What's Interesting This Week at Joseph's

What's Interesting This Week at Joseph's Market

Well, everything at this somewhat off the beaten path on the FAR west end of Chicago, but something you won't find at most other Italian markets:

- Sea Urchin (called, oddly, "sea eggs")

Actually, as long as I'm on talking about Joseph's, I should mention a few other things of note. The pizza, what pizza, it's what I might call blob pizza. The base is free form in area like a very difficult calculus problem and awfully thick, almost two inches. Yet, unlike Chicago sheet pizza it has a crisp crust and a bit of weight in the dough. You need strong toppings to stand up to this dough and the ricotta-vegetable I tried really does.

Ok, there's more. Some of the best giardinara I've seen/tried, a mess of mostly pickled jalepenos, reminding me a lot of one of my favorite Korean panchan. There is another giardinara with vegetables. Breaded octopus to be eaten hot or cold, several kinds of salami and hams all in excellent state and cut attractively on the bias and a cheese I'm not sure the type but marinated in oil and covered heavily with spices and chopped chives. The mystery cheese is very salty. A few wedges of that, several slices of salami, both giardinaras, some marinated green olives, a bit of marinated eggplant, crusty whole wheat D'Amato bread, and my lunch went down a lot better than da Bears.

Joseph's
8235 W. Irving Park
Chicago, IL

VI

Joseph market also puts out a pretty decent Italian sausage. Not quite Nottoli or Riviera but really good none the less. While I'm on the subject does anyone have a good source for Italian sausage east of Western Av.(other than Bari foods)

JSM

VI:

Joseph's is a great store and I've been intending for some time to put together my notes on it for a post. I'll do so soon.

You're in fine company, VI, in mentioning Joseph's. The only persons I can remember ever mentioning it are RST (whose exploratory contributions to the local food scene have been quite extraordinary), Frank and Joe Masi (who know a thing or two about Italian food in general and Italian neighbourhoods and food in Chicago in particular), and my LTH paisano, Choey (who knows lots about all sorts of things, culinary and otherwise). If others have talked about the place and I haven't noticed, please accept my appy-polly-loggies.

Anyway, nice notes on some of their offerings...

***

JSM:

Regarding the availability of goood Italian sausage east of Western Ave (you don't specify any limits of latitude), I have three suggestions beside Bari:
1) Conte di Savoia, on Taylor near Bishop. I'm not sure where they get their sausage from but I think it's really quite good.... Certainly among the best around town.
2) Fontano's on Polk east of Racine (south of UIC).
3) Little Joe's, which I know only because the Masis sell it sometimes at the bakery (Taylor and Western). They haven't had it of late but over the past year I've bought it many times and think it is first-rate. Little Joe's is a restaurant on Taylor, a little east of Al's Beef and Mario's Italian Ice. I haven't been to the restaurant but I would guess it can't be too bad, at least if the quality of their house-made sausage is any indication of general quality of their food.

Antonius

Antonius

Thanx for the sausage tips, I'll keep them in mind when I'm down that way. To be a bit more specific I'll narrow the search area down to the North Center / Lincoln Square area.

This past Saturday afternoon the sausage jones hit and the best I could do was Jewell. Not bad but theres got to be better somewhere around here.

JSM

Joe the Sausage King makes an Italian Sausage. I've never tasted it, though. Given the quality of some of his other wares, though, I'd say it's definitely worth a shot.

Joe's shop is at 4452 N Western Ave.

Joseph's is one of my favorites. Their foccacia on top of the deli counter is always consistent and properly oily.

A favorite special order from the butcher counter is a "braciole roast" or basically a flank steak which is butterflied and then stuffed with their housemade sausage and cheese. It's like a beautiful meat jellyroll.

Have you checked out Tony's at 4137 North Elston? West of Western but not all that far west of North Center on Irving.

Tony is from Italy. They make both sweet and hot Italian sausage in store (also hot links). I haven't had these but often buy pork there and have drooled over the family packs of sausages while getting dirty looks from wife. Some others on the board also shop at that Tony's store and may have an opinion on the Italian or hot link sausages. In any case it should beat Jewel by a big margin.

