Alain -- So glad to hear you enjoyed your first visit to Graziano's so much but sorry we missed you -- Amata, Lucantonius and I were there just a little earlier on Saturday, buying some Divella pasta, dried legumes, tomato products, a splendid chunk of freshly cut Locatelli pecorino cheese and also some fine sandwiches for lunch. It is indeed one of the best shops to visit -- for quality, price, pleasantness of experience - in all of Chicagoland.

A

Antonius,
Yes, when I told Jim about my contributing to LTH that obviously he enjoys reading (he reminded me that you were the first person to have written about his space some years back) he told me that I had missed you and your family by half an hour.
Now my question is: Have you ever tried his Salvati olive oil that I'm talking about, and do you know anything about its producer?

They've got pecorino with black truffle in right now--great stuff. I believe it's $20 a pound (the wedge above is a little over half a pound--or was...). I had some for breakfast shaved over toasted Italian bread with Salvati oil. Really good. Worth every penny and then some!

thaiobsessed wrote:They've got pecorino with black truffle in right now--great stuff. I believe it's $20 a pound (the wedge above is a little over half a pound--or was...). I had some for breakfast shaved over toasted Italian bread with Salvati oil. Really good. Worth every penny and then some!

Agreed. I was there yesterday afternoon and they are out of it. He said he can't keep it in stock. It is divine.

LTH,

Graziano's to pick up Salvati olive oil and sundries and couldn't help but notice signage for a new sandwich, the Mr. G, named in honor of Jim Sr, who passed in 2008. I did not have opportunity to try the Mr. G, but it sounds terrific.

Graziano's Sandwich Menu and Mr. G Special



Interestingly while I was there a customer asked for a Will Special, Jim, who knows the history of the Will Special, and is friends with Carmine Pugliese, gets the occasional special request.

Enjoy,
Gary

G Wiv,

I was at Graziano's yesterday too - too bad I missed you. While I have not had the Mr G, Jim Jr. and I have chatted about vinaigrette recipes using the truffle mustard he sells by the jar. I have a jar on hand at all times, as the stuff is truly remarkable. NB: you can also add truffle-mustard vinaigrette to any Graziano's sandwich for a buck. Not a bad deal considering a small jar of the stuff retails for something like $17, iirc. A little does go a very long way.

Mostarda al Tartufo:


Jim had sold out of the mustard jars when I was in yesterday, but he said they'll be back in stock next week.

Kennyz

PSA: Graziano's will be closed for vacation beginning today, through July 24th. (I was very fortunate to stop by and stock up yesterday.)

graziano's had an exciting vacation. jimmy tore his ACL and is now on crutches for 6 weeks, but his mom says he wants to be back at work on monday AND the place had a makeover. new double glass doors; they removed the walk in cooler; made the office smaller; relocated the sandwich making area. it looks twice as big. the barrels full of dried legumes and herbs are still there. the grazianos know not to change too much. it really looks spacious now. justjoan

justjoan wrote:graziano's had an exciting vacation. jimmy tore his ACL and is now on crutches for 6 weeks, but his mom says he wants to be back at work on monday AND the place had a makeover.

I like the new look, retained the old charm and increased space and airy feel.

New Entrance



Jim Jr. post ACL sugrery



In addition to olive oil I picked up sandwiches for lunch, a prosciutto for my bride and a Mr. G for myself. The Mr. G may be my new favorite Italian sub.

Mr. G







Jim Jr. and I got to talking sausage, I was telling him about the nudja from Boccalone and he pointed out a poster for Frank B's 4th annual soppresatta contest. Jim gave me a taste of Frank's soppressatta, which Frank had brought in, and it's lucky Frank B does not enter his own contest.





Enjoy,
Gary

Today I locked 8 of my coworkers and an outside vendor in to a conference room from noon until 4pm. It seemed that the least I could do was supply lunch, so I spoke with our office manager this morning and flipped through her book of menus. Page after page of crap that, frankly, I just didn't want to eat.

Graziano's came to mind, but I wasn't sure if they delivered. A quick phone call later and I had a variety of sandwiches and chips scheduled to show up at 11:30. Easy as could be, and so much better than anything we normally get delivered to the office.

Cannoli and other sweets are available with 24 hours advance notice (sourced from a local bakery, I didn't inquire as to which one).

