Caruso's Italian Imports

John Kelly and Horatio Caine told me that this place is owned by none other than David Caruso himself. It's also owned by Tom Caruise, so, yeah.

What to get: Proscuitto, Fresh Mozz, Lettuce, Tomato, Onions, and Roasted Red Pepper on a half sub roll.
Why: It's heaven.

They should set this shop up by the docks in every city. Because then it really would be "inports."

Easily the most underrated sandwich shop in Western NY. While all of the Buffalonians are off at Joe's (excellent), Marco's (on Maple amazing, on Hertel not bad), and the many hipster places along this same street (Hertel) and in Elmwood Village, this little authentic genuine amazing and cheap Italian deli sits here, undiscovered, unloved, unheralded. The only place that compares, for a "real Italian deli" in the style of Hoboken, NJ - is Guercio. But Caruso is both cheaper and slightly better for sandwiches in my humble opinion. Note, I didn't say my "bumble" opinion because as Joey would say, it's a bee's opinion, so nobody cares about it.

I'm worried I might start stealing sandwiches from here and may end up Proscuitted.

They started doing sandwiches a little while back, and my goodness can they make them. The bread is excellent, the prosciutto is the real sh**, you can add anything you want to it with no upcharge. The Fresh Mozz is the way to go, cheese-wise. It's all so damn good.

It's one of the best sandwiches you'll ever find in Buffalo, Italyou.

Hoboken has the best Italian Delis in the world (Fiore, Fran's, Andrea), and yet Caruso would be at home in Hoboken. Maybe not as fine-tuned and stellar as those 3, but those are the best in the whole world. Caruso is literally one of the best Italian delis I've ever been to.

Even in India, I doubt you would find a better sandwich. Except maybe in New Deli.

It also has one huge advantage on almost every other place in town, and all the other great Italian delis around the country. The prices! Wow! We're talking $4 for a roll, $5 for a small sub and $6 for a large, and they don't upcharge you no matter what you put on it! But stick to what I described above (swoon). Utterly amazing.

They didn't have one thing I needed though. A container of Carusene gas.

If you haven't been to Caruso's yet for a sandwich, you're seriously messing up!

The best way I can describe this magical place is this: An Italian Bodega. You can go in and get all your staples- your meats and cheeses fresh from the deli, your pastas and sauces and snacks and drinks. They make you a sandwich with their freshly sliced meat and cheese- to your specifications! The roll is so fresh and the toppings are perfect- whatever is perfect to you, is perfect for them. I got chicken breast, Gouda, lettuce, and banana peppers with oil. HOT DIGGITY. SO GOOD.
they put subway to shame.

My favorite part about my visit- this group of young boys, maybe aged 8-11 years old comes in. They have a list from one of their moms, and they are supposed to get what she wants. But they can't remember what's on the list- they forgot it. The owner gets the moms phone number from the boys and calls her to find out what they should be ordering! I mean come on, how awesome is that?!

Caruso's on Hertel is sure a gem! I love that they carry local branded products like Kornerstone Coffee (they have pumpkin spice flavor now) and many different delicious flavors of ground coffee.

Caruso's has Chef's & Ilio Sauce. Also the pasta is all imported from Italy. The KBS spice co. Offers products there as well (made in Buff). They have the best Boars Head cold cut selection too! Pre - made sandwiches are an option but you can buy fresh rolls and always make your own edible art!!

Ok I better get going now to make my own Italian feast ... chow!

Love these old school delis that make subs to order. Locally baked bread, Italian cured meats and cheeses cut to order for each sub. Best price for subs in the city!
Ordered capicola, soppresata, salami, mozzarella, with lettuce, tomato, onion and banana peppers. Great deal for the entire sub! This place also has the best Italian Rainbow cookies!

On the north side of Hertel near Fairchild is this small Italian grocery. I was there in search of Italian meat that Jonhies (across the street) didn't have. They sent me here. Love the small businesses supporting each other.

Walking in there is a cashier to the left. On the right are small isles with various grocery items, all Medeteranian based. Against the back wall is a small produce area, but I didn't check it out closely.

Against the other wall is the meat section. The butcher immediately helped me which is great. He was expecting the meat I needed in the next day and was wiling to put it aside for me, so nice. Nevermind willing to dice it for me too.

This place has probably been here my whole life and I've certainly passed by it a 1000 times, but I never went in. Now that I know I'll go back when looking for some specific things.

Hertel avenue has so much variety grocery store wise, this adds to the list.

Street parking.
2047

We recently moved to the Hertel area and have been in search of a good Italian deli. We have been eyeing this deli up for awhile with hopes of trying it one day. That day came last weekend!
Inside it's like a quaint Italian market with Mediterranean style groceries. We briefly glanced at the groceries but were more interested in their deli meat and fresh bread selection. We ended up getting a few different deli meats and a few fresh rolls. My Italian fiancée said that the meats passed the test and although the rolls were fresh and tasty we were both slightly disappointed that they didn't have a larger bread/roll selection. No matter, we shall continue our search for great fresh Italian bread but we will defiantly be back here for their meats! Mangia!

Have been meaning to try this local deli for far too long....the workers are super friendly! I went for a 6" hard roll sandwich, pasta salad, and a giant sprinkle cookie! Enough food for 2! They serve boar's head meat which always tastes so fresh! As far as I'm concerned the foundation for any fabulous sandwich is the bread...they know what's up at Caruso's! The freshest of fresh! The pasta salad was exactly what I was hoping for...all the veggies and a fair of amount of cheese...nothing skimped in this salad! First...you had me at sprinkle. Second...I love sugar cookies. This combo...I dont know why I never thought of this myself! For 2 American dollars this cookie was worth every penny!! Also you can can call and order over the phone and pick up...I went at a weird time so no line but during lunch hour I would def call ahead.
Also an assortment of other items to purchase throughout the store....Fresh vegetables, gondola products, pasta, bulk snacks, and much much more.

Caruso's is a wonderful little Italian store and deli on Hertel. You are always greeted when you walk in and treated well by staff. For a small shop they have a good stock of pastas, cheeses, fresh bread, biscotti, snacks, olive oils, drinks, and frozen goodies. The deli has a good selection of meats, cheeses, and salads/olives. Their sausages look amazing, though I haven't tried them yet. They answer their phone if you call and if you talk to the staff they always give good suggestions and assistance.

Parking on Hertel is less than easy at busy times, so sometimes you can find a spot on Lovering (Caruso's is on the corner of Hertel and Lovering).

One thing that draws me back to Caruso's is that you can pop in and get a good sandwich for $5.50. Gives you that fast sandwich fix without having to throw down $10 on a big hoagie that'll only serve to give you the 'itis.

I was also surprised to see that they now stocked Boar's Head Salsalito turkey, which I haven't been able to find in the area. Boom!

I always enjoy popping in here - sometimes for deli meat, or gondola pasta, or a biscotti from the cookie jar behind the counter. We also get the huge jars of cherry peppers here. The first time I came here, I was excited about the authenticity of the Italian market - there were more people speaking Italian than English inside!