This is our street food favorite of the season. Sonny's Deli has just opened its doors on the sidewalk opposite its big sister, Sonny's Pizza. After delighting the 11th arrondissement with their generous pizzas, founders Bryan Azzouzi and Jonathan Monteix are back with a 100% foodporn project featuring classic New York delicatessen dishes.
Sonny's Deli isn't a deli that's been Frenchified or modernized with pared-down, gourmet recipes: it's a place for real, generous gourmet recipes that could easily be found on the streets of NYC. Italian-American cuisine is represented through five must-try sandwich recipes, made with carefully sourced products.
To do so, the two friends used up their Air France Miles credit and made many return trips between the capital and New York to find the best places to take inspiration from - Milano Market, Reginas Grocery, Fedorff, Industry Brooklyn and others. When it came to bread, the key ingredient in a good sandwich, they called on Bread Shop to jointly imagine the perfect loaf: brioche-like and airy just right, not too sweet, not heavy at all.
Among the recipes that turned our heads were the iconic Meatballs sandwich (12€), with juicy meatballs made from a mix of veal and beef and spiced up with turmeric and coriander; the Carmine sandwich (12€), an Italian-American sandwich served cold, with layers of turkey and bresaola, peppers marinated in olive oil and chunks of fior di latte mozzarella.
But our big favorite, which we've already gone back for since our first visit, is without doubt the Chopped Cheese sandwich (12€), which might scare some people, given its dose of minced meat, its dripping, melted american cheese and its chunks of onion and red bell pepper sticking out. But we guarantee it's our best street food discovery in a while, and it's served so generously that you'll get your money's worth.
To accompany this feast for a prince (of Bel-Air), we opt for a pint to the brim of iced tea, lemonade or a mix of the two - the famous Arnold Palmer, a drink very well known in the US; or for one of the 3 cocktails named after 3 characters in Scorsese's film Casino, signed Ahmed Yahi alias Mido, co-founder of the Café Moderne cocktail bar and close friend of the Sonny's team.
And for those with a little room left over at the end of the meal, Sonny's Deli sticks to the (Italian-)American classic with its version of cannolo, available in three recipes - stracciatella and chocolate shavings, mascarpone and yellow/lime, and vanilla and pistachio mascarpone - but also with a little originality: a regressive sundae, twisted with a lick of olive oil and a handful of fleur de sel; a little cloud.
A very good address for all lovers of New York street-food!
This test was conducted as part of a professional invitation. If your experience differs from ours, please let us know.
Location
Sonny's Deli
4 Rue de la Fontaine au Roi
75011 Paris 11
Prices
Desserts: €4.5
Sandwiches: €10 - €12
Cocktails: €10 - €12
Official website
www.sonnyspizza.fr



























