Scudiero's Italian Bakery & Deli

-The Sammy's of Chi (land)

Over here at S'C'&C we like to give the much deserved praise to the family run joints that have consistently put out a good product. Today we head out to Melrose Park to a spot that's been around since the 50's. It all started in the 1930's in Serino, Italy when a third generation Italian baker was handed down the family bakery from his dad who got it from his dad. After the war he decided to move the family to America and in 1954 he opened his small Italian bakery in Melrose Park on Lake St. It was called Melrose Park Italian Bakery and they offered many specialty Italian products but it was his old world recipe from Italy for Italian bread that gave the place its place in Chicagoland restaurant history.


Melrose Park Italian Bakery aka Scudieros's via the 50's (Pic from Website)

Umbaldo Datoli passed away in 1969 and the bakery was taken over by his daughter. It was then in 1976 that her husband Joe would quit his job and help out with expanding the business. By 1978 they changed the name to Scudiero's Italian Bakery and Deli. The fresh baked Italian treats like an array of cookies as well as cannoli's are loved by everyone in the neighborhood from youngin's to old timers. Joe was a diehard baker and as the years went on Scudiero's continued to be a neighborhood favorite. So much so that they even stayed opened on Sundays so that people going to tailgate and having parties at their places for the Bears games would have his bread, subs and pizza for the game.


Scudiero's on Lake St. as it still stands today

The bakery went from just that to a hangout where people spent the day munching away and chatting up whatever was on their minds. The place was loved by everyone and the spot you went to if you wanted to run into an old neighborhood friend you haven't seen in years and was visited by 1000's and 1000's of people including the late great Frank Sinatra. They posted pictures covering the walls of customers and celebs holding a Scudiero's fresh baked bread bag of which they just bought. In 1998 the place went under a total remodeling and it is what it is today. It was a sad day when Joe passed away in 2007 but the place stayed all in the family and is run by two of Joe's six sons who happen to be twins. Anthony and Aldo, who is a fifth generation baker still use the same recipes that have been in the fam for over 150 years.


Pizza, Subs, Salads...it's all good


Sicilian style pizza is available as well as round individual pies


as well as salads, dried sausage and cheeses

I like it all at over there but what really keeps me coming back when in the 'hood is the Italian sub. As you might expect the bread on the subs at Scudiero's is excellent and always has the perfect texture and when paired with good quality meats, some addictive oils and seasonings as well as always being made to order it becomes an excellent sandwich.


Scudiero's Italian sub

I find myself in Melrose park a few times a month and I love stopping in here. You'll always see some old neighborhood guys chatting it up at a table with come coffee and cookies and the folks behind the counter are great people who will remember you when you come back. The prices are very fair and the quality always good. Its a great neighborhood joint that we should hope we never lose. It's the places like these that you just don't see too much of anymore. So here's a toast to Scudy's living on forever and staying all in the family in doing so. Cheers.


Get in my mouth!

Scudiero Italian Bakery
2113 W Lake St
Melrose Park, IL 60160-3618
(708) 343-2976
Website

Bari Italian Foods

-Chicago's Italian Grocers

Welcome back, the football season has begun and with that it means the Fall is here and so is primetime grilling and Smokin' season. You can expect alot of football related food posts on chibbqking and today's is a Chicago classic that me and many, many others just cant get enough of. Bari Food's on Grand ave. is one of the few Italian grocery stores/delis left in that area and is a spot I get too more so than often during the pigskin season. It's just a little storefront that used to be easier to spot when it had a sign, but that's been gone for a while. Bari is mentioned on some printed paper plastered on the windows along with some current sales. But the fact of the matter is Bari don't need no damn sign, it's a Chicago institution that I've been going to since I was a kid. Oh and what do I think about the 2010 Bears? No comment. I could write an entire story in itself about how weird of an organization the Bears are. All of the the people running it from the coordinators to the coach to the front office to the owners, all odd. Why do they have to be so god damn weird at Halas Hall? Oh well at least I know I got Bari this season.


a Chicago legend (pic by Bertran Projects. Circa 2006)

Bari is a family owned Italian grocer known for having one of the best sandwiches in Chicago along with a great deli/butcher and most everything you need for cooking up an Italian feast . They do it all right at Bari and take hardly any shortcuts and that includes making the sausage in house and cutting meats to customers specifications along with homemade canned and bottled goods like those seen below. The super hot giardiniera is what it says it is. it's not for those who don't like it HOT. i brought a jar of this stuff to the cooks at my hotel in Jamaica and they thought it was scorching. My buddy likes to use it in his housemade marinara sauce to take it up another level. This stuff is great for tailgates and just to have in your fridge for those that think they can handle it all.


