Ariccia Italian Market

Date of Opening: 6/15/2012
Price: $9 per panini
Location: 7441a Girard Ave, La Jolla, CA 92037
website

The Quick Bit

+ high quality product selection

+ extensive selection of hard to find rare ingredients

+ high quality imported goods

+ friendly service

+ fresh made flavored pasta

Δ customers may not realize the quality of product they are purchasing

Δ could be greater number of items on sale

I've covered Ariccia Italian Market in the past, but last week marked the soft opening of the market. It is to be followed up with a Grand Opening in the coming weeks, but the market is off to a nice start as they try to figure things out and get things going.

I first attended a pre-opening party where many of the products sold were on display for sampling and then followed up by visiting on the actual opening day where I tried a famous porchetta panini and bought some fresh made pasta.

Pre-Opening Party

porchetta

The porchetta was available for sampling. The crispy skin was a very nice contrast to the moist flavorful pork center. Ariccia is named after the city that produces porchetta in Italy, so it is only fitting that they serve a great porchetta.

jamon iberico

This was actually the first time I've had iberico directly off the leg. It had a very nice and deep flavor that contained a lot of umami along with rich pork flavor.

selection of cheeses

left to right - candied hazelnuts, candied walnuts, valencia almonds

I really enjoyed the nut selection. Aside from the large ticket meat items, the almonds were perhaps my favorite item available for sampling.

duck salami

duck prosciutto

berkshire pork sopressata

venison and berkshire pork salami

black truffle and berkshire pork salami

berkshire pork salami

The selection of salumi was a very nice spread. My favorite of the bunch was the duck prosciutto, but the black truffle berkshire pork salami was a close second. The duck prosciutto contained a real depth of duck flavor and the fat from the duck really enhanced the flavors of the meat.

foie gras torchon

With such a large stock of foie gras, it appears that Ariccia will be selling the product right up until the impending ban. The quality of the torchon was very nice as there was a nice crunchy crust to the outside.

Products at Ariccia

I took the opportunity to snap ome shots of the products I found more interesting at a quick glance

fresh pasta

Of course there were some fresh pastas on sale including the beer pretzel pasta that I sampled earlier.

I ended up taking some of the squid ink pasta home and creating my own dish with it:

I used a preparation with only a light sauce so that the flavor of the squid ink would come through. I succeeded in my preparation and I was extremely happy with the pasta. I definitely recommend the flavored fresh pastas. And don't be afraid to ask for recipe recommendations using the pastas as the owners are well versed in several tasty preparations of the product.

preserved seafood

In Spain, the preserved seafood actually sells for more than fresh seafood. The preservation process is of high quality and the process of preserving the seafood actually marinates the flavors and allows them to shine even more. I was excited to see that Ariccia was carrying some of this product.

Panini

porchetta panini - ciabatta, grilled onions, arugula, porchetta

The porchetta panini was a simple preparation of fresh ingredients. The flavors really came through and the sandwich was extremely enjoyable. Further - the size of the sandwich was enormous and I was more than full after just eating the sandwich.

Conclusion

Ariccia Italian Market is off to a great start - carrying a large selection of high quality gourmet ingredients. Even more, it is a great place to stop by for a panini during lunch or pastry and coffee in the mornings. I really look forward to seeing how the store evolves over time and will be making several visits myself for all those special dinners.

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Ariccia Market Preview

Location: 7441 Girard Ave, La Jolla, CA 92037 

website

I'm going to break form a little this week and do a preview of an exciting gourmet market opening in La Jolla early 2012.

Disclosure: Before we get on with the good stuff, I just figure I should say that I am friends with the owner of Ariccia Market. I also didn't pay for any of the food shown in this blog post.

Just so you guys stick around, there is an exciting 6 courses of food that I go over later in this post. Feel free to skip the intro and scroll to the good stuff if that is your prerogative.

