Besides the long list of creatively named sandwiches, there is an endless array of cold cuts, marinated fish, olives, and even mozzarella, which is smoked by the back door every morning.
In and around Napoli, where mozzarella is king, it is known that mozzarella is already not ideal two hours after it has been pulled, so Orazio is at it all day for his discriminating customers.
Have a few shucked oysters and clams on tables outside, or go inside for a selection of glistening local and imported fish in season.
Some meat is butchered the American way, and some the European way, nuances that make a big difference when you come from Italy.
They offer a great selection of antipasti, such as baked clams, eggplant rollatini, stuffed mushrooms, seasonal baked pastas, and lots of braised meats.
Get the squid steak Milanese: a nice thick squid cutlet, lightly breaded, and sautéed in a little olive oil and butter with a squeeze of lemon juice added. Delizioso!
Sardines: they're not only delicious but good for you. Find The Sardine Factory's recipe for smoked sardine salad in Lidia's Italy in America.
Try the fried artichokes—different and quite tasty because they're made with jarred or canned artichokes. The batter is light and fries up crispy, while the artichokes remain tender and tasty.
Find a recipe for artichoke soup (zuppa di carciofi e patate) in Lidia Bastianich's new cookbook, Lidia's Italy in America.
Fante's is focused on goods for the preparation and service of food, carrying items difficult to find elsewhere in the United States. Positioned in the middle of a bustling market, it is always busy.
While walking down 9th Street, one can only imagine the bustle of the immigrants shopping for the foods that reminded them of home—like boar, venison, and rabbit.
Rivals any Italian market in the varieties of cheese, salumi, and other Italian products.
Rivals any Italian market in the varieties of cheese, salumi, and other Italian products.
No matter how much they can make, the bread is usually sold out by 11am. If you come any later, you will most likely hear from the elderly salesladies, "Where have you been all morning?"
Ralph's claims to be the oldest Italian restaurant in America still run by the same family. Recommended: chicken Trombino, chicken Sorrento, baked clams, manicotti, and spumoni.
The place to go in the North End to buy Italian specialty foods. Don't miss out on visiting Paul Revere's house, almost around the corner!
At the back counter, seated on a stool with a muffuletta sandwich in front of you, is where you want to be.
Another three-generation Italian stronghold. The spaghetti with eggplant St. John was very reminiscent of pasta alla Norma. We also had a delicious rendition of crispy fried artichokes.
The place to visit for dessert. The two I really liked were the cappuccino ice-cream cake, like a frozen cappuccino, and the torroncino, a hazelnut-and-almond semifreddo.
I am charmed by their incredibly oversized warm capicola sandwich stuffed with French fries and coleslaw.
A descendant of the first true American pizzeria, opened in 1905 by Gennaro Lombardi at 53 1/2 Spring St. And the pizza is delicious.
Quite close to the original St. Louis style of pizza, whose crust has a texture between a cracker and a shortbread, and the cheese mixture recalls the milky-velveety mozzarella cheese found in Italy.
Where I went for meat: they had the whole baby lamb for Easter, the tripe that my father loved, and chicken necks for soup (the boiled necks were delicious to nibble on with some salt).
Run by the Sunseri brothers, this is a prime retail store offering Italian specialties. On Saturdays, the line snakes around its shelves, stocked with tomatoes, pasta & all kinds of Italian products.
One can choose the Mafalda sauce to dress one of four different pastas offered. We opted for rigatoni, and the sauce was a good marinara with some cream added to it, which made it pink and rich.
Sirio Maccioni claims to be the one to baptize pasta with spring vegetables as "primavera" in 1974. Sirio was at the lead in bringing the fine Italian dining experience to New York.
I especially liked the eggplant meatballs and the fried zucchini stuffed with fontina cheese, and I must say the apple tart, which had just come out of the oven, was quite good as well.
Trieste is a city of great coffeehouses and long-standing coffee tradition, and it was in the same spirit that Giovanni Giotta opened his café in North Beach.
The Italian religious center of San Francisco, mostly known as the church that Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe took wedding pictures in front of after their wedding in City Hall.
A16 is the autostrada that connects Naples in Campania to Bari in Puglia. The Italian food that Shelley Lindgren fell in love with on a school trip to Italy abounds on the menu.
The Pezzini Farms are known for Green Globe artichokes, and they offer these artichokes in nine different sizes.
Armandino Batali is to be credited with spreading the flavors of the Italian table in Seattle. His daughter Gina now runs this popular eatery, where at lunchtime the line wraps around the block.
Here we had a fantastic paste e fagioli (it rivaled my nonna's), followed by two exquisite sandwiches: the "Italian American Civic Club" and the Luigi Abruzzese sandwich.
These chunky crab cakes were the best I ever had; they looked like huge meatballs. The big lumps of crabmeat were held together by minimal amounts of condiments, and were deliciously sweet.
I have had squid prepared many ways, but never in a Milanese cutlet style until Anthony's Fish Grotto. The calamari cutlet was a thick slab, like a veal cutlet.
