Alidoro

Alidoro Soho is a venerable sandwich shop whose ownership changed last year. It's a small place, with no frills, ordering at the counter, no utensils, no plates, and no glasses of water(only bottles).

It serves up craftsman-quality Italian sandiwches, each with its own name. They are all served cold, and tend to have three or four ingredients: often a cheese and/or meat, a couple of vegetables, and possibly some dressing.

I ordered a Valentino sandwich on white bread, which comes with smoked mozzarella, artichokes, sweet red peppers, and arugula. I added m bel paese cheese (a mild creamy cheese) and dressing, which is a variety of a balsalmic dressing.

The sandwich was excellent. It was prepared with care, and every ingredient tasted fresh and of high quality. The bread was properly crusty and delectable. The cheese was smoked and delicious. The red peppers were delicate and, yes, sweet, and the artichokes were fresh and marinated to a texture that yielded but not too quickly. The dressing was good, too, but perhaps a just a little much in the context of the other ingredients. That's my fault, though, since I added it onto the recipe.

Perhaps my only fault with the sandwiches is that while they are perfect for what they are, they really are awfully simple and perhaps a little lacking in spice. Also, they seemed a little small and not so filling.

All in all, though, an excellent shop.

Stars: 4/5