It’s Almost Time to Leave Phoenix,…

but not without one last visit to Andreoli Italian Grocer with Chuck’s cousin Raina and her husband Jesse. I know that I risk being repetitious having written so often about what I have concluded is my favorite restaurant of our five-plus years of travels. So text will be brief and photos many—both to tantalize you and to torment me.

Our recent lunch began with not just one but two orders of Calameretti del Sacrestano or fresh marinated and grilled calamari.

The oil from the marinade drips down onto the grill and “ignites” causing a char that then flavors the oil and red vinegar dressing. It’s not just the calamari that tastes great but the oil and vinegar is infused with the charred flavor and is perfect for dipping Chef Scorzo’s house-made ciabatta bread.

The calamari were quickly followed by a Maresciallo for four—a platter of three meats (Chef Scorzo’s own Genoa salami and prosciutto crudo plus calabrese salami), olives (marinated in house), and cheese.

And what lunch at Andreoli would be complete without an order of Patatine Fritte or Italian French fries deep fried in olive oil with leeks. As I said a number of years ago, McDonald’s makes French fries, but only Andreoli makes patatine fritte.

And Chuck wonders if he could order just a heaping plate of the fried leeks.

So with the preliminaries over, where do we go from there? You did know that there would be more, didn’t you? Chuck said he would be happy with a repeat of the Maresciallo. Jesse was his usual easy-going self and basically said “whatever.” And Raina and I had other ideas.

So we did repeat the Maresciallo; this time for two and not four. Plus more bread.

Raina really likes Andreoli’s Porchetta—roasted pork that is seasoned with garlic, fennel, and black pepper and served on a house-made crusty roll. So we asked that the sandwich be cut into four pieces so we could all have a sample.

“I forgot how good this sandwich is,” Chuck mumbled through a mouthful of food.

I wanted the Abbuffino or focaccia bread with spicy calabrese salami and smoked mozzarella cheese. The house-made focaccia is so rich with olive oil that when the sandwich is pressed a thin and crisp crust is formed.

Just when you might think we were finished, we were ready for a little dessert and shared two Sfogliatelli (a classic Italian pastry with ricotta filling) and two biscotti.

The latter were perfect for dipping into our double espressos.

Again, we managed to eat our way through a good portion of the afternoon with good food and great company. Another 5.0 Addie feast.

And we leave you with the words that are emblazoned on t-shirts worn by many regular customers “Everybody loves Rosario.”

After dessert, Raina squeezed in a few minutes of work.

To review the role of Adler, Kitty Humbug, and the Addie rating system, read the November 14, 2011 blog.

One night, Jesse drove us up one of the hillsides for these views of metropolitan Phoenix.

The lights of the towers atop South Mountain carried the message "Come back soon."