Isgro's, Sarcones and Di Bruno's

[brescd01]

Yesterday my wife threw a party for her 34th and her having finished her dissertation (Rhetoric, U Minnesota), catered by Isgros and Sarcones.

Isgro's "best cake" was good, not great, as were their petit fours. Sarcone's antipasto plates and sandwiches were good, not great. And Di Bruno's prepared foods (I throw them in just to stir the pot) are good, not great. Di Bruno's greatest sin is monotony of dressings and preparations.

Now I love Di Bruno's and I would use Sarcone's in a heartbeat for another party, don't get me wrong. And I have not had better sandwiches in Philadelphia (or better antipasto). Nevertheless, I was underwhelmed by Philadelphia's best.

Now bring it on.

Edited June 22, 2008 by brescd01 (log)

[MarketStEl]

You sound a little like Dana Cowin.

ISTR her problem with Philadelphia's food scene is that while there's a lot of good stuff here, there are very few examples of truly outstanding anything. Yet somehow the whole was greater than the sum of its parts.

Sarcone's reputation is based on the quality of its bread, and as any hoagie maven could tell you, bread ain't beanbag when it comes to making a great sandwich; Sarcone's is about the best you can get in Philly. But neither are the meats and accompaniments, and while Philadelphians' loyalty to the hometown boys is admirable, there's much better than Dietz & Watson out there; locally, I've found both Thumann's and Boar's Head outrank D&W on the quality scale.

DiBruno's may know the tastes of their customers, who (I suspect) aren't looking for New Adventures on their appetizer trays. I hope I'm wrong, but suspect I'm not.

As I'm not a big sweets eater, I can't speak to Isgro's, but suggest you might want to try Termini Bros. or Flying Monkey for purposes of comparison.

[etalanian]

Sarcone's uses shortening in their baked goods, as does Isgro's. And if they do that, I would venture that it is probable that they also use mixes, and don't bake from scratch. Termini's is the same - shortening and/or margarine. This is common knowledge because it was Isgro's and termini's that caused the brouhaha when the city of Philadelphia wanted to ban trans fats. They said that if they had to take trans fats out of their products they would go out of business.

I know I am a nudge about this, but using butter makes ALL the difference in cakes and pastries. (Granted, lard produces an exceptional product in some cases, but that's another thread.)

They don't use the best ingredients, so their products won't have the best flavor. There are much better places to get desserts - The Night Kitchen in Chestnut Hill makes high quality, exceptional desserts and cakes; Metropolitan Bakery (although they don't do celebration cakes) is particular about everything they make; and Flying Monkey is a high quality butter house. Any of these might be more expensive, but you get what you pay for.

Especially for a special event, why not pay the extra cost to have the best?

I agree with you on the DiBruno's description - all the same flavors for so many dishes.

Eileen

Edited June 22, 2008 by etalanian (log)

[brescd01]

Flying Monkey sounds worth a visit. I am a huge Philadelphia booster and I love the food scene here, one random thought is that I never saw a city try so hard to refine the bar menu and expand beer offerings, NYC can't touch us in either regard. These are just 3 icons that fall short of their reputations, in my view. Plus, there is plenty of bad food in NYC, not every place is miraculous there. I guess that the whole of Philadelphia food is greater than the sum of its parts, might be true.

[Holly Moore]

Sarcone's would not have been my choice for catered sandwiches. Once their bread is sliced the edges will dry - unless the sandwiches are covered with plastic wrap in which case the bread will lose some or all of its crust and substance.

One the other hand, a Sarcone's hoagie, is as good as it gets and every bit a Philadelphia icon. Chickie's is just as good, as is Salumeria, though too upscale to be an icon hoagie.

[wkl]

Yesterday my wife threw a party for her 34th and her having finished her dissertation (Rhetoric, U Minnesota), catered by Isgros and Sarcones.

Isgro's "best cake" was good, not great, as were their petit fours. Sarcone's antipasto plates and sandwiches were good, not great. And Di Bruno's prepared foods (I throw them in just to stir the pot) are good, not great. Di Bruno's greatest sin is monotony of dressings and preparations.

