A.G. Ferrari Foods
Categories: Specialty Food, Delis, Caterers [Edit]
Neighborhoods: North Oakland, Piedmont Ave4001 Piedmont Ave
Ste A
(between 40th St & Glen Ave)
Piedmont, CA 94611 (510) 547-7222
- Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: No
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: No
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: No
12 reviews
Concord, CA
"My mom has been taking me to this store since I was a baby. I am 28 now and I used to shop there when I lived in CA 3 years ago- My husband…" read more »
21 Reviews for A.G. Ferrari Foods
I haven't been into the place, but I've had a few sandwiches from here and they have always been delicious. Really really good.
i don't really order anything here except the toscano sandwich because it makes my mouth feel like it's been to sandwich heaven. it costs something like nearly 8 bucks for it but worth the heavenly delight.
i'm specifically reviewing the establishment on Piedmont because i met a guy here a couple of years ago and i thought that was awesome. who meets guys in delis?? apparently i do! he asked if there was a market where he could get some peanut butter. "uhh, yeah. you see directly right across the street from this deli?? that's a market right there," was my response. "but i think it's more upscale. maybe only organic stuff or specialty peanut butter. no skippy, sorry." and so it began and we had sandwiches together! long story short we dated for a little and that was it. not that it's any of your business!
I love A.G. Ferrari! I love their Genovese sandwich... the pesto mayonnaise is so yummy! I bet their other sandwiches are good too, but I always order the Genovese.
They have a great selection of pastas, sauces, wines, cheese, etc. The burrata cheese is fabulous, so creamy and delicious! It's a bit pricey, but the taste is just amazing.
If this were a bar, they would have had to cut me off by now.
I seriously wish the local and federal government would intervene with regulations about hot sandwiches containing almost nothing but meat and cheese.
They are so good.
I can almost hear myself getting fatter.
oh such a tease -- and that's all Ferrari is.
A nearly perfect reproduction of an old Italian deli that is until you walk inside, realize it is really a chain and see what they actually sell, which is nothing out of the ordinary -- the same or a little less than you can get across the street at Piedmont grocery, although unbelievably slightly more expensive (and believe me Piedmont grocery is no slacker when it comes to prices.)
Unfortunately, I get suckered into coming here fairly often -- I'll be walking by, daydreaming, remembering some little Italian deli in NYC or Philly or Boston, thinking of some little nosh that I used to love so and I'll stop into AG Ferrari - I don't think they have ever come close to satisfying a single craving and the few things I have purchased seemed way too overpriced for the quality.
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OK...just that OK. There are a few people behind the counter that are friendly, the others seem to act like you are bothering them. They have a good selection of pasta and ready made salads.
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great place to stop in for solid deli food, italian style. love the chicken salad with caper berries, various Pelligrino's, cheeses, cookies, etcetera etcetera etcetera. i generally skip the cooking section, a bit too pricey.
It's the closest place to my house where I can get a decent deli sandwich, so it's frequented. The people are nice, the food is good, though a bit pricey. They have most of the gourmet meats and cheeses, good bread, expensive boutique sodas and chip, plus a ton of pastas and premade salad dishes in the cold case, dried goods lining the shelved from floor to ceiling, and though the place is pretty small, there's a little seating area in the corner window. So while I can't complain about anything, there's something about the place that keeps it from blowing my mind or winning a special place in my heart.
This was probably one of the most uncomfortable lunching experiences I've had. I am struggling with using the word "racist," and it helps AG Ferrari's that several people on here seem to think their deli workers are just plain a**holes and not revving the racecar, but anyway... lemme explain...
I'm a Latina woman and dating a white dude... all we want in the world is a tasty sandwich to fill our bellies... we go into AG Ferrari looking forward to the experience and notice the servers tense a bit even as we walk in. They are extremely friendly to the older, white couple ahead of us and talk at length with them, but are extremely curt with us. Having gotten an unwelcome vibe during the whole walk down Piedmont that day (weird cause i never felt that way before on Piedmont in spite of the lack of brown folks like me), I got the hint and tried to bail to the other side of the room. My boyfriend didn't quite catch on til later on when even as he paid the worker and said "thanks!" enthusiastically, the worker would not even acknowledge him or look him in the eye.
It was just a really uncomfortable experience and I'm not sure I can describe a "vibe" accurately in words, but I think anyone who has encountered oldskool blatant racism knows it. I'd like to believe that it's not the case and that they're all-around jerks without an ideology behind it, but yea...
even if that is the case, when we got home and ate those sandwiches.. they were like cardboard and thinly sliced fat.... what a buzzkill! not even our sandwiches had love to share!
if you ever want a real Italian deli to swoon over, I recommend Zoccoli's in Santa Cruz... change your life!