Graziano's will be my go-to whenever I need lunch delivered to the office again.

-Dan

dansch wrote:Cannoli and other sweets are available with 24 hours advance notice (sourced from a local bakery, I didn't inquire as to which one).

Almost certainly D'Amato's, who supplies all of the bread for the Graziano sandwiches, as well as some that's sold in the store. The D'Amato's fig cookies, by the way, totally rock. We've had a pound a week for the last month or so.

I got an email from Jim that he had a new supply of burratta in. Unfortunately, I can't make it over there this week but if you call, he may set some aside for you.

In case I'm not the only one who buys their pinenuts for pesto from Graziano's, they don't have them this year. She said the price was just too outrageous and to just substitute walnuts. I should have listened, but instead paid $28/ lb at Bari's. I suspect the pine beetle may be a factor, but don't know. However, the ones from Bari are particularly tasty.

I was shocked that the coolers were gone, as I have happy memories of being introduced to all kinds of obscure meats and cheeses in there, like it was a secret cave initiation; but those coolers were OLD. My memory may be foggy, but I could swear it was by the father of Jim Sr, who I'm very sorry to read passed away. They've all been exceptionally kind and generous w/ their knowledge and product over the years. Glad the kids are making a go of it, too many family businesses are sold off these days.

edit to add: upon reading the thread, the cooler in my memory was older than the one pictured. the walls were wood and it was really dark inside.
but on a side note, if you want to see something really cool, get into the basement of the old D'Amato's and check out the contraption that feeds the coal into the oven. Heck, just check out the oven it must be 15 feet deep, but again that could be my fuzzy memory. In my memory those bread paddles seemed like 20 feet long. I recently saw the coal deliveries being made though.

LTH,

What Would Signore Vincenzo Say? by Mike Sula in the Reader. Shows the love the Graziano's have for tradition, each other and their customers. Enjoyable read for this long time Graziano's customer.

Enjoy,
Gary

great article in the reader by the terrific mike sula. i just got back from shopping at graziano's. they have a new cow's milk cheese cured in barolo wine. it still has dried grapes clinging to the wax. it starts out tasting like a strong cheddar, but then the complex flavor and saltiness just explode in your mouth. it was a splurge at $28/lb., but i think it'll make a dynamite grilled cheese sandwich. i also bought some burrata, which comes in it's own little plastic bag and a 'mr. g's' fantastic sub. what a store..... justjoan

We were just there last saturday. It's always a pleasure to visit with Jim, talk food, and sample his unique cheeses. Nice story.

graziano's is expecting some wild boar salumi next week, from bielese, a family run charcuterie in new jersey. i got the last little chunk of bielese's dried sausage with fennel seed and fennel pollen today - really delicious. as jimmy pointed out to me, it's the pollen that lingers in your mouth and your nose after you've eaten it. and it did. justjoan

jp graziano's grocery
901 w. randolph

I stopped at Graziano's Saturday to pick up a few staples--cheese, olives, canned tomatoes... We also got some of the wild boar sopressata and the finochetta (sp?) sausage with fennel pollen and fennel seeds mentioned by justjoan--both are fabulous (I prefer the wild boar by a slight margin). They are now open later on Saturday (until 4 pm) which is great; Saturday is generally the only day I can get there and being able to come later means avoiding the lunchtime crowd.

Finochetta/Wild Boar Sopressata (the darker one)


New hours:

Good news. Thanks for letting us know.

Great deal being offered today on Giltcilty; $25 for a $50 gift card (all products including subs). Also, nice offers on gift baskets.

http://www.giltcity.com/chicago/jpgrazi ... &eca=text#

Edited to add: Please note that you need to register/login in order to purchase.

the graziano deal is sold out. justjoan

I AM WRONG ABOUT THIS! there are 2 offers and only the $25 offer is sold out. the IL PRIMO grocery bag, where you don't get to choose, is still available for $30 (actual value $57).

MY APOLOGIES. THIS DEAL IS STILL AVAILABLE!!!!!

[quote="justjoan"]the graziano deal is sold out. justjoan[/quote]

Sorry about that--That was fast!! got email at 1205P, purchased mine at 1222P.

At any rate, I'm looking forward to finally trying this place. It's inexcusable that I haven't already done so, given that I work a mere four blocks away. I hope to share my report soon.

