micucci's italian grocery

"unique" and not in a good way.. let me say first off that micucci's italian grocery is an amazingly great italian market with a wonderful selection. thepizzahowever is awful. maybe it's just not my style, but the sauce tasted like chef boyardee and the crust was not even as good as the pre-made dough from the supermarket. it was too much and too thrown together. i can see how you could be bowled over by such and impressively large slice, but the execution was sloppy at best.

not so great. sandwiches were premade and variations on the same boilerplate sandwich. thepizzawas ok. i would not go out of my way to return.

the slab is the bestpizzain portland. steve is great, especially with all his baking magic goodness!

sicilianpizza? 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 tastingpizzaif you like your sauce sweet. but it's only resemblance to silician stylepizza(meaningpizzayou would find in sicily, or anywhere in italy for that matter) is the shape and the cheese portioning. i haven't been to every city in italy, but i've going there for the past 8 years and i've sampledpizzafrom 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. sicilianpizzahas a moderately thick, crispier bottom and lighter middle. while i enjoy the "slab", i see many slices that have large bare patches without sauce or cheese and 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 thepizzaand 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!

as many amazing things as i have read and heard about it, i still think it was completely underrated! thispizzais a vision of perfection with minimal cheese, a sweet homemade red sauce that was beautifully glossy with chunks of tomato on deliciously chewy homemade dough. a word of advice for those dying to try it: go during the week or at a non-peak time on the weekend to avoid a large crowd.

#1 pizza. this is hands down the bestpizzain portland. it's my little secret that i share with friends coming from out of town. don't go here, you will spoil my secret. but really, you should go here.

incredible. the sicilian slabpizzathat baker steve lanzalotta bakes is the finest example of sicilian "slab"pizzai've tasted in the u.s. light, but chewy and hefty. the sauce is absolutely perfect. do not miss this if you are in portland, maine. incredible.

no wonder people stand in line for a slab of pizza!. i had my first slab ofpizzahere recently. it was every bit as good as i had been told. very nice store too, with lots of quality food. get a slab ofpizzaand a cannoli and you will think you are in sicily!

great little place.. inexpensive reggiano tops my list -- about two-thirds of what it costs at the grocery stores, and fresher. (unlike whole foods, they don't leave it out all day!) i'd stay away from the pizza, though, unless you like sugary sauce. tastes like tomato cake, not pizza. as the son of a new haven pizza-man, i hold mypizzato very high standards!

by far the most amazingpizzai've ever had! a big slice of italy!

i love this place. they have excellent pizza(though it's different from my still favorite otto's)! if there's a line for thepizzait's usually worth it to wait but it's a bummer when they sell out . if they do though you can always garb some groceries while you're there to throw together a quick meal for yourself! miccuci's also has the cheapest honey in portland $16 for 5lbs and the cheapest vanilla beans(when they have them) a sealed package of over 20 beans for $17!!

first, you notice the sweetness of the sauce. it catches you off guard.. a far cry from the standard marinara sauces onpizzayou're use to. then comes the saltiness of the cheese, noticeably taking the sweetness just a step further. there are some herbs

simple, cheap, priceless. tucked behind the wines and the bulk spices is a little room with two small tables and a bread rack. the nondescript little bakery puts out breads andpizzathat are unique in the city. mixing and kneading done entirely by hand, using a high hydration ratio, well-chosen flour, and a particular philosophy of the healthiness of bread. the result is a wonderfully ample, billowing dough which stephen claims is as easily digestible as it is irresistible. one slab is lunch.

make no mistake, this is a no frills enterprise. what's on the rack is what's available, end of discussion. slabs are usually carried right off as they come out of the oven. most days eager customers wait patiently in line for the next round, and i feel lucky when i'm among them.

much has been written about the 'sicilian slab' or thepizzathat comes out of the back room bakery at mucucci's grocery co. on india st. in portland. i've heard so much about this mythical slab, that on thursday i decided enough is enough. i read all the

wort the trip. we came to maine from ny. we were glad we did. the freshpizzaand bread was worth the trip. it was so good that we just kept eating. we ate until we could hardly fit through the door. next time we're in portland, we'll definitely make a stop.