What do you do when it's 90+ degrees, the house is a mess, and all of your cooking tools are packed up anyway, gosh durn it? Make a sammich!
Not just any sandwich, of course. And here I must digress to dwell upon the wonder that is Pizza Brutta, a phenomenal little Neapolitan pizza joint in Madison (remarkably good food = another thing to miss about this place, dammit). Their pizza is authentic, simple, flavorful, fast, perfect. In particular, their Prosciutto Arugula (surprise!), a "bianco" (no tomato sauce) with a little rosemary and fresh greens on top, is just...well, go try it.
Now, Pizza Brutta has always had fantastic-looking sandwiches, too. And it's been nearly impossible to-date to pass on the pizza and take a risk on a sandwich. Until this past Tuesday, when I was there for lunch and realized that this was, quite possibly, my Last Meal at Pizza Brutta, and I had to go for it. I got the "Mozza", and I was not disappointed. In fact, I continued to drool and blather over it all day.
And I continue to do so, apparently. So I made my own go at the Mozza this evening, amidst an obstacle course of cardboard boxes. In comparison to the original Mozza, it fell a little short (the fact that I bought bread instead of baking my own and serving it fresh out of the oven may have been one factor, my home-grown but parched basil may have been another, or it could have been the lack of house-made mozzarella) - but it was still extremely tasty, easy, and generally satisfying.
All ya need is: ciabatta bread, fresh basil, thinly-sliced prosciutto, sliced fresh mozzarella, a small clove or half clove of minced garlic, and olive oil (alt: garlic-infused olive oil). Drizzle the bread with the olive oil (don't be shy about it), spread on a little garlic on one side, then layer the remaining ingredients. (Come on, let's admit it's hard to fail with those ingredients.)
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What other restaurants in Madison will I miss? Well:
-Osteria Papavero (Best Italian food outside of Italy - and in some cases, inside of Italy. Seriously.)
-Inka Heritage (Peruvian food is delicious. Lamb, seafood, ceviche, mmm.)
-Brasserie V (Particularly for the mussels and the selection of Belgian - and other - beer. Closest thing to Chicago's Hopleaf we've found so far.)
-Quivey's Grove (On Friday nights, for the fish fry.)
-Sophia's (Best breakfast in town, in my opinion.)
-The Old Fashioned (Mostly because it screams "Midwest" - could it be that they raffle off hams?)
