This has been a favorite lunch spot of mine for the past few years, so I was very suprised with my recent visit.
I usually order the same thing: Proscuitto and Mozzarella with basil and red peppers with extra balsamic and olive oil. Â I'll sometimes eat in at one of their smaller cafe style tables, but the place was empty and I don't mind eating while I drive. Â It's no exageration when I say I was the ONLY customer in the store, so there should be no excuses here. Â Checked out, drove away and unwrapped the sandwich at the first light to start eating: No proscuitto, no basil. Â Extra mozzarella and super heavy on the red peppers plus large chunks of raw garlic all along the bread with just a hint of balsamic and oil. Â WTF?
This experience aside, the food is always spot on. Â The dry goods are actually cheaper than going to the Italian market, especially when you buy the really good vinegars and oils. Â Not much in the frozen food section and you have to watch what you're buying from the display case (ask to sample it first), and sometimes I think they're just looking to make anything to fill space in there.
When they have them, the italian cheesecakes are awesome (I believe they import them from Brooklyn), some of the cookies I think are made in house and make a nice box to leave with a customer instead of the usual box of donuts you'd drop off.
This is a Italian deli style place with a few tables to eat-in but geared for take-out and catering. Â They have genuine Italian foods and imported items like olive oil, pasta, cheeses, bread and cured meats. Â They get fresh Italian bread from NYC every day and this is where they shine. Â THEY MAKE THE BEST STEAK SANDWICHES Â I have ever had and I have been having them since 1968! Â Nothing comes close when you have their chicken steak or beef steak sandwiches on the crusty Italian NYC steak rolls. Â They taste great, are moist and flavorful and the warmed crusty bread completes the deal. Â Pat's and Gino's in Philly are for the tourists. Â This is the place for a serious steak sandwich.
Even their cold hoagies are better than Lee's and on par with some of Primo's. Â There is always a small crowd there for lunch.
Stay away from the chicken cutlet parmessan ones since the patties are made in advance and sit in the cold display case. Â By the time they get back to temp, they are dried out. Â Take-out lasagna and many deli dishes are good as are their soups typically. They make good cannolis to order for parties but some of the deserts are hit or miss.
In conclusion, the place for a steak sandwich when you crave a great steak sandwich like you remember from your childhood memories.
My wife wanted to try them again so I decided to give them another shot. We went on a Wednesday in July around lunch time. I was hoping for a chicken cutlet parm but they were out of that. So instead my wife and I shared #21 (I'm blanking on the name of it at the moment).
Great sandwich. The bread was just right. A little bit of pesto spread and olive oil. Did not go crazy with the pesto. Sun dried tomatoes, fresh motz and turkey. The flavors complimented each other extremely well. Turkey is a great choice for the meat in this sandwich because you need the meat to fall back and let the pesto, sun dried tomatoes and fresh motz shine.
You order and get you sandwiches at a counter in the back of the store. They you walk it up to the front where the only register is. We had to wait while one of the employees when from behind the counter to the register. I wish they just had someone full-time on the register. That would be a lot more convenient for the customers.
But there was no rudeness and the sandwich was fantastic so they are climbing from one to three stars in my Yelp review.
This place left a bad taste in my mouth... it wasn't the food that caused that feeling, but rather the treatment I received.
We arrived at A Taste of Italy this past Saturday, and I was immediately excited by all of the Italian treats - fresh sauce and pasta in the fridge, Italian grocery items, fresh olives, and bread that looked unbelievable. When we made our way to the back, my anticipation continued as I was faced with an colossal board of menu items. It took me a good 15 minutes to take in the sandwich menu, and I finally asked my husband to choose for me. He ordered the Joe Torre for himself, and subbed mozzarella for provolone in the roast beef sandwich. For me, he ordered the Chicken Parm sandwich, knowing that he would eat half of it. It was hard to stop eating at the midway point for me: the roll was fantastic, the chicken perfectly non-fatty and fresh, the sauce wonderfully flavorful and the cheese melty and perfect. I cannot gush enough about that sandwich. I had a bite of his sandwich and wasn't enthused. I think it would have been better with the provolone in the original sandwich, and without all the vegetables because the roast beef was very fresh and didn't need a lot of condiments to mask its flavor.
After we ate our sandwiches, we went back up front to get some dessert. No one was in line at the time but the lady at the front was preoccupied with some inventory. While I was waiting, she asked if I was ready and I started to tell her I wanted to order some cookies from the pastry counter but she walked away and ignored me. When she came back, there was a second person in line. She served him first. That was enough for me to leave. I know that she knew I was there first, and she was ignoring me because ... well, I have no idea why really. I had just purchased two sandwiches and was ready to make a second purchase, and she was the owner, so one would think she would be happy to serve me.
So this place would have gotten 5 stars from me if I hadn't gotten such poor treatment. I probably will go back anyway because I haven't had a better sandwich on a better roll anywhere in the Philadelphia area.
Without a doubt, this is the best lunch place in the Ambler/Gwynedd area. They have a nice variety of unique sandwiches and use the best bread. The names for all the sandwiches are really fun too. The case by the deli area has a nice selection of prepared foods so if you need a quick meal to take somewhere, this would be a much better place to stop than Genuardi's.
They also have a nice grocery area where you can get all kinds of great Italian ingredients, snacks and sweets. And their pastries are fantastic too and around Christmastime, you can get chunks of fresh torrone.
Finally, by the checkout area they have bakery items from Brooklyn bakery (I forget the exact name), but they have really good stuffed bread. If you can, grab a prosciutto one.
As for the sandwiches, I'm not sure which I'd recommend over any other because of all the times I have gone here, I have never been disappointed at all. My personal preference leans towards any of the ones that use grilled eggplant, basil or broccoli rabe with tons of olive oil. So very much to die for!
As for the service, the service is great too and the staff is extremely friendly. Basically, if I could give this place more than 5 stars, I certainly would.
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