Bari makes alot of its own items

It's by no means a big place, its actually pretty small but between the four short aisles and the deli counter/butcher in back they pack the place up with a great selection of offerings. Like I said above, its a place you can go get a bunch of stuff needed for a feast or even a tailgate. I love going to Bari and the feeling it gives me of going back in time to an old school butcher and what that was like back before I was even around. The place has a great charm and real character to it.


Fresh sliced deli meats, dried sausages, salads, antipasta, they got it all


Cured sausages are big with da superfans

Perhaps Bari's biggest money maker is its deli in the back where they pump out 100's and 100's of fresh made to order subs on a daily basis. You can almost always count on there being a line to order a sandwich off the menu on the wall in back surrounded by Chicago sports memorabilia. If you call ahead they'll have your order ready within 15 minutes or so. There's never a bad time to get a sandwich from here but I love to get the three footers early Sunday morning and eat them for the first slate of NFL games.


The line extends to the aisles for sandwiches


The sandwich menu

Bari is my gold standard for an Italian sub and where I will usually end up when I'm craving one mightily. Its the use of quality meat cuts with fresh ingredients, both of full of flavor that really sets them apart from the rest. Everyone loves the Italian and it is my go to "with hot". The bread is delivered fresh several times a day from D'amato's bakery next door. It's also the sandwiches strongest quality. The crunchy French bread is the best of its kind in the city and they got it right next door whenever they need it. Always super fresh. Any best sandwich in Chicago list of mine includes an Italian from Bari. Others swear by the prosciutto and fresh mozzarella. They're all good.

Italian sub with hot from Bari

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--Tailgatin' and how to make mofos start playa hatin' (Recipes)

Located to the right of where you wait for your sandwich to be made is the butcher. This is where you go to get all of your gameday and at home grilling needs. If your planning a big Sunday night Italian dinner than Bari is a spot to shop at if your in the vicinity. Along with all sorts of specialty products you'll find some great meats and sausage. Like I said up above this place is an old school butcher and will take care of you with beef, pork, chicken and some of the best housemade sausage in Chicago. Its a S'C'&C Hall of Fame legend.

Bari's butcher case


Sausage is made fresh in house with mild, hot and Barese being available

I got a little tailgate recipe that's sure to be a go getter and instant touchdown at any grilling event. The best part of it all is you can get everything you need for this simple yet so succulent recipe at the great Bari foods. I never order Italian sausage sandwiches from restaurants or beef shacks with the exception of Combos from Johnnies. This is because this sandwich here is what I want when I am in dire need of some Italian tube steak. The Barese sausage is some of my favorite sausage of any kind. Its a little smaller and is ground with garlic and herbs and made with sheep casing as opposed to pig casing which is what they use for the Italian sausage. Both are amazing so you might as well have the two of them. Read on.

The Bari Gameday Sausage Sandwich @ Home

Bari Sausage Sandwich

Ingredients

-1 lb each of hot Italian sausage and Barese sausage from Bari's
-1 loaf of french bread from D'Amato's next door (at the moment across the street)
-2 cups/cans beef stock
-3 green peppers, sliced for sweet peppers
-2 smashed garlic cloves and some crushed red pepper

Directions

1) Start out by grilling the sausage (over charcoal for best results in taste and flavor) and sauteing the sliced peppers in a pan on the stove with oil or butter. When peppers get that nice color add in the smashed garlic and let it cook for couple minutes more. Then dump in the beef stock and red pepper flakes and let it come to an almost boil and then put the heat on low.

2) Slice bread and place a piece of hot Italian in the middle and a couple pieces of barese sausage next to it. Add sweet peppers on top and then dip the sandwich at each end into the stock and then take a spoon and pour some gravy over the sausage and peppers.

