In this neighborhood that I have written about before, with great businesses like The Original Nottoli & Son, Italian-centric merchants flourish.
One is the Sicilia Bakery, which sells all kinds of delicious goodies as you’ve never imagined, creative takes on the traditional Italian cannoli, plus cookies, Italian ices, coffee, a multitude of breads, and sandwiches. My friend went for the sweet treats, I went because they sell my favorite sandwich in the whole world, the traditional muffaletta New Orleans style.
Perched on about a nine-inch round loaf of bread, several types of Italian cold cuts meat cheese and a blanket of “olive salad” finely diced olives and pickled vegetables. The proper sandwich is then doused with olive oil, and one is advised to let it sit for about ten minutes to let the oil soak into the bread.
And oh yeah, slices of pizza, which I actually FORGOT to try!
I’ve written a lot about the muffaletta from different joints around the country. I encourage you to read every single one of the reviews!
Sicilia’s muffaletta was great, best I have had outside of New Orleans, only one small gripe, their olive salad should be a bit saltier and less vinegar-y.
What little I got to taste of the cannoli were truly superb. I risked losing a finger or two if I went in to aggressively. The local program “Chicago’s Best” however, took a better look at them.
Check out the short video.
Sicilia Italian Bakery Chicago Review
Sicilia Italian Bakery Chicago Review