Now I love Di Bruno's and I would use Sarcone's in a heartbeat for another party, don't get me wrong. And I have not had better sandwiches in Philadelphia (or better antipasto). Nevertheless, I was underwhelmed by Philadelphia's best.

Now bring it on.

←

is isgro's really considered one of philly's best bakeries?

as for dibruno's, prepared food sitting around waiting to be bought is rarely memorable no matter who is preparing it. i think of dibruno as a philly best for cheese, and imported meats.

[Holly Moore]

Isgro's is great for cannoli and cookies - and nougat around holiday time. Not my choice for cake. If one wants an "icon" of a Philadelphia cake - it has to be the Carrot Cake from Frog Commissary caterers (or butterscotch krumpets).

[brescd01]

There are fabulous prepared foods nevertheless, as anyone who shopped in the most modest "tratteurs" in Paris, can attest. I always thought Zabars had some wonderful prepared foods, obviously with a Jewish slant, which might have been what I appreciated. Actually, any of the many gourmet supermarkets in NYC had various prepared foods that were memorable at one moment or another. Gourmet supermarkets have never taken hold in Center City. I tried Wegman's prepared foods once (Cherry Hill) and it was memorably awful, so bad I penned a letter to the company. WHole Foods is pretty awful too.

We had hoagies from Sarcones and the bread was very good Italian bread. And the hoagie pieces were good. Just not great.

[Holly Moore]

Out of curiosity, do you feel any place serves a "great" hoagie? Understand that a similar Italian style sandwich in France or Italy is not a hoagie.

[wkl]

There are fabulous prepared foods nevertheless, as anyone who shopped in the most modest "tratteurs" in Paris, can attest. I always thought Zabars had some wonderful prepared foods, obviously with a Jewish slant, which might have been what I appreciated. Actually, any of the many gourmet supermarkets in NYC had various prepared foods that were memorable at one moment or another. Gourmet supermarkets have never taken hold in Center City. I tried Wegman's prepared foods once (Cherry Hill) and it was memorably awful, so bad I penned a letter to the company. WHole Foods is pretty awful too.

We had hoagies from Sarcones and the bread was very good Italian bread. And the hoagie pieces were good. Just not great.

←

i guess i just disagree. i've had good and very good prepared foods in many cities, but never great.

the best sandwich in philly is, imho, either dinics or tony luke's roast pork. i would put them in the great catagory for sandwiches. but at the same time i doubt they travel well. best consummed on site.

[Bluehensfan]

Flying Monkey sounds worth a visit. I am a huge Philadelphia booster and I love the food scene here, one random thought is that I never saw a city try so hard to refine the bar menu and expand beer offerings, NYC can't touch us in either regard. These are just 3 icons that fall short of their reputations, in my view. Plus, there is plenty of bad food in NYC, not every place is miraculous there. I guess that the whole of Philadelphia food is greater than the sum of its parts, might be true.

←

Flying Monkey will likely be a disapoointment if you ask me. The icing on their products tastes very redolent of lard. Think of how sweet the icing is at Magnolia in NYC, and switch the word lard for the Flying Monkey.

If you want a great moist cake with a sweet but not lardy icing, try Brown Betty Desserts in Northern Liberties.

As far as prepared foods go, all seem to be hit and miss. Some things at DiBruno's are good but others are not...it depends on their supplier. The same goes for say, cookies at Whole Foods. The cookies in Philly Whole Foods are well, horrible, while the ones at Chicago Whole Foods (thanks to Carol's Cookies) are great. Even big chains like Starbuck's use different local suppliers for things like blueberry muffins, so that's why the same labeled product tastes different in different regions of the country.

Also, as an aside, when you have big catered affairs, the food is never as good as when you go to a restaurant and order a single meal.