Grilled Sausage and the sweet peppers in beef stock

Always a satisfying sandwich
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-Chicago's Italian Grocers

Another Grand ave. classic

I mentioned in the post that Bari gets it's bread delivered fresh from a bakery next door named D'amato's. I also said that this is where you need to go to get a loaf of French bread for the recipe up above and any other recipe that calls for it. D'amato's is another one of my favorite spots and since it's linked to Bari and a place I visit often when going to Bari I'm featuring it on here with them. Stop here for all your baked bread needs and some amazing cookies for after the grilling fests and while your at it get some of their pizza bread, its the best snack to munch on while getting the grill and everything else ready for the festivities. As of summer of 2010 they are remodeling their location next door to Bari but are open across the street.

D'amato's pizza bread (Veggie on L and sausage on R)

Bari Italian Foods

1120 W Grand Ave # 1

Chicago, IL 60642-6048
(312) 666-0730

D'amato's Bakery

1124 West Grand Avenue

Chicago, IL 60642-5801
(312) 733-5455

The Taste of Melrose Park

-Feastin' at locals favorite festivals

In a land where food and festivals are a plenty and thus food festivals are a weekly happening when its not winter there are too many too choose from. The list goes on and on but whenever I'm asked my favorite, some people are shocked to learn it is not the Taste of Chicago which has outgrown me but rather the Taste of Melrose Park. That's right the Western suburb long with a history of Italian Americans and now also the home to many Mexican Americans puts out Chicagolands best food fest. Its not hard to see why when you got those two ethnic culinary backgrounds prevalent in your area. Let me take you around the park during last years fest and suggest you make a real life appearance at it this years Taste of Melrose fiesta from September 3rd-5th, 2010.


The choices seem endless on food


Plenty of pasta for the people

The Taste of Melrose dates back to the 70's and features over 70 different food vendors except these arent restaurants or the same food stands you see at every festival. These are for the most part, families dishing out their recipes that have been around for generations. It makes for a unique festival with a few thousand people and plenty of hearty and wholesome divine food items to eat. Another great part to this festival are the prices. Everything runs from $2-$3 per item. Pictured below are some of my favorite items from the past and a few new ones I tried out last year. I always have to get the artichoke casserole and a fried bologna sandwich or two.


My favorite non meat dish out there, they've been here since the start


best part is the items go fast and thus they are always hot out the oven


Always a favorite of mine to eat


another new favorite non meat dish


zucchini stuffed with cream cheese


Maybe this might be my new non meat dish undisputed champ...


The most beautiful servers...


...and great pasta


Cant get enough


What beholds inside?


The best three bucks you'll spend this year


Baked stuffed clam


calamari


fried peperoni bread...great kids serving it up at this booth


The Silciliano's old fashioned fried bologna sandwich is a must get item


Scatchell's stuffed pepper sandwich


neckbones in gravy


Teriyaki steak on a stick

There is no doubt Mexican cuisine plays a major role in Melrose Park these days and there's a nice selection of it at the fest. Tacos, tamales and sugar treats are just a few of the items you'll find. Looking forward to trying more this year.


these tamales reminded me of the ones that made me love them


Whats a food fest without funnel cake?

But the star of the show each and every year are the Little Sister's of St. Charles and their amazing sfingi or Italian fried donuts. You will know where their booth is by where the biggest line is at. Don't you dare miss these treats or your belly and God himself will curse you to hell.


The best of the best and worth the trip alone. God Blessed y'all...


...and me with your fresh fried donuts


When hot out the fryer these are heavenly...

As always I saw quite a few characters and the whole squad on the grounds last year on opening night, but its the same as it ever was...best food fest in Chicagoland. You cant beat the free admission, the highest priced food item is $3, while everything else is $2 and the most expensive thing is the $4 Peroni's and 'Sconsin beer. I'm glad I made it back after a four year absence.

2010 Taste of Melrose Park

Sept. 3rd: 5p to 10p
Sept. 4th: Noon to 11p
Sept. 5th: noon to 11p

Buon appetito!

St. Joseph's Day Special

-Recipe's From Saveur

I've been cooking myself more and more Italian meals lately especially on nights when I need something simple. So in honor of the feast of St. Joesph I have a feasts worth of outstanding Italian favorites that all came from the great Saveur magazine. Needless to say they were all excellent dinners.
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Chicken Cacciatore

"America knows this Italian favorite as chicken cacciatore (hunter's-style), but it's really alla cacciatora, named in honor of the hunter's wife—who, all over northern Italy, might traditionally cook the dish on the eve of the hunt as fuel for the chase."