Joe's sausages can sometimes be a little strange when you get out of his central and southeastern European areas of expertise.

I shop regularly at Tony's, and recommend it regularly as well, but have not been too impressed with the Italian sausage there.

Thanks all

Ekreider, I agree with your thoughts on Joe the Sausage King. I like his salami and landjaeger alot however in the raw department Cevapcici is the only thing that really thrills me at Joe's.

JSM

I decided to forego a Will Special yesterday at the Riv in favor of a sandwich from Joseph's. I picked my bread, advised the counternman that I was in the mood for Salume, mozzarella, and mild giardinera.

He procceeded to put together a nice sandwich of Salume Calbrese, sopressata and a salami that I didn't recognize. It was topped with smoked provolone, fresh mozzarella and some mild pickly giardinera.

All in all, it was a great sandwich. A bit more expensive than the Riv at $4.99. But, still a generously proportioned good value.

I noticed while I was there that the butcher shop is extremely reasonable in price. Leg of lamb was around $3.99 a pound and they had some terrific looking sausage that I want to give a try this wekend.

Will:

The meat counter at Joseph's is outstanding and there are always some specials with particuarly great prices.

Antonius

Try the pizzas too, which fit none of the definations recently bandied about in the Chicago thin threads.

Vital Information wrote:Try the pizzas too, which fit none of the definations recently bandied about in the Chicago thin threads.

The pizzas are firmly in the old fashioned bakery pan- or sheet-style, as found at D'Amato's, Sicilia, Masi's (though each of these has its own particular characteristics)... In some neighbourhoods this was (and marginally still is) known as 'pizza bread'...to my mind the best style in town.

Antonius

Antonius wrote:

Vital Information wrote:Try the pizzas too, which fit none of the definations recently bandied about in the Chicago thin threads.

The pizzas are firmly in the old fashioned bakery pan- or sheet-style, as found at D'Amato's, Sicilia, Masi's (though each of these has its own particular characteristics)... In some neighbourhoods this was (and marginally still is) known as 'pizza bread'...to my mind the best style in town.

Antonius

Alas, I disagree (not with how you like the style...). I think that Joseph's pizza is not sheet pizza (if nothing else, it is not made in a sheet). It's blob pizza. And it's not just a matter of shape. Sheet pizza has a near uniformity in texture, is on the soft side and is usually a bit greasy (in a good way). This pizza is crisp on the botton, with a good dose of pizza air between the bottom layer and the toppings. It certainly does not have that greasiness to it. Note, I am talking about the pizza, not the smaller (and still excellent) foccacias.

Regardless of whether you agree with me or Antonius, it's pizza worth trying!

Vital Information wrote:Regardless of whether you agree with me or Antonius, it's pizza worth trying!

What matters puts it in the same class with the aforementioned bakery pizzas: the composition and thickness of the dough. Beyond that, I'm not sure what you mean by the term "pizza air." If you mean that the crumb of the bread dough is somewhat airy, okay, but such is also the case with some (not all) of the bakery 'pizza breads' referred to above. That depends on the on how thin they tend to make the bottom layer of dough. Joseph's is on the medium thick side, from what I've seen.

Antonius

Antonius wrote:

Vital Information wrote:Regardless of whether you agree with me or Antonius, it's pizza worth trying!

What matters puts it in the same class with the aforementioned bakery pizzas: the composition and thickness of the dough. Beyond that, I'm not sure what you mean by the term "pizza air." If you mean that the crumb of the bread dough is somewhat airy, okay, but such is also the case with some (not all) of the bakery 'pizza breads' referred to above. That depends on the on how thin they tend to make the bottom layer of dough. Joseph's is on the medium thick side, from what I've seen.

Antonius

I guess I do not really find the texture of Joseph's pizza anything like sheet pizza. The key difference, I would say, is "dryness". I mean by pizza air a sense of lightness between the crisp botton and the toppings, and lightness is also something I would not use to describe sheet pizza. The closest equivilant I know to blob pizza is the pizza served at Piece (not as good though).

