The traditional

ITALIAN meal,½ a p o u n d

of bread a

day, 60 pounds of

pasta, and 26 gal-

lons of wine

a year.

It actually means “before the pasta.”

consists ofseveral coursesbeginningw i t h t h eantipasto.

in all itscarbohydrate g l ory

c

{ i

BAY CITIES Italian Deli & Bakery

is a bustling Italian deli near downtown Santa Monica,

a supermarket-size delicatessen that slung fresh pasta and roasted peppers

When you lived on the Westside,

a Bay Cities godmother sandwich was as good as things got.

probably 30 years before the average Santa Monican

There were a zillion kinds of extra-virgin olive oil,

and there used to be three kinds of eggplant caponata

(Now there’s only one kind of eggplant caponata , and they’re often out of that.)

could tell you the difference between a p o r c i n i and a sun-dried t o m a t o .

for o l i v e

salad and super-peppery Toscano

salame, but it was mostly where

If you grew up in the area,

BAY CITIES

was where

your parents

shopped for

manicot t i shel ls

and provolone,

sincesince19251925

homefromwork.

italia

n•issim

o

(adj.)

truly Ita

lian

you hop

ed

on their waythey’d pick up

a few subs

BAY CITIES

was where

your parents

shopped for

manicot t i shel ls

and provolone,

oh my

godmother.

Stacked with

no less than five kinds of cold cuts -- that’d be Genoa sa-

lami,

mortadella, coppacola, ham

and prosciutto --

and a slice of Provolone,

the sandwich com

es on dense, chewy, w

onderful

Italian b r e a d .

the average

ITALIAN

eats

about

½ a

pou

nd o

f bre

ad,

60 P OU

ND

S OF P A S T A ,

The t rad i t i ona l I ta l ian mea l ,

be-ginning

with

the anti

-pasto.

c o n -

s i s t s

o f s e v e r a l

c o u r s e s

It actually means

BE

FO

RE

TH

E P

AS

TA

.

“

”

and 26 ga l lons o f w ine a year.

in a

l l i t s

ca rbohydrate g l o r y,

“� e

God-

mother” includes a slice of

every Italian cold cut on Earth. Fully dressed

with lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise, mustard and a few

squirts of a garlicky vinaigrette, a Godmother feeds a couple

of people at least; the guys behind the counter will

look at you quizzically if they suspect you’re

planning to eat a whole one yourself.

BE

FO

RE

TH

E P

AS

TA

. ”

and 26 ga l lons o f w ine a year.

On c e

you’ve got sandwich and

fi zzy French lemonade in hand, you

can either park it outside at one of the

cement tables and watch the absurd

comedy taking place in the parking

lot, or you can wander the aisles

and marvel at the eighteen different

kinds of anchovies, fi fty different

balsamics, a wide selection of

good canned tomatoes, hundred-

dollar truffl e infusions and oils,

cheeses galore, freshly made

tapenades, all shapes and

sizes of pasta, and a great

wine selection in the back.

“

”

You can avoid the lines by ordering online for pickup. Walk into the store, take a hard le� past the registers, walk straight back, and you’ll see a second food prep area on your

le� , with a baker’s shelf in front of it. � ere, on the shelf, you will � nd your order with your name on it, and you can proceed directly to

the register.

t

h

n

k

for

sweet

ripe

tomatoes

which are

a joy

worth

waitingfor!

a

h

e

ae

n

s

v

a joy

� e bread. It’s

that good. Hot

pastrami. Turkey

with avocado.

Or just the bread

baguettes by

themselves.

prov

olon

epr

ovol

one

{� e bread. It’s

that good. Hot

pastrami. Turkey

with avocado.

Or just the bread

baguettes by

themselves.

the

average

ITALIAN

½ a pound of bread,

and 26 gallons

of wine

60 pounds of

THE TRADI-

TIONAL

beginning

with the anti-

in all its

carbohydra te g lory,consists

of several