I'M adding another post, since i screwed up badly. ONE OF THE GILT CITY GRAZIANO'S DEALS IS STILL AVAILABLE. IGNORE MY EARLIER POST!!! justjoan


http://www.giltcity.com/chicago/jpgrazi ... &eca=text#

Just a great stop at Graziano's yesterday. I needed to bring an appetizer to a party today and stopped in at about 2 pm on Saturday. Jim was there and provided an unending amount of enthusiastic expertise in helping me get everything I needed to assemble an antipasto platter for today's event...3 unctuous meats (prosciutto de parma, hot sopressta, salami), 3 fresh and pungent cheeses (asiago, aged provolone, fontinella), some phenomenal cerignola olives, some Roman-style artichoke hearts and some marinated and roasted red pepper strips. He offered us tastes of pretty much everything we even considered buying and could not have been more informative in answering questions, while sharing his knowledge and passion for the products in his shop. We bought some giardiniera and olive oils, too. Jim was even kind enough to hook us up with a Mr. G sandwich, which my son and I nearly fought over after I got home with it.

Needless to say, the platter was a huge hit at the party we attended this afternoon. People were oohing and aahing over it as it steadily disappeared. Of course, I took no credit for it. I simply told them that I shopped for everything on the platter at J.P. Graziano on West Randolph and urged them to stop in there next time they had a chance. Not only did we get some utterly delicious comestibles but we ended up looking really good in the process. Nice and no surprise!

=R=

I introduced friends and family to Graziano's a couple of months ago. Last night, I was with my brother and he was talking about the difference between Grazianos cheese and locally found cheese. He couldn't believe the difference. It's fun introducing people to quality ingredients and Jimmy certainly is a step above.

G Wiv wrote:LTH,

Interestingly while I was there a customer asked for a Will Special, Jim, who knows the history of the Will Special, and is friends with Carmine Pugliese

I'm a fairly regular shopper at Graziano's - I work in the West Loop and it is my number one lunch spot.

Do you mean to tell me if I go in there and ask for a Will Special, I will NOT get a big blank stare?

Obviously, I would assume this only applies to Jim Jr, and not any of the sandwich guys they have working during lunch. But still, I never even though to ask about it.

It is a sandwich I've always wanted to try but am never out by Riviera.

DClose wrote:Graziano'sDo you mean to tell me if I go in there and ask for a Will Special, I will NOT get a big blank stare?

If you go to Graziano's and ask Jim Jr for a Will Special you will absolutely get a Will Special and most likely a story to go with your sandwich.

Creation of Will's Speical, a fun read by Nick Kindelsperger on his blog Paupered Chef.

Yep - stopped by this morning for some breakfast and Jim Jr. confirmed it.

I already got the story, as well as the fact you can order a "Riviera Will Special" (more meat) or a "Graziano Will Special" (Jim's modifications that he thinks lend to a better balance). On top of all that, I also received about a dozen recommendations for local stores and shops I need to visit in the immediate vicinity.

Not a bad addition to my double espresso this morning.

HI,

I keep a slip of paper in my wallet with the Will special ingredients listed. Some years ago, I visited several Italian delis in Highwood ordering off that slip, which I reported here: I wanna be like Will (Special, that is!) - Highwood

What was interesting was the wide range of interpretations and prices. While I prefered Riviera's, I didn't have to travel and certainly it scratched an itch.

Regards,

I went back the other day to try out the Will Special at Graziano's, and it has automatically taken its rightful place as my preferred order. Great balance between all the condiments, particularly the prosciutto, which still shone through despite the spicy ingredients. The additions on basil and dressed lettuce and onion (their version) add a nice crunch and keeps it from being a meat bomb.

And I am pleased to say, that EVERYONE at the store knows what the sandwich is - Jim Jr., both the guys working the sandwich counter, Mrs. G, and even the young girl working the register. When the young lady asked what I was having, I said a "the Will Special" and apparently she could clearly see I was pretty pleased with myself and my new sandwich find...to which she replied, without missing a beat, "Good for you..." and promptly walked away to run my credit card.

What's a guy gotta do to impress a tween in this joint??

On my way out, Jim Jr. jokingly said if I eat enough of these things, they will have to name the sandwich the Dan Special.

I intend to take him up on that offer, whether he meant it or not...