Rex Italian Foods

North of Harlem’s traditional Little Italy, the strangely named Rex is a neighborhood institution run by the gregarious Josephine Pinello and her son Anthony, who serve artisanal Italian specialties to go or for eat-in. The native Sicilians cook up some relatively rare items, such as regional varieties of schiacciata (focaccia stuffed with cheese, meat and veg) and a braciola filled with sausage and hard-boiled egg. This is elegantly elemental food, seasoned with restraint and reasonably priced. Be there early to witness fresh-baked goods emerge from the back room.