Edited June 23, 2008 by Bluehensfan (log)

[etalanian]

Wow, Bluehensfan, I couldn't disagree with you more. I've watched them bake and mix frostings at Flying Monkey, and they definitely use butter. And my family, which is very very fussy about their baked goods, loves the cupcakes they sell.

As far as catering, I use Feast Your Eyes for my events, and my foodie friends and family are always extremely impressed. Not just "thanks, great food" impressed, but sending written thank you notes for the wonderful party and amazing food impressed. Everything is made from scratch and fresh, and you can tell when you taste it. I think who you choose as your caterer will determine how good the food is. You have to be very selective.

Starbucks serves some of the worst baked goods in the world, IMHO. I never go there unless it is the only coffee shop around and I am desperate. and then I only buy coffee, never anything from their baked goods case.

As far as prepared foods, it's always a crap shoot. It's tough to keep food lying around in wait for a buyer.

I would love to hear from someone who knows of a great place for take away prepared food in Philly.

Eileen

[Holly Moore]

As far as prepared foods, it's always a crap shoot. It's tough to keep food lying around in wait for a buyer.

I would love to hear from someone who knows of a great place for take away prepared food in Philly.

Eileen

←

Top of mind, Sweet Lucy's Smokehouse on State Road

[mrbigjas]

Wow, Bluehensfan, I couldn't disagree with you more. I've watched them bake and mix frostings at Flying Monkey, and they definitely use butter. And my family, which is very very fussy about their baked goods, loves the cupcakes they sell.

i've never been thrilled with anything i've had from flying monkey, but... lard? no one ever uses lard in frosting, do they? i mean, pie crusts, doughs, sure. but frostings?

i don't understand the fascination with italian bakery cookies. i've had them numerous times from all the big ones, and they're always nearly flavorless, slightly sweet, bland as hell. i mean, how a cookie can be completely covered with pine nuts and still taste like nothing but vague sweetness is beyond me. waste of calories, if you ask me.

[brescd01]

I am not entirey objective right now because we ate Sarcone's leftovers tonight for dinner and my gut is...reminding me of this, over and over.

No, I have never had a great hoagie.

There are great prepared foods in both France and Italy. Brazilian barbecue places serve wonderful prepared foods with their meat. Of course, we are speaking in generalities. The bread of the Sarcone's hoagie was very good, mind you.

I recently had an authentic baguette from Di Bruno's. No idea where it came from, though

[rlibkind]

Out of curiosity, do you feel any place serves a "great" hoagie?  Understand that a similar Italian style sandwich in France or Italy is not a hoagie.

As you mentioned earlier, Salumeria does it for me. There are a lot of good hoagies in town -- I love the Old Fashioned Italian at Sarcone's and the Old Sicilian (at least I think that's what it's called) at Primo -- but Salumeria is my fav, especially when you go for the house dressing (an herbed vinaigrette) and marinated artichokes among the garnishes.

I don't think of Italian pastry shops like Isgros and Terminis as the best places for cakes, though I mildly disagree with mrbigjas about the cookies. They aren't meant to be extraordinarily sweet or with pronounced flavors; instead, they are designed to be simple accompaniments to a nice cup of coffee. (Though I'd rather have a simple anise biscotti). As for the pastries, I generally stick to the sfogliatelle or canolis, though I have occasionally indulged in something like the Pesce Alla Crema to much delight; that last item bowled over a visiting friend from Devon (UK) last September.

As for cakes and general baked goods, I've said it before and I'll say it again: what Center City lacks is a good all-purpose bakery. Alas, they hardly exist anymore, a bakery where you could get good breads and rolls well as better-than-average cakes, pies and sweet rolls. Kaplan's New Model Gold Medal in Northern Liberties comes closest as far as bakeries in/near Center city go, but iirc they really don't do cakes. A place like the German-stlyle Haegele's (though it lacks much in the way or breads) or the kosher bakeries like Lipkin, Weiss and Hesh's Eclair in the Northeast (which generally do better on breads than sweet items) come closer to my ideal.

