Jennifer S.
Yelp
Heaven.
How could this be my first time ever stopping by Corti Brothers? People have been telling me for years that I would love this place. People have been asking me for years if I've tried the sandwiches from Corti Brothers yet?
(No, I still haven't, but, I will soon. I promise.)
Walking into Corti Brothers, the first thing I noticed was how packed the patio was.
We were well past regular Saturday afternoon lunch hours, yet, the patio was still full of happy looking customers with amazing looking sandwiches. Inside of the store, a dozen or so more customers were still waiting for their orders.
On this day, I was searching for imported Calabrian peppers-- and, no, I didn't find them. So far, the only place I've been able to find them is on Amazon.
I didn't find the peppers, but I found a million other cool things. And, to be fair, I didn't ask anyone for help. It's possible that they have the peppers, but I just missed them.
I noticed a few other products by the same company who makes my favorite peppers that I order from Amazon-- TuttoCalabria.
I did find some Calabrian chili pepper paste, and a few varieties of Italian hot sauce with Calabrian chili peppers. Both of these are similar, but not quite what I was looking for, which was whole, chopped, or dried Calabrian peppers.
Walking around the store, I spotted so many uniquely Italian items that I never seem to see anywhere else. Fresh pannetone. Mostarda. Amarena cherries. Baci. Fancy packages of biscotti. More flavors of Pellegrino than I ever knew existed.
In the cheese area, I noticed a few different baskets with sample sizes of various cheeses. I love this idea, because, in general, I'm willing to risk $1 to try a new cheese, but, not any more than that. I ended up picking out a sample of havarti dill, and a wedge of Merlot BellaVitano.
Their tomato selection is off the vine. I've never seen so many canned tomatoes in my life. Whether you're looking for plum, cherry, san marzano, whole, peeled, crushed, whatever, Corti Brothers probably carries it.
I specifically noticed that they carry my favorite Cento Certified San Marzano Whole Peeled Tomatoes, as well as Mutti (favorite of Tony Gemignani), San Marzano (favorite of Ina Garten), and Bianco Dinapoli (favorite of Stephen Custato).
(I watch a lot of cooking shows.)
The candy aisle was the only aisle that I found to be sparse, but still well-curated. They carry Ginger Elizabeth chocolate bars, along with a few dozen varieties of Ritter Sport.
Corti Brothers might just become my new favorite grocery store. I love their product selection, and can't wait to come back to try their sandwiches, too.