My Big Field Trip - 4.5.2009

Easter is this coming Sunday and my family primarily celebrates the food and pagan aspects (plastic eggs, imaginary bunnies, baskets, etc). In preparation for entertaining dinner guests on Easter, I made a trip to Carfagna's Market on Sunday. I also loaded up on grilling foods. If you've never been to Carfagna's, you are missing out. They have the best deli, meats, and homemade pastas in the city.

A foodie's paradise, if you favor Italian foods and great quality meats. But don't confuse it with Whole Foods. Although this place is no-frills, it puts the prices and selection at Whole Foods to shame.

I arrived at Carfagna's 10 minutes after it opened on Sunday and grabbed a cart and promptly took a number at the counter. I was number 83. I waited about 15 minutes before my number was called and enjoyed every minute of my wait, mentally planning my mile long list.


And here are the goods! As I took this picture, Tony mocked me. He said "What are you going to do? Take a picture of a bunch of white packages? No one knows what's in them. Are you going to photograph every label too?" I tried to explain to Tony that white packages are fancy... Deli items and meats come wrapped in styrofoam and plastic wrap at regular grocery stores. Carfagna's wrapps everything in white paper! FYI - Here's what I came home with:

1. 1/2 of Italian proscuitto. I had a small stroke when I realized the cost, but Tony loves it so i bought it anyway.
   
2. 2 pounds of ground beef
3. 3 pounds of boneless split chicken breasts
4. 1 pound of cajun marinated boneless chicken breasts
5. 1/2 pound of homemade bratwurst
6. 2 pounds of spicy chicken brats
7. An entire beef tenderloin, cut in to filets (to grill on Easter because ham is so passe)
   
8. The best deli turkey that i have ever had. They make a lot of their deli meats on site.
   
9. Thinly sliced provolone cheese
10. Thinly sliced co-jack cheese
11. Thinly sliced Geneo Salami
12. FYI - everything tastes better when it is thinly sliced!
    
13. Nathan's Famous all beef hotdogs
14. 3 cans of 6 in 1 canned tomatoes. This tomatoes are magic! I noticed that all of the best hole-in-the wall places in NYC have their shelves lined with this brand of ground tomatoes, for a good reason.
15. 3 cans of imported crushed tomatoes
16. Some other stuff for grilling - tomatoes, buns, lettuce
17. Several kinds of pasta

Later in the day we grilled out for the first time this year - hotdogs, hamburgers, brats, and chicken. And I forgot to take a picture of the food! DAMN IT!!!