Among being a month about romance, August is also National Panini Month. Paninis are Italian in origin and relatable to a sandwich, however, it is different for various reasons. Firstly, paninis are not made with regular sliced sandwich bread (whole wheat, white, etc.), but made with breads like baguettes or ciabatta.

Beyond just the difference in bread, what makes a panini so special is that it gets placed with deli cheeses and meats between the bread in a heated press and toasted.  No one can beat the crispy and melty goodness of a panini!

Clearly, paninis are delicious and deserve to have a national holiday! Check out all the great panini places on Long Island this August in celebration of the panini.

• Village Panini - Sayville
• Panini Tuscany Grill - Glen Cove 
• Syosset Eatery - Syosset
• The St. James Restaurant and Bar - Mineola
• Stop 20 Diner - Elmont
• Mary's Marvelous - Amagansett
• La Bottega - Various Locations
• Paninis & Bikinis - Long Beach
• Candlelight Diner - Commack
• Panini Tozt - Long Island City 

Do you have a favorite panini place? Maybe a great panini recipe? Tell us in the comments below!

Photo Credit: Bill.Roehl / Foter / Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)