KNIFE & FORK is published monthly by KNIFE & FORK, INC, 1403 Ponce de Leon Ave. #6 Atlanta, GA 30307.
No portion of KNIFE & FORK may be reproduced without express permission of the publisher.
Publisher/Editor: Christiane Lauterbach
Toscano & Sons
1000 Marietta St.
Open Mon-Fri 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sat 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
No reservations (404-815-8383)
Credit cards: AE, V, MC $
There is no way to avoid words such as "cute" or "adorable" when describing this new Italian market in the gentrifying area west of downtown. The neighborhood is thoroughly smitten with Toscano & Sons, and so will you be as soon as you realize how serious a shopping experience it provides and what marvelous panini it serves in a space that is airy, contemporary, and totally devoid of pretention.
The first thing you need to know about Toscano & Sons is how inexpensive it is. One of the owners (the one with the incongruous British accent) explained to us that, although he expects to make a living, he keeps his prices low enough to appeal to the average shopper. The panini are a mere $4.50 and worth every penny, with fresh ciabatta from Midtown's Bread Garden clamped
over a bounty of delicate meats (the mortadella is especially wondrous) and pungent cheeses such as ripe taleggio and unctuous true fontina. It makes sense that the porchetta panini should be served in its natural state rather than pressed, but all other options are delicious hot.
Yes, some of the olive oils, fig molasses,and artisanal pasta on the shelves can be as expensive as in comparable upscale markets,but a huge range of food items, including pasta flour, polenta, capers packed in salt, butter made from the same milk as Parmigiano Reggiano, red wine vinegar by the liter, Italian sodas like Sanbitter in tiny bottles and Chinotto in a can, and every variety of DeCecco pasta known to man are unexpected bargains. For little more than $8, you can buy a mini antipasto platter vou could easily take on a plane as a sort of upscale meal replacement.
While you are at it, slightly fizzy Cipriani bellini mix, available in six packs, would be a wonderful thing on the kind of European flight where they pour you champagne.
A blackboard above the wine corner highlights some of the main production areas and describes the selections in terms of their geography. The cold case is stocked with some significant cheeses, cured meats, and a few clumps of fresh pasta. There is Italian beer (Peroni) in the refrigerator and Italian candy by the cash register.
The best of our purchases, ten supple slices of speck (like prosciutto but a little
firmer and with more fat) beautifully layered and wrapped in butcher paper, cost us a mere
$2.73 and provided us with the delicious material for two slim, classy sandwiches
