[mixmastamyk]

It's more typically called Panini, which is Italian for "$9 grilled-cheese."

[carlob]

Panino is Italian for sandwich, it literally means small bread.

Panini is something I first experienced in France, where it's made with a special semi-raw bread. I've never seen anything quite like it in Italy, though.

[hussong]

I'll bite: panini is simply the plural of panino.

[carlob]

Grammatically, yes. But it's really a different type of sandwich outside of Italy.

[monkeynotes]

Panini and Panino are pretty much synonymous. Panini is just the anglicized word, although it seems the Italians don't generally grill them. I've had Panini/Panino in Italy, France, the UK, and Canada.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panini_(sandwich)

[danmaz74]

The Italian for "grilled chees" is actually "formaggio arrosto". "panini" is just the plural of "panino", ie, a sandwich.

[mixmastamyk]

It's a joke... I'm surprised at the lack of imagination from the four guys above.

[danmaz74]

Well, perhaps it's just difficult to understand it as a joke when you used the word "panini" all your life!

[mixmastamyk]

Ok, I'll give you a pass if you are from Italy, for example. However, the story was about the Bay Area... and growing up in California I noticed a trend that exploded about 10 years ago.

Fancy, casual restaurants stopped selling sandwiches and "grilled-cheese", upgraded the bread, and started calling them Panini. The price was also increased by $5 dollars/per for a marginally better product.

Coffee has had a similar retail transformation.

[danmaz74]

As a matter of fact, I am from Italy :)