Brutus's first stab at stabbing Caesar failed when the dictator stopped the advance of the blade by wearing a freshly baked, full-body suit of olive-oil-coated focaccia bread. Similarly protect yourself against sharp stomach pains with today's Groupon: for $6, you get $12 worth of delicious flatbread sandwiches and more at Piada. This Groupon is good at Piada's locations in Midtown and on the Lower East Side. The Midtown location's menu is an abridged version of the Lower East Side location's menu—pricing and selection differ slightly between the two Piadas.

Piada's varied menu offers busy New Yorkers an authentic Italian repast, with locally grown vegetables and imported-from-Italy meats adding freshness to the fare. The restaurant's namesake and nourishing centerpiece is a traditional Italian flatbread sandwich from Italy's Emilia-Romagna region, also the birthplace of famed director Federico Fellini (as a tribute to the region, the names of Piada's piadas are inspired by Fellini's filmography). Delve into the restaurant's more than 8 1/2 edible offerings with an Amarcord piada ($7.15 at the Lower East Side location, $8 at the Midtown location), uniting prosciutto di parma, mozzarella, and arugula for a classic Italian recipe, or veg out on the Federico's ($6.95 at the Lower East Side location, $8 at the Midtown location) grilled eggplant, pepper, and zucchini—a trio as delicious as Dante's three circles of catered dining. In addition to flatbread creations, pressed ciabatta sandwiches ($3.65 for small, $7.15 for regular) and salads such as the Caprese ($6.90) are made to order. Piada also injects boot-shaped caffeine into New York's java tanks with Lavazza coffee, one of Italy's most popular coffees.

Piada is locally cherished for its attention to customers, even rewarding loyal patrons by naming special piadas after them—similar to how Columbus named the Niña for the only elementary school classmate who didn't call him "Co-dumb-us," "Co-lame-bus," or "Peter Falk" during recess. Begin staking your claim for flatbreaded immortality with Piada's slate of specially made sandwiches.

Reviews

Yelpers give Piada's Lower East Side location an average of four stars, and eight Citysearchers give it an average of 4.5 stars. Seven Yelpers give its Midtown location a 3.5-star average:

• I can't imagine a piada being any better than what they serve here. They're on point with the piadas, hence the name. – Chris O., Yelp
• This place is great - the ingredients are simple, fresh, and delicious. – Bethany S., Yelp
• The sandwiches at Piada are really good. They serve the real Italian-style sandwiches. strong emphasis on fresh ingredients and preparation. – smithz, Citysearch
• The service is very friendly, ingredients are fresh, and the space itself is new and very modern/clean. – Neha S., Yelp