Owner Robert (Bobby) Pasucci has a love affair with porchetta, so when he opened his market, he decided to name his market after the town where porchetta originated - Ariccia. The market as imagined is a high end boutique Italian Market; at Ariccia Market, customers will be able to buy high quality products for everyday or special occasion meals. Oftentimes when shopping for that special meal, one has to shop at several different markets to get all the ingredients they need. However, Bobby imagines Ariccia as a "one stop shop" for all the culinary needs for that special meal.

The products that will be featured at Ariccia include hand made pastas, hand made sauces for those pastas, a selection of high end boutique Italian wines, cheeses, and charcuterie. Additionally, Ariccia will feature coffee, pastries, and a small selection of lunch selections.

When Bobby invited me to sample some of the items he plans to have at Ariccia, I quickly agreed. He originally planned a six course menu, but seeing that I was getting near my limit, he thoughtfully limited it to five courses. The below is all food that will be carried at Ariccia. The handmade pastas and raviolis will be packaged to sell, the sauces will be sold in jars, and the sandwich will be offered for lunch.

Amuse:

uni and lardo crostini

This course illustrates how something simple in Italian cuisine can be so drop dead delicious. The richness and saltiness of the lardo highlighted the freshness of the uni. This was a great way to start off the meal.

First Course:

porchetta agnolotti - french onion soup

This was the first of several pasta courses to highlight the handmade pastas that will be offered at Ariccia. The agnolotto are basically small ravioli pockets that usually seal in a meat filling. These agnolotti contained some roasted porchetta, which made them very flavorful. The richness of the french onion soup really complimented the agnolotti and served as a nice sauce.

Second Course: 

squid ink tagliolini - uni, lemon buerre blanc

Bobby has told me in the past that most people tend to like their pasta oversauced; the extra sauce covers up the freshness and taste of the pasta. I never really believed him until he served me this plate. The squid ink added an extra depth of flavor to the pasta. While it looks like the uni is the star of the dish, it really was simply a garnish for the tagliolini. 

Third Course:

sweet potato agnolotti - proscuitto, sage, creme fraiche buerre blanc

As good as the squid ink taglionlini was, this was my favorite pasta course. The agnolotti containing the sweet potato had a great creamy sweetness that didn't conflict with the sauce. It was topped with some high quality proscuitto and some deep fried sage. The fried sage really added an element of savoriness to the dish as well as the aroma from the frying.

Fourth Course:

porchetta panini - arugla, balsamic onion marmalade, toasted ciabatta

This was the best course of the night. The crunchy skin of the porchetta along with the perfectly cooked porchetta itself just contained an amazing amount of the flavor. The balsamic onion marmalade was a perfect mix of sweet and savory to highlight the flavors of the porchetta. My only regret about this dish is that I was only able to eat half a sandwich instead of the full sandwich that Bobby had intended to serve me.

Fifth Course:

panna cotta - mixed berries

The panna cotta was a good texture and not too sweet, which made it a perfect way to end the meal. The macerated berries provided a nice sauce to compliment the panna cotta. I'm guessing that Ariccia will sell the  panna cotta mix and not the pre-done panna cotta itself.

Mignardises:

macarons

Additionally, Ariccia will feature handmade macarons by co-owner Stephanie. She whipped up a mixed batch to show them off. Now I'm not an expert on macarons by any means, but Stephanie's macarons are the best I've ever had; not only are they the best, they are on a higher level than the next best macarons I've ever had. It would be worth a trip to Ariccia for the macarons alone.

Conclusion:

While some of you may dismiss this as a fluff piece, I really did evaluate the food as hard as I normally do other places; Bobby was sweating the whole time he was preparing food for me. While the overall meal wasn't as good as something you'd get in a fine dining restaurant, the quality was still very high. Furthermore, it seemed easy for Bobby to step away for 10 minutes between each course to prepare the next one. This type of easy preparation for high quality food is what most families would desire for their everyday eating.

Furthermore, some of the unique items at Ariccia were highlighted in this meal - namely the porchetta and the macarons. If I could have a porchetta panini for lunch every day, I would be an extremely happy man. Couple that with the awesome macarons, and I feel like there is a great recipe for success.

In the future, I hope to cover Ariccia more, including the grand opening. I'm really looking forward to when it opens its doors in 2012!

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