Brancaccio's Love

A much-deserved rave on Chow.com:

“Better than mom’s.” That’s how good the chicken salad is at Brancaccio’s in Windsor Terrace, declares noob, whose mom had better not be reading this. noob, who’s been perennially disappointed by the local chicken salad choices, says this one, made with apples and raisins, is “as close to my platonic ideal as it gets—tangy, with just the right balance of salt, sweet and crunch.”

But there’s much more than chicken salad at Brancaccio’s, an Italian-leaning takeout shop whose chef-owner once cooked for the uptown gourmet grocery Agata & Valentina. Other good bets from the daily-changing menu include rotisserie chicken; glazed pork chops; orecchiette in tomato sauce; hanger steak in red wine-rosemary sauce; macaroni and cheese with bacon or truffles; and vegetable sides like broccoli rabe and Brussels sprouts. This isn’t bargain dining, noob notes, but it’s also “no more expensive than ordering an app and entrée from one of our few, mediocre delivery options, and infinitely better.”