Fratelli Market - Stamford, CT

Phil #14 is all about quality and not quantity.  He is not looking to post everyday, but tries to submit a great post about once a week.  Phil has yet to let me down after another quality submission about the Fratelli Market in Stamford.  I have not confirmed whether these are the same Fratellis from The Goonies, but if they are, they make great sandwiches.  As a bonus, Phil was able to get a picture of a celebrity while he was in there.

My only complaint with their sandwiches and most deli sandwiches that I have come across is how they put the cheese on last.  Putting the cheese on last creates the taco affect and you only get to taste the cheese in a few bites (See the picture below).  In all of my sandwich crafting experiences at the deli's I have worked at, I always put the cheese down first on the split hero roll making sure to cover the top half.  That way, when you fold it over, the cheese covers the meats and you get more cheese per bite.

Unlike the sandwich in the previous post, The Healthy Italian, this sandwich has all the good stuff.  Fat, Salt, and Cholesterol. 

"I’ve been working in the Stamford office this week which usually calls for lunch excursions with my fellow colleagues in the office. Yesterday, the crew consisting of Sweet Katie, Chad, Corey, and the Officer (Dave Pergola) decided to take a trip to Fratelli Market. When traveling with the Officer, there are limited spots that you can go to without someone ending up getting a nightstick to the jaw, fortunately Fratelli is tucked away on a side road off of High Ridge so there isn’t too much opportunity for him to lose his cool. Fratelli Market is an Italian deli that I found out about while playing golf with an Egyptian ex-pro soccer player. At the 9th hole, the guy (about 60 years old) took out a fresh mozzarella, tomato, and basil sandwich on pressed ciabatta bread, drizzled with some balsamic vinegar. The thing looked unbelievable. As if the guy read my mind, he offered me half of the sandwich and began to rave about this Fratelli place. He claimed it was the best mozzarella he has ever had, so I had to check it out. A few days later I was in the office and told one of the more recent prison escapees (Greg Scalo aka Lunch Pail) about the deli. We got it for lunch and it did not disappoint. I now consider Fratelli one of the better Italian delis in Stamford, and they are famous for great mozzarella, paninis, and they know how to stuff a sandwich pretty well. I opted to go for the “Isabellas Italian Combo”, which is one of the better Italian combos that I’ve had, and I like how they give you the option of hot or sweet capicola and sopressata. The sandwich I ordered ended up being: Imported Proscuitto, Hot Capicola, Sweet Sopressata, Mortadella, Provolone, lettuce, tomato, roasted red peppers and some balsamic vinegar. Let me let you something else, this ain’t no subway or quiznos sandwich either (GRPD), this meat is the real deal. My only complaint is it seemed like the guy was in a hurry, so the meat was a little lopsided towards one side, messing with the equilibrium of the sandwich. I will say that this is an isolated event and usually their sandwiches are very neatly packed. All in all, I would recommend Fratelli market if you want a good Italian sandwich on good bread, although it can get a little pricey. There are also some good people that work there – ended up giving us some complimentary lemon cookies that were a nice unexpected treat. "

- Phil #14

Check out this bad boy – Phil ended up going half for lunch, half for dinner.

Looks like Ray Romano and Phil have the same tastes.  Here is a picture of Mr. Romano with the Isabella’s as well, notice the consistency between sandwiches, mark of a good deli.  Ray was nice enough to let Phil take a picture, great guy.