Panini
No Longer So Humble
By Steven Krolak • Photo by Ariane Dixon

Panini complements of Pastaworks, Portland, Ore.

As a student backpacking through Italy in the 1980s, I sustained myself on panini. These small cheese, meat or vegetable sandwiches, heated on a grill and half-wrapped in paper, were cheap and easy to eat while rushing for the last train to Como or standing in line at the Uffizi museum. The ingredients were invariably simple, delicious and strangely satisfying, considering the entire sandwich weighed less than whatever dog-eared paperpack novel I happened to be toting around at the time.
   I always wondered why you couldn't get panini in America. Well, now you can. In fact, they're everywhere. Fueled by the often conflicting trends of fast-paced living and health consciousness, with a dash of europhilia thrown in for good measure, the demand for panini is growing in the United States, and coffeehouse retailers are getting in on the action.

Sandwiches Rule
Sandwiches have always been popular in the States. They don't cost a mint to make or buy, and so represent some sort of time-honored compromise between cook and consumer, which is probably why they have been able to survive countless culinary fads.
   Now sandwiches themselves are a fad, and a lucrative one. The Wheat Foods Council, a U.S. trade group, declared 2002 the Year of the Sandwich. On the one hand, it's the council's job to claim that sandwiches can "boost exercise performance, reduce stress and anxiety, and improve your overall health." On the other, the numbers appear to back up the hype. Four out of five Americans eat at least one sandwich per week, adding up to more than 45 billion sandwiches per year. A 1999 Food Marketing Institute study suggested that health concerns and simplicity in preparation were driving people toward sandwiches. And while the current fixation on carbohydrates is seen by the bread industry as a challenge, it is being countered in many markets by a small boom in gourmet or artisan breads.
   Sandwiches are growing faster than any other foodservice sector, and faster than the industry as a whole, according to Technomic Inc., a research group that recently wrapped up a three-year study of sandwich trends. While the rest of the foodservice industry is growing by 2.3 percent per year, sandwiches are posting 3.7-percent growth rates. "Over one out of every four dollars spent by consumers in foodservice is spent on a sandwich of some type," says David J. Henkes, Technomic Inc. principal.
   The sandwich trend is part of an even larger shift in culinary tastes toward small and ethnic-inspired dishes. The Spanish tapas, the Asian wrap and the Mexican torta are three "small plates" that are gaining in popularity.
   Why the sudden interest in sandwiches and small plates? Food writer Gale Greene speculated in a 2003 New York Magazine article that small plates are "perfect for a generation downmarketing, pinching dollars, and running from commitment to serious dinner." She also suggested, mostly tongue-in-cheek, that diners' attention spans may be getting shorter. "If we perch on a stool to eat snippets, no one will get bored. Or broke. Or fat."
   Whatever the reason, the sandwich has become a focal point for experimentation in cooking and presentation. And the panini is at the forefront of this movement, thanks in part to celebrity chefs like Wolfgang Puck and Emeril Lagasse who have helped establish it as a gourmet item.
   Coffeehouse retailers are carrying more foods, as they stay open longer and look for new items to boost their menus. And panini are a natural fit. They seem to "go with" café culture more easily than, say, subs and hoagies. But beyond that, there are solid financial reasons for jumping on the panini bandwagon.
   "Panini are an excellent profit source," says Bruce Milletto of Eugene, Ore.-based Bellissimo Coffee InfoGroup. "The food cost relative to sale cost is very low."
   The success of paninotecas like Via Quadronno and 'inoteca in New York, N.Y. and take-away panini bars like the Seattle, Wash.-based Briazz chain show that an entire business can now be built around panini. But even a coffeehouse owner looking for a good sideline can realize substantial gains.
   Randy Orlando, owner of Spin Caffé in Rochester, N.Y. estimates that panini sales account for 20 percent of his total receipts. Chris Costello, owner of Costello's Travel Café in Portland, Ore. says that fully one-third of his total sales come from his half-dozen panini offerings. He is able to charge seven dollars for a panini (with salad) because it is now considered a gourmet item. At 'inoteca, the no-longer-so-humble panini will set you back eight dollars.
   Panini are easy to make, with few ingredients, and little in the way of infrastructure. But they won't cook themselves. To make a success of panini, you will need to educate yourself in the traditions, buy a panini press and have a reliable supply chain in place.

