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OK, a warehouse club isn’t for everyone. If you’d prefer shopping with a basket, not a forklift, you can still stock up for your Super Bowl Feast at some of Joe Sixpack’s smaller party favorites.
DiBruno Bros. House of Cheese, 930 S. 9th St. – A visit here is a party for your nose. Even the long line on weekends is bearable, thanks to an aroma straight from Tuscany. Put together your own antipasta with a pound of olives, roasted red peppers, a stick of soppresata, aged mozzarella and a tub of one of the shop’s homemade cheese spreads. If you’ve got the stamina, stop in at Claudio, King of Cheese, 924-926 S. 9th St., for the prosciutto and a gallon of olive oil.
Ardmore Cheese, Ardmore Farmers Market, Suburban Square – With its brother at Reading Terminal Market, Downtown Cheese, this stand offers the best selection of imported cheese in the area. A nice wheel of smelly French cheese goes perfectly with a pint of beer.
D’Angelo Brothers Meat Market, 909 S. 9th St. – Along with Martin Meats at Reading Terminal, Sonny D’Angelo’s joint has, I believe, the widest selection of sausages in the area. For kielbasa, try Swiacki Meats, 3623 Salmon St., and Czerw’s Philadelphia Provision Co., 3370 Tilton St., both in the Port Richmond section.
Nuts to You, 24 S. 20th St. – Bags of chips are just fine, but spread around a few bowls of nuts for variety. As the shop’s name says, nuts of all kinds are for sale, and they’re better and cheaper than Planter’s.
T&F Farmers’ Pride, 8101 Ridge Ave., Roxborough – Full of Italian specialities, this deli is among the best hoagie-makers in the city. Grab a half-dozen sandwiches, cut them into quarters and you’ve got instant appetizers. In other neighborhoods, I head to Primo Hoagies, 1528 Ritner St., or Slack’s Hoagie Shack, 2499 Aramingo Ave., Port Richmond.
Jamaican Jerk Hut, 1436 South Street – The jerk chicken is the way to go, unless you can somehow convince your buds that curried goat is manlier.
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