Restaurant Review: Italian Centre Shop
ITALIAN CENTRE SHOP 10878 95th Street | italiancentre.ca Instagram: @italiancentreshop | Twitter: @ItalianCentre Co-Diners: The E.A.T Crew
Institution of institutions, the Italian Centre has been around since 1959. That's 63 years. Opened by Italian immigrant Frank Spinelli, the roots of this store couldn't be more authentic. The original shop is located in Edmonton's Little Italy (in the McCauley neighbourhood) and there are now a total of four stores in and around Edmonton and one in Calgary. "My store" is the southside one because it's only a few blocks away from my house and I frequent the shop often! When EDify Magazine named the Italian Centre for having the Best Sandwich 2022 no one was surprised. Edmontonians have known this for many years. It's a classic and everyone knows about it. The Italian Centre Shop is mostly a specialty grocery store that focuses on Italian and European ingredients. It's a wonderful store and you are always met with a strong sense of community during each visit. Attached to each store is a Spinelli Bar Italia, named in honour of the store's founder. This cafe was the first place to ever serve lattes and cappuccinos in Edmonton. These restaurant areas of each store location serve coffee, pastries, and light fare. It's a really lovely way to round out the entire experience and to make the shop more than just a "grocery store." I decided to visit the original Little Italy location (for the first time!) on a Sunday afternoon and was prepared to take in all of the sights and sounds. I was also curious to compare the OG store to the southside one, which I'm much more familiar with. It was immediately apparent to me that the Little Italy shop is a type of mecca. It's the mothership. The store itself is larger than the southside one and the buzz is palpable. Packed with the same incredible products and ingredients, the impressive deli, cheese, and bakery departments were firing on all cylinders. So the sandwich. THEE SANDWICH. You will find it within the grocery store, wrapped in brown paper, in one of the coolers. Once you learn the location of the sandwiches in each individual store, you will always find it in the same place. There are three types available; mild, hot, and vegetarian. (In my opinion, "hot" is the only acceptable choice, but to each their own.) They don't sell this sandwich in the cafe. I'm not sure why they don't, but they don't. You have to grab one, pre-made and wrapped, from the cooler and then you can either take it home or take it to the cafe to sit down and eat it. You can pay for it in the cafe though. Once I secured my sandwich, I went into Spinelli Bar Italia to order other items so that I could make a whole meal out of it. The staff is friendly and helpful, quickly gathering all of the requested food. The cafe has a nice feeling to it, bustling with energy. There are old photographs on the walls which add a nice touch. In addition to the indoor seating, each cafe also has an outdoor patio area that I especially enjoy. It reminds me of Italy, sitting outside on a terrazza, sipping cappuccino. (But only before 11am.) I picked up my order and found a table. I will say that the outdoor patio area of the Little Italy location was quite noisy, mainly because of the "colourful" people hanging around the storefront. The southside location is more peaceful and laidback. It also seems a bit more put together, in general. For those reasons I favour it. A coffee is a must. Italian Centre offers a really delicious crema caffe in the summer months and I had to get my hands on one before they're off the menu for the winter. There are three types to choose from and I went for the classic Crema Caffe Original ($3.00) made with Kimbo crema.
What a delight!!! This little 4oz glass is filled with a creamy and refreshing dream! It's sort of like an iced cappuccino, except actually done properly. Cool and smooth, it tastes like a high-quality coffee and feels like an ideal treat for a hot summer's day. Highly recommend trying this before it gets too cold out! Next, lets get straight down to business with THE SANDWICH. Spinelli’s Original Hot Panino Sandwich ($10.00), to be exact.
This is it. The famous sandwich that serves as an old stand-by to many an Edmontonian. You can unwrap it and eat it as-is, or you can take it home and pop it in the oven for a few minutes to get the cheese all melty. Either way makes for a good time. The Italian bread is soft yet crusty, the perfect hug for the sandwich's contents. The array of delicious meats within are generously piled and your tastebuds will definitely meet like likes of spicy salami and mortadella. The cheese is mild and sprinkled with herbs. And the Gloria spread (which has slightly mystified me for years - is this a product in a jar that can be purchased??) is made up of a tasty mix of red pepper and eggplant. It's a classic Italian sandwich and everything about it is just right. Not only is it Italian, but it's Edmontonian. Hot tip! An old friend taught me this. "Panino" is one sandwich. "Panini" are several sandwiches. Carry on and use accordingly! I decided to branch out and try some other things. Who would have thought! The cafe actually serves a wide variety of sandwiches and I used the opportunity to try something new for a change. The Focaccia Ripiena ($9.50) looked really good.
The only sandwich they had available was a roast beef one and I was asked if I wanted it heated up. I said yes. "Focaccia ripiena" means stuffed focaccia, so it's basically describing the use of focaccia as bread to make a sandwich. And this one was really, really good. The soft focaccia itself was studded with jalapeno peppers which brought a spicy kick. Inside, the cheese had melted onto the panini press, creating those amazing crispy cheese edges. And the combination of roast beef slices, cucumber, and artichoke was surprisingly fresh and wonderful. I rarely stray from the Original Hot Panino but this new experience is making me want to pay closer attention to the various sandwich offerings in the cafe. Lastly, there's gotta be dessert, especially with an entire Italian bakery of choices available. I went ultra classic and chose the Pistachio Cannoli ($3.75)
You just can't go wrong. Dense yet flaky pastry wrapped around a creamy, not-too-sweet filling. The pistachios added a great crunch. Not at all different from the cannoli that you can find in Italy itself. The Italian Centre reminds me a lot of the likes of Italian Star Deli in Regina and SanRemo Bakery in Toronto. Very similar vibes and very good sandwiches at all of them. Give them a try! I had a great time getting myself even more acquainted with Italian Centre Shop and especially their original location. This store is legendary and so is their sandwich. Our city is lucky to have them and I look forward to many, many more years of being a loyal customer.
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