Sometimes the charm of The Hill is elusive, and people need to be reminded just what it is about the neighborhood that's drawn St. Louisans (and others) for almost a century. We needed some lunch and knew that serious sandwiches from Eovaldi's would fill the void. But we missed it the first time, seeing “Oldani Sausage” above the entrance. Don't be misled, as Steve Mizerany would intone, that's Eovaldi's.
For those who wonder what life was like in St. Louis in the Fifties and Sixties, get ye hence. Brown tile walls, four tables, plenty of photos of ancestors and old newspaper clippings, and lots of regulars, most of whom get takeout. The menu offers salad, pasta and pizzas, but on both our visits, we never saw anyone ordering them.
From the cold sandwich selection, we started with a muffaletta. Yes, it's associated with New Orleans, but that city has a history of Italian delis that feed folks well. And after all, what is a muffaletta but a hero/sub/hoagie sandwich on round bread. Olive salad? As Italian as the Uffizi Gallery. Its presence here is quite legitimate, and so is its flavor, including a punch from pepper cheese along with salami, coppa, mortadella and provolone. The olive salad is the crowning touch, nicely sharp.
We firmly believe that sandwiches of this type do not associate themselves with mayonnaise, although Eovaldi's offers it. Everything, of course, is made to order in a kitchen not much larger than a closet. But we loved the New York Style Special, ham, salami, coppa, provolone, lettuce, tomato and onion. And a vinaigrette dressing. This is an excellent sandwich, carefully constructed, with everything in balance, including lettuce. Too many places pile on lettuce by the handful. It's supposed to be an accessory, not the whole dress.
Hot sandwiches? Yes, please. The meatball and sausage sandwich, known as the Daddy, charmed with salsiccia laced with fennel lounging alongside luscious slices of tender, well seasoned meatballs, all topped with the house tomato sauce. And then there was the Sicilian Bomber. No anarchy here, just roast beef and pepper cheese topped with another red sauce, this one chunky with onions, mushrooms and peppers, the whole thing crowned with a few slices of salami. Messy to eat but filled with marvelous flavors that just kept rolling around in the mouth.
Waiting for sandwiches, we also had a cup of vegetable barley soup, dense with vegetables, some beef and barley here and there. Fine for a chilly day's lunch.
Sandwiches are available in several sizes and prices here are based on “whole,” or nine inches. Various types of sausage, all made by Oldani, wait in the freezer case, as does the pizza. And there's a second location, in the Joseph White building at 1740 South Brentwood Boulevard, where they have set up shop inside the Double D bar, where they open for lunch and close before the bar opens.
Eovaldi's Deli
2201 Edwards Ave.
Lunch Mon.-Sat.
Credit cards: Yes
Wheelchair access: No
Smoking: No
Sandwiches: $4-$11
Comments
2 responses
LOVE Eovaldi’s. Stop for a sandwich to go wheneve I’m on the Hill.
Bought some pizza from a coworker, as a fund raiser for his sons school. Wow! One bite and in the trash it went. Was that cheese or some sort of Caulk???