Oh market of ancestral pleasures,
A carnival of old-school treasures,
Your homemade fare, it lifts, amazes,
I think itโs time I sing your praises.
Behold those days my tired bodyโs
so grateful for your manicottis.
The workday hard, the lunchroom cruel,
No prob when we have yourย fa-jool*ย
On nights Iโm out and canโt cook dinner,
I always have a pinch-hit winner,
Iโm late, not dressed, oh holy moly!
The sitter boils ravioli.
โFrom scratchโ can be so overrated.
When those meatballs can be plated
From the freezer, quick and thrifty,
Just flip the oven to three-fifty.
So hereโs to every gift Italian,
To ziti baked and veal medallion,
Sending thanks thatโs good and loud,
Grandma Catrinoย would be proud.
Seven bucks for fifty fresh, authentic, restaurant-quality, cheese-filled ravioli. What rhymes with โbargain of the century?โ
*Note actual spelling of Fa-jool on third shelf from bottom right in top picture. Photo taken via my instagram (dinneralovestory) at Mercurioโs Italian Market on Mamaroneck Avenue, Mamaroneck, NY.
This is a riot. We fall back on the artichoke ravioli all the time from Trader โGiottosโ. Not quite the same, but itโs our โpinch hit winner.โ Thanks for the laugh.
Brilliant, as always. And so very, very true.
Love this! And itโs so close to my office, I may need to plan a trip there soon.
OMG โฆ I looked at the picture and knew it was Mercurioโs. I think my Mom picked something up there once a week for my entire childhood!! Thanks for the wonderful memories and I will be making a stop there soon!
Love this and can totally relate!!! Whenever I walk into my fav Italian deli it literally seems like the Hallelujah Chorus should erupt.
You are amazing! That market looks fantastic.
Youโre killing me with this picture and this ode. I have been missing NY something bad these last few days, and I used to live just one town over so I know, well, all about the delightful places just outside of NYC. Oh how I wish I could be there to pick out a few items from their refrigerators.
BTW, do you happen to know if that bread place (I canโt recall the name of the bakery, I donโt think I ever checked, just knew where it was) in Port Chester is still there? They had (have?) this incredible killer cinnamon bread that oozed (OOZED, I say) goopy, sticky, cinnamon in between lovely, yeasty layers of dough. Made THE BEST French toast evah!
(insert dreamy sigh here)
โBehold those days my tired bodyโs, so grateful for your manicottis.โ Nice work.
cg: Sorry, I do not know the name of it, but I am in Port Chester all the time, so if anyone else knows what cg is talking about, do enlighten! Sounds like something my kids would drive across the county for.
Oh, I love my Italian market in town thatโs on my way back from the office. But the ravioli is $9 a box at my place!
Jenny, it might be The Kneaded Bread, but Iโm not sure, it was 10 years ago. But I checked Yelp and it looks like the loaf (in a plastic bag) could be the same one. ๐
Excellent !! merci pour le partage .