Searching for better food than I can find in the Supermarket, I took a ride up to Western Hollywood to check out Gino's Italian market.
Gino's is a much bigger place then I expected. In the middle of a somewhat ethnic neighborhood, Gino's has their own parking lot and plenty of space. Walking in, it's one big room with piles of displays of cans and jars of Cento Italian stuff.
They have a wine section where I found a cheap Barbaresco that's I hadn't seen anywhere else. My experience with Barbaresco is that the $20 bottles aren't as good as the $50 bottles, but they're usually better than $20 bottles of Chianti. So I figured I'd give it a try.
There's a bakery in the back. Bakery's don't excite me.
Gino's calls themselves a meat market, and that's probably the best reason to come here. They have lots of house-made sausages, whole filet mignon, pork chops.
What they don't have is specialty Italian meats. No Guanciale or house cured Pancetta. They also sell Boar's Head cold cuts, which is a huge minus. Boar's Head is a supermarket brand. Mediocre stuff.
Their sausage looked a bit chunky but I wanted to try it so I picked up a link of the hot sausage just to try.
When I cashed out, my total was just over $22, and you get a loaf of bread with a $20 purchase. They also give you a free recipe calendar; what do they get for calendars now, like $12?
When I got home I wanted to taste the sausage. As mentioned, it's kind of chunky, with big globs of fat visible through the casing.
I squeezed off a blob and fried it up.
Pretty tasty stuff. Although I made a dish with it later on, and it didn't hold together outside of the casing. I usually remove the casings, so I don't think it's quite what I'm looking for. I like chunks of sausage in most of the dishes I make.
Conclusion
If you insist on using Cento Brand, or crave Divella, Anna/Cento or Flora brand pasta, then this is the place for you. If you're happy with the brands you can get an Publix or Fresh Market, then it may not be worth the trip. Prices here are on the high end; you're not coming here to save money. I'm just not sure that the brands they have here are really any better than what you can get in the supermarket.