Farewell to Ferdinando's

Heartbroken. That’s the only word that adequately describes how I felt when I read my sister’s text message on the family chat on Sunday morning informing us all that Ferdinando’s Focacceria was permanently closed. My husband and I were on our way to church when I decided to take a quick look at my phone. I actually started crying. My husband tried to talk some sense into me, saying "it’s like a person, nobody lives forever." Of course, I know that nothing and no one lasts forever but I couldn’t wrap my head around the idea that I was never going to have another panelle special at Ferdinando’s.

We knew they had been closed for a few weeks but they were supposed to reopen on February 15th so last Saturday we walked down to Union Street and they were still closed. “Oh no!” we both said. I knew that was not a good sign but I tried not to worry too much. After all, they have been around since 1904 and my memories of Ferdinando’s extend over the entire course of my life.

I can remember my little grandma Chickie taking the crosstown bus from Red Hook, stopping off at Ferdinando’s, carrying a huge brown shopping bag with the cord handles filled with panelle specials, rice balls, and potato croquettes up three flights of stairs to the top floor of 222 DeGraw Street where I grew up. My grandmother passed away in 1966 but I am not exaggerating when I say that every single time I bit into a rice ball from Ferdinando’s, I would remember her.

I also remember my dad picking us up from Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary Grammar School on Wednesdays when we had a half day and taking us to Ferdinando’s to pick up lunch. It was so crowded with longshoremen in those days and I was so little that I could not see over the counter so I just concentrated on the mosaic tile floor and anticipated how great lunch was going to be that day.

I remember when I was pregnant with my second son; my first son was at the Cobble Hill Playgroup right across the street from Ferdinando’s. I would regularly treat myself to a panelle special and a coke (I’m sorry but I’m not a Manhattan Special fan) and leisurely read the paper.

I remember between the afternoon and evening sessions of my mom’s wake, the entire family trooped down to Ferdinando’s where they had set up a very long table for us against the back wall and we ate perhaps the ultimate comfort food when we needed it most.

Every time out-of-town relatives or old friends visited, we would go to Ferdinando’s. For those who grew up in the neighborhood like my cousins and classmates, there are very few places (outside of Sicily) that serve the specialities that Ferdinando’s is known for so it was an absolute must to visit if you were in town. We also introduced family and friends who had never partaken in Sicilian food, like our Chinese/Thai-American niece and nephews from California who became experts in ordering at Ferdinando’s. Our nephew Chris became such a fan that he would eat there multiple times in a single visit and he is as bereft as some of the old-timers in the neighborhood over their closing.

There may be some of you who are reading this who do not know what a panelle is and really if I describe it in precise detail, you still will not know until you bite into one. A panelle is made with chickpea flour that is first prepared polenta-style (in the words of Ferdinando’s owner Francesco Buffa), then put into molds to form squares and fried. The fritters can be served on a platter with ricotta and bread but typically they are made into a “panelle special” which means they are stacked on a roll, topped with a big dollop of creamy ricotta and a generous sprinkle of grated cheese. I’m ashamed to say I’m not exactly sure which grated cheese they used but I think it might be caciocavallo which is nice and salty. The whole thing is warmed up in the oven before being served and, in my humble opinion, it is the best sandwich of all time. Although Ferdinando’s had a full menu of appetizers, pastas, a great seafood salad, pizzaiola dishes, and other Sicilian fare like vastedda (veal spleen,) pasta con sarde and tripe, our go-to order for my husband and me was always panelle specials accompanied by an order or two of fried potato croquettes and a rice ball. These dishes are all specific to Sicilian, most specifically Palermitano, street food.

Last summer, my family and I had the great good fortune to visit Sicily, a lifelong dream of mine, and we spent a day in Palermo. We visited the famous Vucciria Market and some stands outside the market and ordered pane e panelle (and rice balls and potato croquettes). Now they were very good, on a roll with some lemon squeezed on top but when I asked for formaggio (cheese), they said no, they didn’t serve their panelle with cheese. No panelle specials in Palermo!!?? Maybe I just didn’t find the right place but soon after returning home, we visited Ferdinando’s and I told them that their panelle were just as good, if not better, than the ones we had in Sicily.

I know there are some other places in Brooklyn that serve panelle and some may argue that theirs are better or the prices are lower, but for me, nothing compares to Ferdinando’s. How can anything compare to the atmosphere of a place that has been in business for 121 years? So I will miss hearing the cowbell when I open that old door. I will miss all the posters and pictures on the walls, most especially the big framed map of Sicily where I would spot my grandfather’s little dot of a town, Scoglitti, way down on the southwest coast. I will miss the symbols of Sicily - the trinacria, the smiling sun, the big painted jug on the counter, and the Sicilian cart (which makes me want to cry all over again). I will miss the pieta in the lighted niche high on the wall. I will miss the showcase filled with stuffed artichokes, baked clams, eggplant, caponata and giardiniera. And you must all know by now how much I will miss the panelle specials. I will miss calling out ciao or buona serata as we walked out the door. And, of course, I will miss Frank, David, Gabby, and Pedro. But for now, I will say thank you to everyone who ever cooked for us or served us at La Focacceria Favolosa di Ferdinando. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for a lifetime of meals and memories.