Rob

I suspect this discussion is already at an impasse but the crust on D'Amato's or Masi's, while having a little oil on the outside layer (picked up from the sheet-pan), I hardly find greasy in and of itself. It's just Italian bread dough, no fat added. I've never had Sicilia's straight from the bakery but I suspect bought fresh it is similar to the above. Ferrara's I've only had once and I do remember the slice being a little greasy, but I can't remember what I thought of the dough beyond the fact that it struck me as being definitely on the thick side of the range found around town. I think the greasiness was a result of the (particular combination of) toppings but that experience was quite a while ago.

Anyway, the main point was that Joseph's is good.

A

Visited Joseph's Food Mart on Irving Park yesterday. As I walked up to the store, I noticed a realtor's "For Sale" sign in the window. One of the brother/owners behind the butcher's counter confirmed that the business is up for sale [I assume the real-estate as well]. He says that they have no plans to reopen anywhere.

I have no idea if the family is just tired of the retail business or this is another indication of the changing ethnic make-up of the neighborhood. [It remains to be seen if another "European" deli that specializes in kielbasa opens up where Joseph's is now].

I neglected to ask if they have a target closing date or not. I'll be sorry to see them close.

Maybe this is someone's big chance to get into the ethnic groceries biz....

Giovanna

Giovanna wrote:Visited Joseph's Food Mart on Irving Park yesterday. As I walked up to the store, I noticed a realtor's "For Sale" sign in the window. One of the brother/owners behind the butcher's counter confirmed that the business is up for sale [I assume the real-estate as well]. He says that they have no plans to reopen anywhere.

Very sad news. I don't get out there often -- it's quite a trek for us -- but it is a wonderful store.



Antonius

Thanks for the news, although I cannot say I'm very happy with the news. While there are enough Italian deli's on the NW side of Chicago, I am not sure there are enough as good as Joseph's. It will be missed fer sure.

Giovanna wrote:Visited Joseph's Food Mart on Irving Park yesterday. As I walked up to the store, I noticed a realtor's "For Sale" sign in the window. One of the brother/owners behind the butcher's counter confirmed that the business is up for sale [I assume the real-estate as well]. He says that they have no plans to reopen anywhere.

I have no idea if the family is just tired of the retail business or this is another indication of the changing ethnic make-up of the neighborhood. [It remains to be seen if another "European" deli that specializes in kielbasa opens up where Joseph's is now].

I neglected to ask if they have a target closing date or not. I'll be sorry to see them close.

Maybe this is someone's big chance to get into the ethnic groceries biz....

Giovanna

I've been to Joseph's a few times in recent weeks, including last Saturday. The word in the store is that yes, the business is for sale, but in the meantime, it's business as usual. Moreover, since there are no actual plans on the table, there is no sense of what will happen to the business. In other words, someone might (oh for...) continue the business.

In the meantime, this is near the top of Italian markets that I know of. It's always fun to shop when more customers are speaking in Italian than English. Of course their selection of meats remains and remains high, but do get some of the prepared foods like the blob pizzas or fried vegetables. Saturday was one of those days they had ricci or sea urchins*.

It's certainly unclear how long Joseph's will be in business, but it's in business now so please see what's there sooner than later.

Also, the place across the street, Bob-O's makes some good burgers, an above average beef, and really good fresh cut fries (not Gene and Judes, but plenty good).

*I've noticed a neat Italian run fish market in the same general vicinity, but I need to return to this place on Wednesday when the stock is new before posting.

Please caption this pic

-ramon

Vital Information wrote:

Giovanna wrote:Visited Joseph's Food Mart on Irving Park yesterday. As I walked up to the store, I noticed a realtor's "For Sale" sign in the window. One of the brother/owners behind the butcher's counter confirmed that the business is up for sale [I assume the real-estate as well]. He says that they have no plans to reopen anywhere.

I have no idea if the family is just tired of the retail business or this is another indication of the changing ethnic make-up of the neighborhood. [It remains to be seen if another "European" deli that specializes in kielbasa opens up where Joseph's is now].

I neglected to ask if they have a target closing date or not. I'll be sorry to see them close.

Maybe this is someone's big chance to get into the ethnic groceries biz....