*** Disclaimer: my review is strictly based on their cheese counter ***
This place kind of reminds me of a mini V. Sattui minus the wine tastings. They sell lotsa gourmet food products and they have a cheese counter. However, their cheese selection is relatively small and well . . . select (especially compared to Farmstead). I will say that their Cacio di Bosco al Tartufo--a hard cheese infused with truffles--is TDF.
I am easy when it comes to ordering sandwiches to go and my expectations aren't sky high. Take the order, give me options, articulate prices, wrap and bag my food.
My sandwich artist struggled with 75% of those tasks and was a snot to boot. I was in a hurry and I paid 9 dollars for a turkey sandwich and I wasn't even at the airport. I asked my sandwich artist why my sandwich was so expensive and his explanation was void of a clue.
Why order a sandwich from a place when I have to study a menu to accurately find out what things will cost you when I can drive 3 minutes away to Genova Delicatessen, where I get better food and much better service.
This is my third run in with bad service at the hands of different people there and why they have good food, at this point I would rather eat crow than eat one of their sandwiches.
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super yuppie fare, a little pricey but worth it in my opinion. a chain? no, there are 2 of them i think. it's a family owned business.
It is nice to find a Ferrari deli nestled in Piedmont/Oakland. As expected, they offer a wide range of mainstream Italian sausages, meats, pastries and chocolates. Mainstream, since it is not a true macelleria (none exists in the bay area) with authentic cured in-house meats such as the porchetta.
Spent a quick business lunch meeting where I nibbled on a small bowl of a pesto farfalla pasta and four pieces of chicken wings. Though the pasta was not cooked al dente, it was alright; while I truly enjoyed the chicken wings' flavor.
I noticed that they already had many boxes of Colomba Pasquale for sale, as well as Gianduja chocolate bars. I will give them a nice four stars for an overall well maintained ambience, great selections for sale, and for playing Valeria Rossi's "Tre Parole" in the background while I was enjoying my deli lunch.
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This used to be Lucca deli, until they paid Landor a million bucks to re-brand them using the Grandfather's name. It is a chain, but run by the grandson and the food can be quite good. They pay a great Italian chef to run the commisary so the food is authentic enough. I worked there for a month and learned how to make pretty killer sandwiches with sundried tomato or gorgonzola spreads. They use fresh ingredients and try pretty hard to meet the lunch rush of stressed out doctors and nurses from Kaiser down the street.
The first place I ate after helping a friend move to Oakland, on my first trip to Oakland, was Ferrari.
I absolutely loved my sandwich and stocked up on cheeses and breads before driving back to Marysville.
The Drunken Goat cheese was delicious, as were other varieties whose names escape me.
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The guy let me taste the cheese before I bought it. That was nice, thanks! Small place tho...
Ok, its more of a 3.75 review, but I'm feeling generous so I'll round up. This location can get busy at lunchtime, and if you forget to take a number, they are not the most sympathetic, so be warned. The pumpkin ravioli is wonderful, but spendy at $8.99 a batch. But, if you need to entertain with a wonderful meal, cooking that up at home makes it worth every penny. The sandwiches are good- and you can get them warmed. The panna cotta is also wonderful.
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i cannot stop eating their tuna salad. it is SO.YUM., i'm completely addicted. it's especially good if you take it home and eat it on a bed of raw spinach! it's difficult to get a table at times, because their eating area is really small. they're especially busy around lunchtime during the week, so calling in a to-go order is a good idea if you're pressed for time. the staff has always been friendly, talkative, and helpful.
pretty good selection of italian foodstuffs, but the deli sandwiches are somewhat overpriced. i purchased a vegetarian sandwich the other day, and it came with grilled veggies. so what exactly did i get? for almost $8, i got ONE piece of cucumber, ONE piece of zucchini, and ONE piece of tomato slapped between two pieces of bread, a slice of cheese, and a squirt of aoli. WOW, THANKS!
seriously, at that price, i'd rather pay for a $15 lunch two doors down at gregoire's!
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1 Previous Review:
-
04/02/2007
BESTEST.SANDWICHES.EVER.
(in the $7 range)
great friendly service as well.People thought this was:
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Ugh. I've been to three different AG Ferrari branches in the Bay Area in the last 3 months and I just have 1 question...
how the hell can you F up a sandwich? It's really not that complicated to make one.
Note to self: Don't waste $8 on a really crappy sandwich.
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When we lived off Piedmont and we wanted fancy sandwiches, A G Ferrari was our place. This is an upscale Italian deli with many locations in the Bay Area. There offer a wide selection of breads, meats, cheeses, and other fixings. They also have a limited market selection of imported sauces, beverages, desserts, etc. This is a great place to get a sandwich for a picnic, or before heading to the airport. They also have a small number of premade deli salads.
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