Don't forget that the Will Special has also been imortalized in print by Jane and Michael Stern.

Did a sub tour of Chicago today. The point of the trip was to compare Italian subs at Graziano's, Conte di Savoia, Freddy's, Scudiero's, Riviera and Bari. We added two sandwiches to the tour - beef/sausage combo at Johnnie's and a Will's Special at Riviera.

With the exception Conte di Savoia, whose dull sandwich was matched by a dull atmosphere, I thought every sandwich was a hit. It was a phenomenal day of eating and I sit here typing a very content man. But the sandwich that stands head and shoulders above the rest was the Will's Special which was positively mind-blowing. And at $4, it may well be the best sandwich deal in town.

Will: Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Mike G recently wrote a great little write up of the Riv on Saveur's website. I'm not sure if it made the hard copy of the magazine. I thought he did a really great job capturing the Pugliese family's venture well.

As some of you know, I very recently relocated back to Chicago where a few of my new office mates were talking about going to a deli over on Harlem to get some sandwich named after a guy. I tagged along and they were a bit surpised at the reaction I got when I walked in the door. It was at that point that I let them on to the fact that I was "that guy".

The sad thing is that, now in my much reduced state of belly, I can hardly eat a quarter of one.

http://www.saveur.com/article/Travels/c ... dwich-shop

I had my first Will Special today and all I can say is that I put this off way too long.

After a stop at pasta fresh to pick up dinner - a couple lbs. of ravioli (1 lb. crab meat and 1 lb. spinach) 2 pints of vodka sauce, some freshly grated imported Romano and a big bag of arancini, I realized how close I was to Riviera and decided to check this one off the list.
No one batted an eye when I ordered my will special and while they were making it I also picked up some sweet sausage flecked generously with parsley - the guy making my sandwich told me it was his favorite when I asked about it.
After a quick stop a Caputo's (they have some very nice outer skirt steak on sale - $3.99/lb.) I brought my bounty home, secured it in the fridge, and plopped down on the couch with my Will Special and an icy Lemonata.

YourPalWill, I think we all owe you a debt of gratitude. This thing is just perfect.

Glad you enjoyed it. I am due for one myself fore lunch one day this week.

Picked one up this AM. Needed a few other things from Riviera. Thats sandwich was huge, too huge I ate it all and 8 1/2 hours later still not hungry. Next Time Im eating half.

Don't want to have two Will memorial threads going, but I do think this thread deserves a bump.

Without realizing it was a momentous one, I had a Diavolo "Will-style" last Thursday, along with two prosciutto and mozz for the road (one domestic, one Parma, was hoping to detect more of a difference but both were delicious). Mike made 'em all. I think his WS is defter than Carmine's, who is cutting the meats plank-thick lately, but the younger defaults to lettuce & tomato on the prosciutto subs, which need them not. They were all eccentrically generous as usual and used a whole long Italian loaf instead of individual rolls from the bin - still delicious.

My usual shopping list here rounded out the rest of the order - oil-cured Sicilian olives (hot, doctored in house), fresh mozz, six-pack of Chinotto, Italian almond milk syrup, giardiniera, dry pasta, 6-in-1. I admired the late morning light bouncing off the dozens of stovetop espresso makers by the door. As at Freddy's, some opera singer friends have CDs by the register. Provolone, aluminum, and basil permeated the air. Better supplies - and people - are hard to find.

Today's Will Special, made by Carmelo and good as ever.

Recently, I made my first trip to Riviera and picked up a bunch of sandwiches to go for a small gathering of friends - Caprese, Italian, Vegetarian and Will Specials (ordered by name), and multiple of each. When I left, I noticed the sandwiches were labeled "Diavolo" on the outside wrapper, but then I noticed the takeout menu listed the sandwich as Diavolo/Will, i.e., one in the same. I'm not sure if this is a change that has been made, but I think the "Will" had the right ingredients on the sandwich (but won't swear to this).

