Syracuse Sandwiches: Sal’s in Baldwinsville The special Italian chicken cutlet sandwich with a side of garlic parm fries at Sal’s Pizza & Restaurant in Baldwinsville. (Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com) (Charlie Miller/(Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com))
(We all have our go-to order. This series is about shaking that up. Each week, I’ll spotlight one sandwich at a Central New York restaurant worth trying — and explain why it ended up on my plate. Got a suggestion? Text me at 315-382-1984. Don’t be surprised if I ask you to join me.)
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Baldwinsville, N.Y. — Some sandwiches are built for a reason. This one is built for a gloomy Friday afternoon.
Sal’s Pizza & Restaurant is this week’s stop for Syracuse Sandwiches, and I came here for a chicken cutlet sandwich Sal LoMedico makes for himself when he’s hungry. A true Italian sandwich, made by a true Italian.
I walked in Friday afternoon expecting a quiet bar. Instead, it was loud, friendly and full of people who clearly knew what they were doing with their afternoon.
“This is the perfect sandwich for a day like today,” Sal said. “Fresh ingredients. Our house-made bread.”
He started with cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil in the pan, poured directly from his 3-liter imported tin. He let it get nice and hot before reaching for the chicken.
“Always fresh,” he said. “Never frozen.”
He had already pounded all the cutlets to about a third of an inch. They were thin but confident-looking, exactly what I wanted. He slid mine into the oil and let it get comfortable.
Syracuse Sandwiches: Sal’s in Baldwinsville The start of an Italian chicken cutlet sandwich at Sal’s Pizza & Restaurant in Baldwinsville. (Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com) (Charlie Miller/(Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com))
While that was happening, I asked about the bread.
About a year ago, Sal decided he’d had enough of bringing it in from elsewhere.
“We just couldn’t get the number right,” he said. “And we weren’t totally satisfied. So I said, ‘Why don’t we make it ourselves?’ I mean, we make pizza. We already have flour, water, yeast, sugar, salt — everything.”
So they did. The result is a house-made roll with a little crunch, built to hold up to a real sandwich.
“This really does make a nice sandwich,” Sal said. “You’re going to be the judge.”
Before assembling anything, he sliced into the chicken to check doneness.
“Oh, that’s beautiful,” he said. “Nice. Fresh cutlet. Can’t beat it.”
Then the build: cold on top of hot.
Syracuse Sandwiches: Sal’s in Baldwinsville Sal Lomedico drizzles the balsamic glaze over his special Italian chicken cutlet sandwich at Sal’s Pizza & Restaurant in Baldwinsville. (Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com) (Charlie Miller/(Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com))
On top of the now-crispy chicken, he laid fresh cool mozzarella medallions, a pinch of sea salt, roasted red peppers and a handful of baby spinach leaves. Before folding it all up in his roll, he striped it with balsamic glaze.
“That’s the sandwich you’re going to try,” he said, holding it right under my nose. “You tell me what you think.”
Outside, the temperature was 4, give or take a degree. Inside, this sandwich was doing important work.
Whatever this Italian sandwich is called, it did its job of keeping me warm. No wonder Sal makes this before he goes home. This will help me sleep very, very well.
Before we go any further, we need to talk about the fries.
Yes, I know I’m writing about a sandwich. But these fries deserve a paragraph of their own. They’re crispy, salty and then absolutely buried in Parmesan and garlic.
Oh my God.
They somehow made the sandwich even better.
Syracuse Sandwiches: Sal’s in Baldwinsville The special Italian chicken cutlet sandwich with a side of garlic parm fries and a Peroni draft beer at Sal’s Pizza & Restaurant in Baldwinsville. (Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com) (Charlie Miller/(Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com))
And yes — the beer mattered. It was a cold Peroni, which felt like the only correct move.
I’d planned on having lunch and heading out. Instead, the bar was full of fun people, the conversation was easy, and a couple of hours disappeared without much effort. That tends to happen in places like this.
Back to the sandwich.
No ifs. No ands. No buts. It’s a fantastic sandwich. But honestly? I’d be satisfied eating just the bread. The bread alone could carry this meal. That’s not the best part, but it tells you everything you need to know.
I’ve written about Sal’s before: for my CNY pizza tour, for the top four chicken riggies in the area, for Monday deals people still plan their week around and for the surprisingly not-awful Big Mac pizza. This sandwich fits right in. It’s unfussy, filling and made with the confidence of someone who knows exactly what they’re doing.
Too bad Baldwinsville is about 20 minutes from my neighborhood.
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Sandwich: Chicken cutlet sandwich with garlic parm fries, $15.99
Address: Sal’s Pizza & Restaurant, 41 E. Genesee St., Baldwinsville; (315) 638-8505
Hours: Open daily for lunch and dinner starting at 11 a.m.; noon on Sunday.
Syracuse Sandwiches: Sal’s in Baldwinsville Sal’s Pizza & Restaurant in Baldwinsville. (Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com) (Charlie Miller/(Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com))
Dining and Cooking