Flying Monkey does a great job with what they do: cupcakes, brownies and cookie bars. But that's pretty much all they do. Where, pray tell, can one find a Dobish torte in Center City? (Some of the Jewish bakeries in the Northeast have them. Similar items can be found at the Russian/Eastern European supermarkets, but they come out of commercial bakeries and are only passable.) If only Rindelaub's and Swiss Pastry Shoppe were still around!

[KatieLoeb]

I've never been disappointed with anything I've ever purchased from Varallo Brothers Bakery at 1639 South 10th Street (@Morris). Cakes are fantastic, cookies all delicious and the cannollis are better than any of the more "famous" ones around town that I've tried. The "special cannollis" have Strega-laced filling and the ends of the shells are dipped in dark chocolate. Oh yeah. These guys beat Isgro's and Termini's by a mile. And at a fraction of the price.

[Andrew Fenton]

If only Rindelaub's and Swiss Pastry Shoppe were still around!

I'm going to look silly if this is wrong, but didn't the Swiss Pastry Shoppe reopen?

[mrbigjas]

If only Rindelaub's and Swiss Pastry Shoppe were still around!

I'm going to look silly if this is wrong, but didn't the Swiss Pastry Shoppe reopen?

←

yeah.

[Holly Moore]

Though likely varying with where a class is in the term, and the focus of the current instructor, the Restaurant School's pastry program has always been a reliable source for special occasion cakes.

[rlibkind]

If only Rindelaub's and Swiss Pastry Shoppe were still around!

I'm going to look silly if this is wrong, but didn't the Swiss Pastry Shoppe reopen?

←

Wow, that tells you how often I get to that block in Center City! Same spot?

Edited to add: Just googled it, and now it's the Swiss Haus Bakery.

Edited June 23, 2008 by rlibkind (log)

[wkl]

Out of curiosity, do you feel any place serves a "great" hoagie?  Understand that a similar Italian style sandwich in France or Italy is not a hoagie.

←

not in philadelphia, but my only trip to white house in atlantic city was by far the best sub i've ever eaten.

[Holly Moore]

Out of curiosity, do you feel any place serves a "great" hoagie?  Understand that a similar Italian style sandwich in France or Italy is not a hoagie.

As you mentioned earlier, Salumeria does it for me. There are a lot of good hoagies in town -- I love the Old Fashioned Italian at Sarcone's and the Old Sicilian (at least I think that's what it's called) at Primo -- but Salumeria is my fav, especially when you go for the house dressing (an herbed vinaigrette) and marinated artichokes among the garnishes.

←

I really like Salumeria's hoagie. In fact I remember my first - passed to me in the rear seat of a Mercedes while motoring I-95 en route to a fancy suit and tie Oyster dinner at a private club in Baltimore. Their hoagie was wonderful. As I recall, I preferred the hoagie to the oysters.

I think of a Salumeria hoagie as I do a Schmitter approach to a cheesesteak - an outstanding variation on a theme, but more a hybrid than a classic.

Edited June 23, 2008 by Holly Moore (log)

[mattohara]

i saw this post late at night and didn't respond right away. i knew there would be a flood. here's my .02:

get a sarcone's turkey sicilian on the way to a picnic. i've never had a reason to have something catered but if i did i probably would not get sarcone's subs or antipasti. it's more suitable for a baseball game than a birthday party.

i'll second all recommendations for brown betty. i've sampled a lot of cupcakes around town (i was forced into it) and they are hands-down my favorite in all ways. naked chocolate does some great stuff too.

the only thing i care about in the italian pastry realm is the Amaretti/Almond Macaroon. and termini's got the best.

[philadining]

I wonder if any place's large order of pre-prepared hoagies is going to cross the line from "good" to "great." Hoagies are a little more hardy than some types of foods, but I'd suggest that they're at their best right after they're made.

So this is a helpful datapoint for anyone thinking of using Sarcone's to cater a party, but I'm not sure how much it says about Sarcone's hoagies in general.

And I'm with Matt - Brown Betty's cupcakes rock.