Tour de Italian Deli

Hold onto your bellies, because this Saturday the Tour de Italian Deli is coming.

Last week was the time for nominations, and I heard from an awful lot of people with thoughts on how the tour should work. For starters, the name has been clarified. We’re going to be checking out the region’s most beloved Italian delis to taste how their sandwiches stack up against each other.

There are decidedly two camps on this. Some people think sandwiches dressed with oil and vinegar improve with time, as their bun absorbs some of the moisture, and that camp is in favor of a tasting. But I’m squarely in the camp that disagrees, and this is why I’m taking this project on as a tour.

Granted, if this first outing is a success, this will be the beginning of a multiyear effort. But as noted by a few commenters, this tour will not be without its challenges. So we’ll see how it goes. One thing I know for certain is that it will be delicious.

After a lot of thought and taking into consideration some of your input, here’s how it’s going to work. I’m still going to encourage people to come with a team in tow. If you cannot secure a team, don’t worry, we can assemble individuals into teams on the day of the tour. Each team will order the same sandwich at each location. I’m going to be on the Italian mix team, but that doesn’t mean there can’t be a roast beef team, or a prosciutto and provolone with roasted red pepper team, or a chicken cutlet team, or even a sausage pepper and onion team.

My expectation is that most will want to evaluate the Italian mix, but even there we may have some variations regarding toppings.

As with all tours, we’ll visit the shops in sequence, order the food, eat it on the spot, fill out the score sheets and move on. The tour will move forward, rain or shine. Would it be more comfortable to bring all the subs to a central location? Sure. But then everyone would miss the best part of the Italian deli experience, and that’s the sights and smells of the delis themselves.

From the beginning, these tours have always been about pursuing the answer to a question. They are activities I would gladly do on my own, but as fate would have it, these several hour eating binges are more fun when I bring a group of people along.

I’m going to bring a cutting board, a bread knife, a digital scale, a roll of paper towels, and a trash bag. I’d encourage other teams to do the same. Just in case, I’m also going to bring a folding table and a pop up 10 x 10 canopy that I hope we won’t have to use. It’s also probably wise to bring plenty of water and an umbrella if it looks like it might rain.

If you are on a team with friends, I’m sure you can figure out how to split the costs of the food equitably. If you are coming on your own, please make sure to bring plenty of small bills, so nobody gets stuck holding the cheese toast.*

The scoresheets will look familiar to those who have been on a prior FUSSYlittleTOUR. We’ll be evaluating common criteria on a 1 to 5 scale. Those criteria will include bread, meat, toppings, value, and the overall experience of the sandwich.

That’s all well and good, but you probably want to know who made the cut.

Let’s be clear. This first tour is the Albany edition. I’m not sure which round will come next, but we clearly need a suburban outing and a Schenectady/Rotterdam excursion. But let’s focus on the here and now.

Fiorello’s Bakery and Deli Importing and Luigi’s Deli will lead us off. It got a nod in the nomination process and is a staple for the University at Albany crowd. It also happens to be right across the street from DiBella’s which had the incredible chutzpah to challenge this five-star Italian deli on its home turf. I’ve never had a sandwich here, and I’m looking forward to seeing how they stack up. Plus, since they have tables outside, it’s a great place to assemble, figure out teams, and begin this grand outing.

Then it’s off to Ragonese. This standalone shop on New Scotland has a tremendous following. It’s the definition of a neighborhood institution, and is widely regarded as being among one of the best Italian sandwiches in the area.

At the center point of the tour, we’re heading to the DelSo. First to Andy’s and then Cardona’s. These mark stops two and three of the Albany Italian sandwich holy trinity.

After the incredible support the shop received in the nominations, Pellegrino’s on Central Avenue has to be the closer. I’m a little shocked at its relative popularity given that it was entirely off my radar up until a couple months ago. But we’ll see how it stands up to the big boys.

It all begins at 11am sharp. Pellegrino’s closes at 4pm, so we can’t drag this out for too long. But since the driving is minimal that shouldn’t be a problem.

All I need to know is how many people are coming so I can print out enough scoresheets. It’s going to be one helluva day of meats and cheeses. But swimsuit season is just about over for the year. So let’s get out there and determine whose sandwich skills reign supreme. If I have to, I’ll do it on my own, but I’d love some company.

So who’s in?

*It’s an inside joke. I’ll share tomorrow.