Our Daily Bread
The origins of panini are mired in Italian history. It's probably a no-brainer in a land of great breads, cheeses and meats that these three would, sooner or later, join forces to seduce and conquer the palate. The word panini means "little breads" and is probably derived from panuto, a type of greased bread introduced in the 16th century. By the 20th century the panini was firmly established as a working-class staple, and gradually became something like a national dish.
   Along the way, the panini has evolved. Paolo Della Puppa owns Via Quadronno in New York, N.Y. As a child growing up in Italy, he had only two panini choices, mortadella and salami. Today the options are endless. "Panini as we know them today are a different breed altogether," he says. "The trend started in the 1960s, when the word paninoteca was coined, along the lines of discoteca, because the sandwiches were eaten by young people."
   In 1968, the famed Bar Quadronno was opened in Milan by the legendary paninimaker Giuseppe Tusi. It was an instant hit, and still wins awards for its inventive panini.
   "The Italians perfected good fast food," says John Taboada, owner of Navarre, an atmospheric Portland, Ore. restaurant, and co-owner of Bar Pastiche, a new café project that will offer panini as part of a tapas-style menu alongside illy espresso. "The panini is the essence of Italian food--pure simplicity."
   That simplicity starts with bread, easily the most important element in the construction of the perfect panini.
For the record: white sandwich bread will not do, although you might find something like this, called tramezzini, forming panini at cheaper street outlets in Italy. To do it right, you will need to delve into the fascinating and contentious world of gourmet artisan baking to find the bread that best suits your needs, tastes and expectations. While debate rages over which is the best, or at least the most proper bread for panini, there are no hard and fast rules. "In Italy every town has a different bread, so it is difficult to call any one of them best or ideal," says Paolo Della Puppa. Focaccia and ciabatta loaves are the most popular panini breads in the United States, but even here there is a wide variance of opinion.
   Part of this is a result of personal experience. Many owners are trying to duplicate that one incredible panini they had on a fondly remembered vacation. But for the most part, it has to do with what will deliver the best final product: a sandwich that is uniformly grilled and not too "toasty."
   Taboada says that bread is the most important single issue in making good panini, "By itself, the panini is not very good, but grilling is like a resurrection, bringing the tastes back to life." For this to happen, the bread must be able to toast on the outside, caramelize on the inside, but not dry out. There must also be the right proportion of thickness to taste, so that the consumer doesn't come away with a purely bread experience. He finds ciabatta too unwieldy, and baguette, a common substitute, too chewy. He is currently high on a local artisan bread that allows for machine slicing, a must for large-scale panini production.
   Joe Denton is co-owner of 'inoteca, a spin-off of the successful 'ino started by his brother and sister-in-law after a trip to Italy, where they found panini bars worthy of imitation. 'Ino gets credit for launching the panini and sandwich craze in New York City six years ago. The new shop, in the Lower East Side, uses a ciabatta that is 80-percent baked, so that it doesn't toast too hard when it comes off the press, and is evenly cooked throughout.
   Costello found what he was looking for at Portland's Pearl Bakery: a levain or country bread that holds its shape better than ciabatta, has fewer holes and doesn't stick to his press or allow the ingredients to seep through.
   For a time, focaccia bread was common in American panini, and is still a big hit on many culinary Web sites, but Costello and other retailers find it too crumbly in the press when sliced thinly, and otherwise too large on the plate.
   For any bread considered for panini, the important factors are going to be ease of use and resilience, but also price and availability.

