The range of schiacciata features classic Italian fillings. Photo: Ben Calvert.
It seems that Tuscan-style schiacciata sandwiches are the flavour of the season and I’m certainly not complaining!
Freshly baked, thin focaccia slabs filled with cured meats, sliced cheese and deli goods are always good things in my book. First they came to Gungahlin’s Caffe al Lago; we’re eagerly anticipating the opening of Sliceria in the city; and now Queanbeyan has its very own Italian sandwich joint – Fresca.
Joshua and Melinda Kosteski – who also own Italian restaurant Pronto in Weston – had their first taste of schiacciata over 10 years ago during a trip to Italy. You know it’s a good sandwich when you’re still thinking about it more than a decade later!
Melinda Kosteski also owns and runs Pronto with partner Josh. Photo: Ben Calvert.
The focaccia for the sandwiches is baked fresh daily down the road at Pronto by master pizza chefs, qualified through the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana (AVPN). The slow-fermentation recipe achieves a chewy, soft dough with great flavour and just the right amount of crunch.
Fresca is a literal hole-in-the-wall style cafe with just enough room for a sweets counter, till and a small drinks fridge.
Located in the foyer of Queanbeyan Council’s Nellie Hamilton Centre (which also houses the library), there’s some casual seating if you’d like to eat on-site, but most people seemed to be taking away the day I visited.
The Italian sweets at Fresca are made by Melinda’s Mum. Photo: Lucy Ridge.
A simple A4 menu lists the schiacciata fillings on offer each day. Staple flavours like the mortadella – filled with crema di pistachio, mortadella, straciatella cheese, and crushed pistachio – or the tartufo, made with truffled pecorino and pork neck capocollo salami, are available each day, but there will be seasonal specials and one-off flavours depending on the availability of produce.
I visited for a quick lunch and ordered the picante to add a little spice to my day! The generous slab of bread came filled with hot sopressa salami and rocket, marinated semi-dried tomato, eggplant, and pecorino, and finished with a drizzle of spiced honey. The sweet, hot, salty blend of flavours complemented each other perfectly, and every bite was well balanced and interesting. My only (very minor) quibble is that I would have liked the fillings to have come up to room temperature from fridge cold to allow the flavours to fully develop, but I understand that food safety requirements make this a challenge in a small kitchen.
It’s a heckuva sandwich. Photo: Lucy Ridge.
The schiacciata were all made fresh, so if you’re at the end of a string of orders, there will be a short wait, but it was absolutely worth it!
There was also an excellent range of baked goods and Italian sweets in the cabinet and I couldn’t resist nabbing the last graffe (Italian donut) to have with my afternoon cuppa. These traditional Neapolitan snacks are made with a potato and flour dough and dusted in sugar. I’m told that most of the Italian sweets are made by Melinda’s Italian Mum (with the rest from Sonoma bakery).
After an incredible sandwich and a delightful donut, all I can say is ‘chef’s kiss’!
Fresca is located at 257 Crawford Street Queanbeyan, inside the Nellie Hamilton Centre. They are open Monday to Friday from 7:30 am to 2:30 pm. Follow Fresca on Instagram.
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