Riviera Italian and American Imported Foods

I had seen this little Italian store driving down Harlem Ave. while I drove home every night. Finally decided to stop in. It’s a quaint little family owned store with pastas and a deli. My first stop in I had the Italian Sub and it was stacked with meat. All freshly sliced salamis, meats, and cheese on fresh Italian bread. Today I went with the beef. You can tell the beef was fresh and topped with cheese and giardinera all for $ 5.50. I definitely recommend stopping in for a sandwich if you’re in the area.

Classic Italian corner shop that makes great sandwiches. This place looks and feels like the real deal.

Great Italian grocery store. We were in the neighborhood buying fresh pasta so stopped here to see what else we could buy. We ended up getting a great lunch spread (prosciutto, mozzarella, fresh bread, olives, peppers) — everything you would need. The guy behind the counter wasn’t very friendly, but the lady at the cash register was sooo nice and made a bunch of recommendations. Everything tasted great!
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Great sandwiches, made fresh from meats sliced to order, great bread, quick service. Bring your own napkins! This place beats Bari any day!

all i want to know is, whats up with the little italian social club that is next door to the place? can anyone go in there? do they have exspresso in there?

GREAT sausage here. we get the mild no fennel and always fresh. owners are super friendly and humble. fresh cold cuts, olives, some salads. frozen sauces, and raviolis. all your standard pasta and canned selections.

Street parking on Harlem can be a little inconsistent but they have a small parking lot in back. Hours are limited but it is a small, local grocery store so I try to make it on the weekend.
If you’re there for a sandwich, you choose your bread from the bin and then let them know which sandwich you want. I’ve been there a couple of times and the bread is sort of stale because it is quite crusty. It’s beyond chewy; more like tearing apart with your incisors. The quality of the meat and cheese is quite good and you should let them know what you want (or don’t want) on it. Prices are fair. The arancini at the register (if they aren’t already gone) are definitely good. Because it’s a smaller, local grocery store, the turnover in their frozen and dried goods isn’t always there so you need to check expiration dates.
I had decent expectations considering other Italian delis and grocery stores and reviews on other sites, but I was still disappointed.

this place has the best sankwiches on harlem, hands down! whatever you get add alittle bocconcinni and some of those beautiful red peppers drenched in alittle oil and i’m telling its heaven. just make sure the old man don’t make it cuz he’s alittle shy wit da good stuff, man i’m starving talking about dis.

I really really wanted to like this place, but I just can’t. I ordered the diavola, really excited for the fresh mozzarella. The bread was stale, the prosciutto was old, and there were no toppings on it ie lettuce tomato oil and vinegar. I wasn’t asked if I wanted any of these, so assumed they came on the sandwich. Nope. If it weren’t for the hot peppers on it, this sandwich would’ve been dry as a bone. I also bought a frozen pasta e fagioli, a delicious soup, especially when homemade. After getting home, I realized the date that it had been made was more than two months prior. Still wanting to give this place an honest shot, I heated it up only to find that it had definitely reached its expiration date. So so disappointed. I should just try to give up on finding an authentic AND good Italian deli besides Bari Foods in Chicago.

After hearing through the grapevine that they make a good Barese style sausage so I decided to try it for myself. The lady tells me that its made first thing Monday morning. Even on a Tuesday they run out. Finally, not wanting to take anymore chances, I show up there Monday morning where they actually had a good amount. There it was, presented on a kitchen plate in a coil. I decided to get 1 pound @ $ 3.49 & got the mild with fennel @ $ 3.69. Both weren’t bad at all but, I didn’t see the hype with the Barese. I was also expecting a lot more from this place but, in the end, felt underwhelmed. I also couldn’t find any San Marzano canned tomatoes, which disappointed me very dearly. Pretty much, their canned tomatoes/​olive oil section was slightly better than Jewel & at par with Caputo’s. With that said, most of their stuff was priced well. During the 5 – 6 visits I made here, I never encountered 1 customer, which amazed me, especially when you consider the area that its in.

I’m really, really glad to have found this place on Unilocal.My parents and I used to go here many a moon ago for our pre-​Christmas (or year round) authentic Italian pantry raid.
They have homemade sausages, pasta, and other Italian deil goodies, as well as a fresh and varied selection of imported items such as cookies, beverage syrups, soft drinks, and other goodies.
Very nice, very friendly, and oftentimes, very busy! I haven’t been for ages and I’m due a visit!

It isn’t Bari, but you don’t have to be Bari to be really really effing good.
I love the sandwiches, the Diavola in particular. This is a spicy sandwich and enough of a bargain where the drive to Harlem isn’t a silly proposition.
While you are there pick up some pasta, some pomodori, and an extra sandwich for later.