Inside Scoop
While the panini may be an Italian national staple, regional variation has been the key to its enduring success. Partly this is due to local pride. But it probably has more to do with the fact that the sandwich is built around intense flavors that demand fresh ingredients, and these are usually going to be local.
   As a panini retailer, you may want to use authentic fillings on the inside, but how authentic? Basil, tomato and mozzarella may seem blasé, but your customers may not be ready for wild boar, cow's stomach or spleen fried in pork drippings, some of the more popular fillings in Milan, Florence and Palermo, respectively.
   So where do you begin? Where else: simplicity. "The magic of a good panini is in the combination of a select few ingredients, their freshness and the warm pressed bread as a finishing touch," says Paolo Della Puppa.
   While New York's 'inoteca is recognized for its innovative recipes, co-owner Denton actually tries to remain true to the spirit of Italian panini, with imported cheeses and meats, and some crucial items--like porchetta ham--made on the premises.
   Taboada is also a classicist when it comes to panini, having grown up on the East Coast. "It's more blue-collar in the east," he says, referring to breads that are insitutionally produced but perfect for the subs and heroes for which they have been designed. "The West Coast panini style is more intellectually driven," he says. "There's more experimentation with ingredients and combinations."
   A good example is Briazz, a chain begun in Seattle in 1995 that now has 41 cafés and kiosks in Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles. The Briazz menu includes a roast beef, blue cheese and bacon panini, a chicken artichoke panini, and even one built around Philly cheese-steak and caramelized onions.
   On the PaninoLog, a feature on the www.thefoodsection.com Web site, you'll find "paninadaptations," that include ciabatta substitutes such as croissants, store-bought country bread and pizza dough, and novel fillings like chocolate and dulce de leche.
   The lesson is simple, but layered--like a panini. In a sense, anything goes here, because Americans have no expectations of panini and are willing to try anything.
   On the other hand, if authenticity is an aspect of your café's identity, it will be imperative to hew to the traditions.

Beyond Lunch
Remember the Italian sandwiches I mentioned at the outset? Some were puchased from street vendors. But most will be found in display cases in standing-room-only coffee bars. You order from among one or two standard offerings, receive a ticket, pay the cashier, and several minutes later, your grilled product arrives and you're on your way.
   Like most things Italian, it seems imbued with tradition. But it's actually a very modern industrial strategy: pre-assembly. This brings up the question of how to integrate panini into your menu, and your shop.
   'Ino and other paninotecas serve panini virtually 'round the clock. They have positioned themselves as casual dining establishments where customers can have light meals for not much money. And they offer breakfast and dessert panini.
   For most coffeehouse owners, panini will be a lunch item. It takes roughly five minutes to warm a pre-assembled panini. Of course, you'll have to have someone pre-make them before the shop opens, or have them delivered pre-made by a foodservice distributor.
   Costello takes the gourmet approach, making each panini to order and serving them with soup or salad. This takes about 10 minutes. So far, his customers are willing to wait. Orlando of Spin Caffé hedges his bets, making panini to order in the café where people have time to wait, and selling pre-made panini at his kiosk, where customers are in more of a hurry or where there is no place to enjoy a meal.
   An inevitable tool is the panini press or grill, which vaguely resembles a waffle iron with a floating lid that stays level for an even cooking surface. Six years ago, when 'ino came to New York City, the Dentons had to import two 220-volt grills from Italy. Now, panini grills are made by every major appliance manufacturer in the U.S. and abroad. Commercial units can run between $2000 and $3000, with service contracts. In light of this cost, few coffeehouses are able to buy new ones, preferring to spend the big money on espresso machines, grinders, display cases and other pieces of equipment that form the core of the business. Still, since panini grills do not need special dedicated venting or additional permits, they are desirable, and many owners are able to find good deals on used units, either on eBay or at local restaurant supply houses.
   Costello found such a machine for about $600, and though it came without a warranty, he feels it is worth the risk.

Panini Wisdom
Panini maestros offer the following advice to coffeehouse owners contemplating panini, or to those already in the game but wondering how to improve their product.
   Costello urges owners to keep it simple or go all out--outsource the production entirely or commit to a gourmet chef approach.
   For his part, Orlando of Spin Caffé cautions owners about rushing into a panini program without knowing their clientele. While panini would seem to be a sure-fire option for the office-lunch crowd buying from his kiosk, he has found that even the five minutes it takes to warm a panini is too long, and he ends up selling more grab-and-go cold sandwiches.
   Della Puppa says, "A coffeehouse should concentrate on having great coffees first. Secondly, learn how to make great panini by following some of the traditional ideas, before you spoil the good reputation of your coffeehouse with mediocre products."
Denton of 'ino challenges owners to insist on fresh ingredients and make an effort to taste as many breads as possible before settling on one. He also stresses the classical interpretation, and suggests not cluttering the panini with too many competing features. "You want to be able to taste the ingredients."

Steven Krolak is the editor of Fresh Cup. He can be reached at steven@freshcup.com.