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Old 10-05-2009, 01:20 PM
 
Location: Dudes in brown flip-flops
660 posts, read 1,704,676 times
Reputation: 346

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Quote:
Originally Posted by lovetoboat View Post
Well as sad as I am to have you all confirm this, at least there are some good options you've all suggested. I will say that when I go back to NY, I will make a specific stop and grab some freshly made "stuff". And you are right, Stephen81, I think it must be the immigrants from years ago didn't come here. Boy do I miss 'em
If you're up for a day trip one weekend, Baltimore's Little Italy is nice. I think DC had a Little Italy, but it was bulldozed a few decades ago and replaced with Judiciary Square. If you do drive up 95, Vaccaro's is the best known place, but I'm partial to Piedigrotta.

Piedigrotta Bakery of Baltimore
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Old 10-05-2009, 04:24 PM
 
4,709 posts, read 12,669,699 times
Reputation: 3814
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stephen 81 View Post
You're not overlooking the obvious. The Italian Store is your best bet in NoVA, although be prepared for chaos if you're there during peak hours.

But basically, when all the Italians came over to this country a century ago, Northern Virginia and DC were sleepy Southern backwaters, so the Italians stayed away. It's why people routinely ask where all the good bagels/fresh pasta/pierogis/Greek salads are. If you want food made by nationalities that arrived over the last 30-40 years, though, this area may only be bested by California and NYC.

Very true. My mother's side of the family arrived at Ellis Island in 1896. Most Italian immigrants only went as far from NYC as they had to in order find employment. Mom's folks ended up in New Haven CT...about 75 miles from NYC. New Haven had/has a huge Italian population.

I spent many a summer in New Haven and rode around town a lot with my grandfather gathering the ingredients for my grandmother's FABULOUS cooking (her lasagna was like currency...plumbers and other tradepersons preferred it to cash!) Even in New Haven, there were no "Italian Stores" in the one-stop sense. It was very specialized....you went to the cheese guy for cheese....to the produce guy for bushels of tomatoes for sauce....to the bakery for baked good....the wine guy for wine, etc.

For a medium sized city, New Haven had only a few supermarkets (like Giant, etc) and they were for the non-Italians!


edited to add: Incidentally, my grandparent's next-door-neighbor was Frank Pepe (pronounced peppy), the proprietor of the world famous (to this day) Pepe's Pizza on Wooster Square. My mom dated his son during high school...if they had married, I might be a pizza magnate today! LOL

Last edited by car54; 10-05-2009 at 04:58 PM..
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Old 10-05-2009, 05:42 PM
 
125 posts, read 404,209 times
Reputation: 69
So Car54-you might be our best bet for opening up that Italian Place (even though they didn't have an exclusive store in your gparents day)
I promise I will be a loyal customer!!
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Old 10-05-2009, 05:46 PM
 
446 posts, read 1,647,654 times
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Italian Store in Arlington! Best subs around and good pizza too! Lines are very long as previously stated during peak times.

There is this place called Vace in NW DC near the Zoo on Connecticut Ave. HOME I have tried their pizza and it's very tasty and cheap!
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Old 10-05-2009, 06:56 PM
 
Location: Chapel Hill, NC, formerly NoVA and Phila
9,775 posts, read 15,776,851 times
Reputation: 10880
As a Philly native who is used to eating wonderful South Philly Italian delicacies, there is NOTHING like that here in DC, unfortunately. The Italian Gourmet in Vienna might be fine but it is quite pricey compared to what you can get in Phila. and NY.
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Old 10-06-2009, 06:54 AM
 
Location: DC
3,301 posts, read 11,712,491 times
Reputation: 1360
I just realized that I should have posted the website:

Home Page A. Litteri, Inc.

I went with some coworkers for an extended lunch break and we went a little nuts (several of us are from NY, Philly, and Boston). It's not the most attractive neighborhood, but it's safe enough during the day. You could probably find a parking space nearby without too much difficulty.
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Old 10-06-2009, 12:25 PM
 
56 posts, read 207,519 times
Reputation: 26
This makes me sad. Even in Salt Lake we have some really great Italian stores.
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Old 10-06-2009, 02:17 PM
 
12,022 posts, read 11,562,088 times
Reputation: 11136
Balducci's Food Lover's Market

Balducci's - Locations
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Old 10-06-2009, 04:01 PM
 
Location: Fredericksburg, VA
743 posts, read 3,899,713 times
Reputation: 229
There is an Italian market in downtown Fredericksburg. I think they are still in the middle of a move. (They're moving to an intersection with 2 italian resaurants and a wine shop... it's like Fredericksburg is getting it's own 'little italy')
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Old 10-06-2009, 10:45 PM
 
183 posts, read 801,360 times
Reputation: 148
Quote:
Originally Posted by CaseyMac View Post
There is this place called Vace in NW DC near the Zoo on Connecticut Ave. HOME I have tried their pizza and it's very tasty and cheap!
I'll second Vace. They have great sandwiches, among many other things.

When I lived in the area, there was also a much bigger Italian grocery/deli further down on Connecticut Ave, just above Dupont Circle. It was called Viareggio. Does anyone know if this place still exists?
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