Pandolfi's Deli

If you've never been down to the Columbus Park area of Kansas City, it's worth the trip. It's a throwback to old times, tucked away in the shadows of the downtown Kansas City skyline. Where is it, you ask? Simple: When you get to the River Market...head east. Near the intersection of 5th and Campbell - among old red brick homes and multi-family apartments, and across the street from Holy Cross Catholic Church and around the corner from the original Garozzo's - is a small little Italian deli with a traditional yet fresh menu, welcoming decor, and very, very good food.

This little place is called Pandolfi's Deli. It's received its fair share of press lately - with features in The Kansas City Star and various other blogs.

Fittingly, Pandolfi's is located in the heart of our city's historic Italian neighborhood. There are a few other classic delies in that part of town - none more impressive than Lasala's. That place...whew! You order the sandwhich according to how much of the loaf of bread you want. So a "half loaf" is litterally a half a loaf of Italian bread with meat on it. Yes please!

Anyway, back to this week's featured place: Pandolfi's. I was fortunate enough to share this week's lunch date with two of the world's greatest ladies - my mom and my grandma. There we were, three generations of women...Oh wait...There we were, three generations of family sharing a meal, and opinions about the food we were eating.

And let me tell you ... my grandma - a mother of 10 and head cook for a family that has about 10,000 people come to family parties - and my mom - a mother of 3 and head cook for a family that cherishes its food like its going out of style (seriously, if you've ever seen me, my dad or my brother eat, we guard our plates and bowls with our left arm and eat with our right. It was a matter of survival at the dinner table back in the day.)... know what they are talking about when it comes to food.

Okay, back to Pandolfi's: It's a very clean place, with a simple approach. You walk in through a faux courtyard area that reminds me of Venice...if I'd ever been to Venice. Then you head up to the counter, put in your order, take a seat and wait for the made-from-scratch sandwiches to reach your table.

Open just a few months, Pandolfi's already has a crowd favorite...the muffaletta sandwich, a New Orleans specialty. I, however, have despised olives for the past 30 years. And an olive tapanade (the dressing spread on the muffaletta) isn't my style. So I ordered the next best thing (so I thought): The Italian Meat Sub...Mortadella, salami, spicy capocollo, and fontinella cheese with Pandolfi’s Balsamic
Vinaigrette, lettuce, red onion, tomato. Yum.

How good does this look!

My grandma wisely ordered the meatball sub (the real best thing), served piping hot with melted cheese. She was kind enough to share half with me. Yes, I ate a sandwich and a half for lunch. And no, I don't feel bad about it. Never do.

The Italian bread is made fresh daily from a nearby bakery. I'm always weary of Italian delies and their bread. If the bread's too hard it's a deal breaker. Fortunately for me, Pandolfi's bread is just the right kind of crispy, yet soft. Well done.

Mmmmmeatball sandwich!

Not pictured is my mom's sandwich, the Prosciutto & Pepper...Oven-roasted red bell peppers, havarti cheese, olive oil, lettuce, red onion, tomato. My mom said it was good, but Prosciutto can be persnickitty. If it's fatty, it's sort of tough to chew. Thus was the case with my mom's sandwich. She said the taste was fantastic, but the porsciutto was a little too hard to get down.

FYI...each sandwich costs around $7 or $8. If you add chips and drink, it comes out to be around $10. I'd say its worth it, if you ask me.

I took the liberty of ordering a side of pasta salad - since Mom was paying, of course. It was pretty good, but not incredible. My mother-in-law's recipe blows Pandolfi's out of the water. But it did the trick however...I'm a sucker for pasta salad. Easy to please.

Garbanzo!

Perhaps the most pleasant surprise of our lunch date was dessert. Yes, I ordered dessert too. I orderd the Chocolate Chip Amaretto Brownie. It was absolutely perfect, especially the chocolate and amaretto frosting. It had such a distinct taste, I really can't explain it. It was just darn good.

About a second later, nothing was left.

Well, after the final bite of brownie, I was spent. My mom and grandma picked me up and carried me out of the restaurant, all with smiles on our faces.

I'll definitely be back.

Fin.

-BTF