Foodie Field Trip to Freddy's

There's a little Italian gem that is near and dear to my heart, it's located on a corner in a very unpretentious neighborhood, the name of that gem is called Freddy's Pizza, but don't let the name fool you, this is so much more than a pizza place, Freddy's is a landmark!
We've been going to Freddy's for years, ever since my kids were little, and today with families of their own they still continue to go, it's that kind of place, once you go, you're hooked for good!

Last week my girlfriends and I went to Freddy's for lunch, we arrived right before they opened , got a little table in their screened in area and managed to order our lunch before the constant flood of patrons started forming a line. This is a small place, the aisles are tight but nobody cares because you're here for the food, Italian ice and gelato, and it's so worth the wait!

Owner Joe Quercia who emigrated from Naples, Italy and his wonderful wife Ann Marie treat you like family when you walk in, no matter how busy they are they never seem to get flustered and always take the time to walk around asking how everything is, always making you feel welcome.

The aisles are filled with imported pastas, oils, giardinara, eggplant salad and various other Italian goodies, ( too many to mention). Farther down the small aisle you'll hit the deli section filled with imported cheese and meats, fresh mozzarella, homemade sopressata and the most delicious Italian sausage. Warm crusty bread and foccacia is brought out before you and smells are so enticing you just can't resist! Have I mentioned the pepperoni bread? Oh my, when you see it you can't hesitate for a second, because it will be gone!

A slight turn from the deli and you start seeing all the fresh homemade Italian specialties lined up, platter after platter of beautifully presented food. This is old world cooking made with loving hands and the taste confirms it all!

Lemon chicken, eggplant, meatballs, sausage and peppers, Italian beef, prosciutto sandwiches on focaccia, to name a few.

Antipasto everywhere, seafood salad, fried artichokes, roman style artichokes, garlicky rapini, ( Outstanding, I get some every time) arancini, salami salad, caprese, garbanzo bean, I could go on and on!

As you walk along the counter it's almost impossible to make choices because everything looks so amazing!

Thin crust, thick crust, Neapolitan style pizza with every different combination you can think of coming out of the oven piping hot!

Homemade ravioli, gnocchi, and various other pastas bathing in the most delectable sauce.

In the mood for risotto? No problem, it's there for you in all it's creamy glory!

That prosciutto just melts in your mouth!

We have a system when we go there, someone holds the table and a couple of us go up and start ordering, a little bit of this and a little bit of that, old favorites and something new, it dosen't matter what you get, it's all good!.
We bring it back to the table and savor every bite.

No fine china here, heavy duty paper plates with plastic forks and spoons, this was our glutinous table we could barely fit all the plates on. I'm still dreaming about those green olives, so creamy and buttery, I made sure they were all gone before we left.

After we're done eating we go back in for dessert, gelato and Italian ice is a must!

When we're done with dessert it's time to shop for goodies to bring home. A loaf or two of pepperoni bread will always go home with me along with a couple pounds of sausage.

Their Italian ice, what can I say, I crave it on a hot summer day, let's just say we've made many trips out there just for that over the years. Their gelato is amazing, no wonder it has been voted "Best gelato in all of Chicago" by Chicago Magazine!