The route that I take when I am on my way to YES Gallery has been taking me down some streets where I used to explore but haven't walked on in a while. I tend to find my favorite routes to different places where I need to go and though I love exploring, if I don't have much time and have lots to do I try to find the quickest and most enjoyable route and keep going that way. In my new adventure of walking to YES Gallery, as I try to find the best route to walk in, I've been rediscovering places that I'd seen before and that had been recommended to me but that I hadn't had the time to visit in the past.
One of the routes I've been taking fairly regularly has been leading me past Fiore's, and not only have I always heard excellent things about it, the scents of freshly made food that waft out of their building lets me know even more than the line of people who are often waiting outside to go in that this is a place worth visiting. On many days when I am on my way to YES Gallery I have appointments or things I need to bring or do there that will keep me from getting back home again until several hours have passed. Often if I need to go shopping I'll go after I leave the gallery, but places like Fiore's close earlier than some others and when I am on my way leaving the gallery they are always closed when I walk by.
Recently when I was walking by I found myself with enough time to stop in and nothing that was pressing that I needed to do, and I decided to walk in and see explore this place that I've often seen and heard wonderful things about. On the outside of their door there is a sign that says that they are known for their mozzarella, something that I love and always like to try when I can. Years ago there was a place I used to go in Soho called Joe's Dairy, and ever since they closed I haven't been able to truly find anything to replace it. When I walked into Fiore's and said to the very nice man who asked me if I was next in line that it was the first time I'd been there, he walked into the back kitchen an preparation area and brought me back a piece of freshly made mozzarella to try. It was really wonderful and I told him I definitely wanted to bring some home with me, and then I asked him what else he would recommend. He told me their daily sandwich special that day was roast beef with mozzarella and brown gravy, and though that sounded delicious and I'm sure it was I was in the mood for something else though I didn't know yet what that something else was. I asked him if there was anything else he'd suggest and he said they had an Italian sandwich with a variety of thinly sliced prepared meats, mozzarella and sweet or hot peppers and I knew that was the one I wanted to try.
When I was growing up there was a sandwich shop in the town the next over from where my home was, and I used to always get an Italian sub there that was one of the highlights of my culinary life. That place closed years ago and now there is a store in the town where I grew up in where I can go to find something similar, but I hadn't been able to find that same kind of wonderful experience anywhere else closer to where I live now. Enter the Fiore's wonder of a sandwich, that when I first tasted it brought back all of those old wonderful memories. I asked for a mix of hot and sweet peppers and not only were they flavorful but the bread itself was such a wonderful texture that nothing on the sandwich made it too soggy. I had half of it for lunch when I got to the gallery and it made me truly feel such a warm feeling of old beautiful memories.
Fiore's itself is a place that seems as if it's from another time and another place. Though it opened in 1903 it's not old in the sense of being not up to date, but it has that rare feeling of a place that has been lost in time while still being current. I'm so happy that I walked in the door that afternoon and I have a feeling one of these days I'll be back to try that roast beef sandwich. Maybe I'll begin to plan excursions there and give myself the treat of an opportunity to try everything over time. Places like Fiore's are so special, and it's a very special blessing to be able to enjoy and visit a place like this often.
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