Let me first say that I was astounded how huge these sandwiches were. They were so big that I had plenty of leftovers. I'll also say that the meats and mozzarella were really terrific. I picked some off to taste them on their own and I was quite impressed. As far as the sandwiches as a whole go, my only complaint is that the bread on all of the sandwiches was past its prime, and everyone commented on this. This was a real problem with the Italian as the sandwich ended up being really dry, but less of a problem for the Will/Diavolo which was still excellent.

A couple of questions I have for more experienced Riv visitors: First, whether you have noticed the takeout menu listing Will & Diavolo as one in the same, and whether this means they have permanently transformed the Will into the Diavolo. Second, is there any way to get around this bread issue (do they have fresher bread typically that can be switched)?

zoid wrote:I had my first Will Special today and all I can say is that I put this off way too long.

This.

zoid wrote:YourPalWill, I think we all owe you a debt of gratitude. This thing is just perfect.

And this.

Hi,

When Will ordered his signature sandwich, he selected his own torpedo bread from the bin. I recall he once cautioned against making a longer sandwich, because he found their bread disappointing. Was your choice of bread for a standard sandwich or something longer to serve a crowd?

When I order Will's sandwich, I always read off his cheat sheet:

Will Special: Hot Sopressata; Hot Cappicola: Salame de Prosciutto; Prosciutto Ham; (Roast Beef on Fridays was added a few months later);fresh mozzarella, a just a bit of hot giardinera on a roll I picked myself from the bread bin.

I am not a Riviera regular by any definition. The first time I visited Riviera and asked for the Will Special by name, they asked if I knew Will. Until then it had always been his office buddies, which I clearly was not.

The addition of Diavolo is new-to-me, though others may comment. It would be interesting if someone asked Riviera directly.

Regards,

Riviera has a relatively new menu board that clearly identifies the Diavolo and the Will as the same sandwich, but prosciutto has been removed as an ingredient. Still a great sandwich.

That meat on top sure looks like prosciutto but it if the menu is correct, it's coppa.

The top layer of meat sure looks like prosciutto with the soppresata* just underneath.

I wish I traveled in that area more often, that is a really terrific sandwich.

Will did occasionally add roast beef into the mix, too. I still have his sandwich order in my wallet to this day:

Will Special: Hot Sopressata; Hot Cappicola: Salame de Prosciutto; Prosciutto Ham; (Roast Beef on Fridays was added a few months later);fresh mozzarella, a just a bit of hot giardinera on a roll I picked myself from the bread bin.

*Edited to correct myself after seeing Gary's picture of soppresata earlier in the thread.
Regards,

Copa and prosciutto look pretty similar once sliced because they're pretty much the same thing, from a curing/aging perspective. Copa comes from the shoulder and prosciutto (ie., ham) from the leg--think of it as the same as guanciale vs pancetta.

Pro tip: adding the marinated eggplant to pretty much any of their sandwiches is strongly recommended. It adds a great counterpoint to the meats and cheese.

I'm lucky to work close to here, it's my go to lunch option.

I just wanted to note that I got a Will Special on Saturday morning, and it came on fresh D'Amatos bread. The counter guy cut it from a new loaf while I was waiting. It was glorious.

I also got a pound of hot and a pound of Barese Italian sausage, both were excellent on the charcoal grill.

randy77 wrote:I just wanted to note that I got a Will Special on Saturday morning, and it came on fresh D'Amatos bread. The counter guy cut it from a new loaf while I was waiting. It was glorious.

I also got a pound of hot and a pound of Barese Italian sausage, both were excellent on the charcoal grill.

I might be wrong, but I thought that they got all of their bread from Liborio.

Cito, I am no expert when it comes to Riviera and their usual bread, but on Saturday (around 8:30am) my sandwich definitely was made with D'amatos. I watched the guy grab a fresh long loaf of D'amatos from a small basket on the other side of the deli and cut a length for the sandwich. The bread was wrapped in the yellow/green D'amatos paper sleeve. I'll try and post a pic of what I got later if I can.

Anybody know where I can get a current copy of their menu?