Click HERE for the recipe.
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Spaghetti Carbonara

"To make this dish the traditional Roman way, mix the cheese, eggs, pepper, and pork in a bowl to create a thick sauce before tossing it with the pasta. This recipe appeared in “Eternal Pleasures,” author Anya von Bremzen's tribute to classic Roman dishes"


Click HERE for recipe.
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Sunday Red Gravy over Handmade Gnocchi

"The Campo family has made this "gravy", a meaty tomato sauce, for generations. Mr. Campo learned the recipe from his mother, Dominica "Minnie" Campo, who he suspects intentionally left out an ingredient. His never tasted as sublime as hers until he figured out the secret: lamb chops. The Campos enrich the gravy with a variety of meats: links of hot Italian sausage, slender baby back ribs, hearty pork neck bones, and thin-cut lamb shoulder chops. Before adding it to the sauce, be sure to roast all the meat until it's completely caramelized; the sauce will taste richer. If you'd like to cook meatballs with the gravy, add them at least 20 minutes but no longer than two hours in advance of serving."


Click HERE for recipe.
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Happy Feasting.

Take 2: La Gondola

-Here we go again
Trip's back to Previous Haunts

As Valentine's day nears I thought it appropriate to post about our latest stop. I thought people might be googling "where to eat in Chicago on valentines day" and so with that its also time to introduce our newest series. It being a look back at places already featured here on S'C'&C. Our first stop is to a place that's been around the neighborhood longer than me and who's pizza was already featured HERE. La Gondola used to be at the corner of Ashland and Montana back in the early to middle 80's until they moved a few blocks north into the large strip mall at Ashland and Oakdale. I know that places in strip malls can be good in spots like Las Vegas and Arizona but there aren't many good strip mall dining options in Chicago. With the exception of La Gondola.


a great Valentines Day stop

It might not look all that comforting and romantic from the outside but once you step inside it doesn't feel like your in a strip mall anymore. Its a very cozy place and there's only five tables to eat at and they'll have some old school Italian music playing at a decent level and a nice wine selection. The owners are from Italy and have been using their families recipes handed down generation after generation. Most of the food at La gondola is made from scratch including their sauce and Italian sausage. Its a great place to go out with a date or if your lucky enough to live in the area, get delivery from. They also do a very good take-out business since its easy in and out with plenty of parking at the mall. During the wintertime I always make sure I get an order of their Stracciatella soup. A secret recipe of the popular Roman soup, his with spinach, brought from Rome by the chef at La Gondola. I don't know whats in it but its great and I always dip my bread in it and soak up every last drop. Here is a look at a few of my favorite dishes from a great neighborhood joint and here's to 25 more years. Cheers!


Stracciatella soup from La Gondola


some of the best veggie soup I've had


Homemade Meatballs

^You gotta respect a spot that does everything from scratch. There are no short cuts to memorable tasting food items.


Linguine with white wine clam sauce

^here we have one of, if not my favorite, non tomato based pasta dishes. La Gondola does up a really formidable version of linguine with a real clam sauce. Nothing canned here.


Rigatoni Bascaiola (signature dish)

^Creamed tomato sauce with fresh mushrooms and sauteed Italian sausage and fresh sage tossed in rigatoni make up the house's signature pasta dish. If I'm feeling like something red I'll always get this or the spaghetti and meatballs. Its hard too pass on the Bascaiola, its very much a trademark dish.

Its hard to believe that La Gondola is in its 25th year. Everything is pretty much good and nothing disappointments over there. Its not just the pastas but also the pizza, seafood and chicken dishes. Its a great place to eat if your around or live in the area, if your going out and want a romantic date or ordering pick up and want something good it really works great no matter what you want. If choosing to dine in, the service is excellent. Reservations are accepted and I would recommend getting them seeing as though there's 5 or 6 tables. They also have a full service bar and always have people dining in celebrating whatever it is they are. Ciao down!

La Gondola Restaurant
2914 North Ashland Avenue
Chicago, IL 60657
(773) 248-4433