micucci's italian grocery

since 1951 this old school italian grocery has been serving downtown portland, maine and anyone familiar with bay cities in santa monica will feel right at home here. while bay cities is renowned for the godmother, the mother of all italian sandwiches, micucci’s is known for their pizza.  it’s a sicilian slab, coming on doughy bread with sweet sauce andcheeseand those in the know will line up for it for half an hour if need be (and the need is often).

sicilian pizza ? no, but you'll like it. i'm not trying to be an italian food snob, but rather to offer an "opinionated clarification". the "slab" is a good tasting pizza if you like your sauce sweet. but it's only resemblance to silician style pizza (meaning pizza you would find in sicily, or anywhere in italy for that matter) is the shape and thecheeseportioning. i haven't been to every city in italy, but i've going there for the past 8 years and i've sampled pizza from more than 30 different towns all around the country, including several on the island of sicily. not once have i tasted a sauce that sweet on any italian pizza, nor a crust that doughy and soft on a sicilian style pie. sicilian pizza has a moderately thick, crispier bottom and lighter middle. while i enjoy the "slab", i see many slices that have large bare patches without sauce orcheeseand i won't pay $4.50 for a slice of flavored bread. so ... though i may sound like i speak sacreligious about one of portland's favorite pies, i think there's room for improvement on the evenness of the slices. as for the sauce, you either love it or you don't... that's not going to change. i just had to respond to those reviewers who call the "slab" a "real slice of italy". it's no more authentically italian than the chicken parmesan you'll find at the olive garden, but that doesn't mean you won't like it! :)


-----22 aug, 2012-----

new sandwich at miccuci's. they've added a couple of new sandwiches back by the pizzas. one is an italian that comes with a small canoli which i haven't tried yet. the other one i had today - genoa, provolone, mortadella, olives and mild hot peppers on a mufaletta style bread, all for $5. sounds like it should be delicious, but i was quite disappointed mostly in the bread, though the meats were rather bland as well. if you're accustomed to a new orleans style mufaletta, you won't recognize this sandwich. the bread was tough, chewy, thick and completely overwhelmed the meats. it was hard work to chew it and i actually gave up and took the sandwich home and put it on different bread! even then, neither the meats nor the spread had much zest or flavor. i'd rather see a cappicola or hot ham on there to liven it up. the green olives especially seemed lifeless, as if they'd been sitting in water for too long.

this is new for them and hopefully they'll work out the kinks, but i can't say i enjoyed it and would buy it again. i do recommend micucci's for anything else from their store... deli meats, cheeses, pasta, sausage, ravioli, wine, canned goods. i love the store and the service and shop there often, but this sandwich wasn't a winner... not yet.


-----09 feb, 2011-----

the best deli and wine - period !. if heaven were a grocery store, it would be micucci's. you already know about the pizza and pastries that knock your socks off, but the deli is without a doubt, the best in the city for quality and value. you won't find "boars head meats" here, thank goodness, but you will find great prices and tasty meats, cheeses and sausages, pastas and canned goods in individual or bulk packaging. the wine prices are the best around... really, no one is better and i drink a ton of wine so i know! there are lots of hidden wine gems on the shelves, so you'll be rewarded if you steer away from the common stuff and try things you don't know, like a $14 bottle of anglianico or a salice salento reserve. my only warning is this:micucci's is habit forming!

how can something called the slab taste so sweet? maybe it was the weather. i had never been in before and was unabashedly charmed by the india street market. perhaps i was hallucinating and high on premature spring temperatures, but i felt as if i had been there before, adding chick peas and pellegrino to my basket. up the stairs to the right, i found baker's shelves stacked with freshly made imperfect squares, and without further ado, boxed one up, paid and hightailed it home. if you haven't had micucci's pizza, we are living in parallel realities. i am different than i was before. there is something so sublime about this pizza, unlike any i have had known. thick as the name implies, but not at all heavy; the dough of the crust is soft and airy. sauce that is fruitsome yet not cloying. and acheeselayer that inspires the best of us to employ a lighter hand when slinging mozarella. each component has integrity and complements the whole. each bite invites the one that follows, until t

oh my god pizza. i can't start to eat a slice without thinking of getting another one for some one else or just myself. this pie does not compare to any ny pie .well worth the trip up just to get a taste.


-----01 apr, 2010-----

rainy day. it was a nice thing to do for the evening. it was different and change is good. we made a really easter/cheesecake using farro. it had a nice crust on the bottom and was filled with a custard orange blossom waster,marscpone, ricotta cheese, farro and an other crust was made on the top. while it baked we made a delicious light salad from fennel, onioins, water cress, red grapfruit, pine nuts and large pieces of grated cheese. there was also coffee breads and ham brought up to taste while we were all chatting. we ate the salad which was great and then waited a bit for the cake to cool down before we had a piece of that . i found it to be a perfect night in spite of all the rain outside. i'm comming back again.