Giovanna

I've been to Joseph's a few times in recent weeks, including last Saturday. The word in the store is that yes, the business is for sale, but in the meantime, it's business as usual. Moreover, since there are no actual plans on the table, there is no sense of what will happen to the business. In other words, someone might (oh for...) continue the business.

In the meantime, this is near the top of Italian markets that I know of. It's always fun to shop when more customers are speaking in Italian than English. Of course their selection of meats remains and remains high, but do get some of the prepared foods like the blob pizzas or fried vegetables. Saturday was one of those days they had ricci or sea urchins*.

It's certainly unclear how long Joseph's will be in business, but it's in business now so please see what's there sooner than later.

Also, the place across the street, Bob-O's makes some good burgers, an above average beef, and really good fresh cut fries (not Gene and Judes, but plenty good).

*I've noticed a neat Italian run fish market in the same general vicinity, but I need to return to this place on Wednesday when the stock is new before posting.

This is indeed sad news. I was a Polish immigrant straight off the boat 23 years ago when my mom took me to Joseph's for the first time. It was 3 blocks away from our house. I remember loving the focaccia, and the Italian pastries. My mom would frequently buy meat from the butcher. I live in San Francisco now and it's hard to find a knowledgeable ma and pa butcher, let alone authentic focaccia (and don't get me started about the prices). I would say that it's a shame that a new generation and culture is moving in, but that's how it goes with neighborhoods... they wouldn't be interesting if they didn't change with the times. Still, I was hoping that I could go back here on a business trip and bring some nostalgia back home with me.

Despite the owners' announced intention of selling the business a couple of years ago, Joseph's is still open and still one of the best Italian groceries in the region.

On the way back home from the airport recently, I made a stop at Joseph's to pick up a couple of things and left with a whole bunch of things... all of them tasty... I'll just mention two of them here...

***

Rice balls of two kinds...

... the one kind filled with ragù and peas...

... the other with cheese and spinach...

Amata and I heated them up in the oven for lunch and had them accompanied by a salad of items just picked from the garden...

Very tasty indeed.

***

I also picked up a pound of their Barese sausage, which was on sale... We had that one day for dinner, pan-fried, alongside some cianfotta made all with produce from our garden and accompanied by home-made whole-wheat bread rolls...


I don't get to Joseph's all that often and certainly not often enough but that has to do with the location, which is out of the way for us. I am always very happy when I get the chance to go there, though... One of the great ethnic stores in Chicagoland...

Bon pro',
Antonius

As reported on Yelp and Facebook's NW side group page, Joseph's Market ( 8235 W. Irving Park ) has closed after 52 years.

NO!

Damn

Joseph's on Irving Park closed a few weeks ago. I hope John and is family are doing well. Our family was pained by the loss of our favorite meat market.

A shame, but not unexpected I suppose...

Joseph's was my go-to place for many years when shopping for the Xmas Eve 'Feast of the Seven Fishes'. Baccala, eels, octopus salad, etc. Many great memories of pushing my toddler daughter through the narrow aisles in a shopping cart, giving her a hunk of D'Amato's Italian bread to chew on to keep her quiet. And she's 25 now...

I can still smell Joseph's--the unmistakable aroma of fish, vinegar, olive oil and oregano. Good luck to the family!

Very sad news... Not surprising, as the younger generation of the family had wanted out of the business for some time, as I understood things from talking to folks in the shop itself... The business started in the old days back here on Taylor Street... napoletani erano...

I was a sort of regular but, on account of the location, only rather infrequent visitor, but whenever I went there, there were a bunch of things I would stock up on and a bunch of things that were fresh that I would look forward to getting... Meat counter was outstanding... fish counter usu. had a nice range of things on offer... other nice cooked items (focaccie, rice-balls, etc.)... packaged goods selection was broad and outstanding...

Each of these old Italian stores has/had its own specialties and particular offerings and individual character and as they pass into oblivion, each will be very much missed by those who actually know the cuisine and culture behind it in a real sense...

Antonius

Does anyone know of a place making focaccia sandwiches like the ones thay used to make at Joseph's?
They would make them in the morning and place them on the meat counter. I miss them so much.
I have a crave for one.