Four months after ex-Sfoglia chef-owner Ron Suhanosky took over the kitchen at Tribeca’s Stuzzicheria, he’s been replaced by Paul Di Bari, opening chef of Stuzzicheria’s onetime sister restaurant, Bar Stuzzichini (now called Stuzzi). A rep for the restaurant, as so often happens in these cases, cites creative differences between Suhanosky and owner Gerard Renny among other things as the reason for the split. What does it mean for the lover of Italian appetite-whetters, a.k.a. stuzzichini? It’s decidedly good news, for not only is Di Bari lowering prices and modeling his new menu after the old Bar Stuzzichini one, he’s bringing back the pane panelle, the chickpea-fritter sandwich that was this magazine’s No. 2 pick in its 101 Best Sandwiches in New York survey a while back, before everything went to hell (or at least, pane-panelle-less) in Stuzzichiniville. As if to make up for lost time, Di Bari will offer the sensational Sicilian sandwich on the Stuzzicheria menu proper at lunch, as well as from an adjacent “Pane Panelle” takeout annex scheduled to open September 7, which will also traffic in cheese, olive oil, and heat-and-eat quarts of meatballs. [Earlier]
