Peggy Crandell
The Rockin’ Red ladies put on their “foodie” hats and set off to lunch in one of Denton’s newest food establishments, Di Abruzzo Italian Market. Jack Santarelli, owner and operator, along with his staff, welcomed us with smiles and Italian hospitality.
Just open three months, Di Abruzzo’s is representative of a traditional Italian market one would find in places like Chicago, Philly, and New Jersey. Jack’s inspiration springs from his love of food inherited from his family, who originally lived in the Abruzzo region of Italy in the 1920s. Choosing what products to offer in the market took four long months of taste-testing. Nothing in their deli counter is pre-made. You must taste the house-made cannoli. Kitchen Manager Lauren makes the pasta offered at the deli counter, and the staff is very particular about the meats and cheeses on their menu.
After listening to Jack share his story, we dined on freshly made pasta salad and two varieties of Di Abruzzo deli sandwiches, while listening to selections of Italian music favorites. We still had plenty of time to peruse the stocked shelves of imported Italian staples, wine, olive oils, and assorted goodies and also choose house-made items from the deli counter to bring home with us.
But wait! Our foodie outing was not over. We walked next door to the Ravelin Bakery for the second part of our culinary venture. Ravelin is a family-owned “neighborhood” bakery that opened in 2002.
The bakery specializes in European-style breads, pastries, and specialty desserts, all made inhouse from scratch using all natural ingredients. Eric Helland, the owner, shared the history of Ravelin, his love of baking, his love of family, and how much he values his customers from the Denton area. The last thing on our agenda was to line up at the counter to bring home Ravelin’s mouth-watering breads, cookies, croissants, breakfast pastries (both sweet and savory), crème brûlée, lemon bars, eclairs, and much more. We all agreed this wouldn’t be our last time to visit Ravelin.
A big thank you to our hosts Jan Utzman, Carol Cieslik, Mary Ann Johnson, and Jan Thomas for this delightful day out in Denton.