A good Italian sandwich is a beautiful thing. Before I was married I lived in an apartment in downtown Santa Barbara with many roommates. It was fun to live just a couple blocks from the main strip. And one of the best things was that we lived just around the corner from an Italian market, simply called, The Italian Grocery. It is a tiny little market that has a very nice deli counter with very big and tasty sandwiches. The sandwiches are packed with real Italian cured meats, like capocollo, sopressata, cotto salami, genoa salami, and cheese. It is topped simply with tomato and lettuce and then dressed with mayo and with oil. Whenever I am in town I drop by this market for a sandwich. I have searched high and low for another Italian store like this but have not had much luck. When I lived in Chicago I kept taking little trips to try to find one but I never did. I am sure there must be one but I never figured out where. In Chicago there is a Little Italy but not a hometown market quite like this one. I bet Italian locals know where one is but for now this little tiny one in Santa Barbara is my favorite.
