visiting now that the lines have died down.
Bathrooms - Single unisex room