ottawa foodies

Spinach and Cheese pasta roll served with ground hot chilies and pepper over the extra sauce from the casserole that was spooned over top of the slices, salad in a side bowl as per my dw's requirements.
Comfort food of a high order. Rich and delicious.

Half a spinach and cheese pasta roll, sliced in 4 slices, covered with half of a large container of sauce and some sliced mini Roma tomatoes. Baked in an 8" Pyrex casserole, covered, at 350 deg F about 25 min., then sprinkled with some freshly grated Parmesan and back in the oven, covered, til bubbly.

We went to Luciano's yesterday and picked up some pasta rolls and pasta sauces to eat and also to freeze for later. They have a number of fillings (spinach and cheese, squash, roasted red pepper and squash, lobster!, etc) and numerous sauces (tomato-based such as bolognese arrabiatta, plain, spicy, hot, al pesto, etc, as well as numerous white sauces). Costs are variable, rolls about $20 up to about $35, sauces are in the $10-12 range for a large (about 2 cups) needed for the pasta roll.
The pictured sun-dried tomato and goat cheese roll weighs in an oz under 2lb and will feed 4 nicely.

I love this store. I went on Saturday morning and it was busy but as I stood in line waiting to be served it struck me that everyone was happy - Luciano was behind the butcher counter whistling as usual and Donato was holding court behind the deli counter cracking jokes and making everyone, staff and customers, laugh. It is clear that they love what they do, they treat their customers well, and it is infectious - customers are polite with one another ("no, you go ahead, I think you were here before me..."). I am probably biased because I have been going to Luciano's since I was a kid. My mother always shopped at Luciano's for her Italian groceries and now I do the same. I particularly like their garlic sausages and the stuffed chicken breasts. It's no surprise that they've been around for about 40 years!

We really like the store, it carries a lot of good quality foods, particularly cheeses, fresh meats, cold cuts, delicious fennel sausages (IMO the best in the city), very good sanwiches, high quality balsamic vinegars. The people behind the counter are very friendly and helpgful, the place is sparkling clean and bright, a very nice place to shop.

Definitely the best sausages in town, great meaty bacon (not 75% fat like in most stores), best chicken as well (buy a kilo, cook, you still have a kilo!), try the imported buffalo bocconcini ... all at very decent prices not counting great service and a great sense of humour at the deli counter and behind the cash.
Wish there were more stores like that.

Hey - it's food services, shit happens. This definitely wasn't the first time in my life I've found a bug in my food...what really turned me off was the bad attitude and lack of customer service. I've been hitting this spot for almost five years and have always enjoyed the sandwiches and cheap tartufo - but again, it was the total lack of respect and customer service that did it.

I'm not yet adventurous enough in my tastes to go the insect route :P

The buns were in a plastic bag? And the moth still alive? Wow that's fresh baked !

i have a friend who ate a moth (on a bet). He thought it tasted "unexpectedly good."

I've been shopping at Luciano's for several years now and have generally found their food and service to be good. However, due to my most recent experience, I will no longer be shopping there and will be encouraging my friends to do the same.

I made a simple purchase of some buns (the ones they have pre-bagged for $1.99). When I opened the bag at home I found a moth in there flying around with the bread. Ew. However, when I returned with the bag and offending insect still moving around inside, the woman at the cash looked at me said "well...maybe it came from...somewhere". Yeah, like your filthy store perhaps? Of course, I took another bag as I had spent the money and didn't want to argue about a refund (it was 2 bucks, really), however the woman sat there at the counter within earshot complaining about my return the whole time to another co-worker. Great way to treat your customers eh? Don't apologize for your unclean products and talk about your customers when it's your establishment in the wrong.

Trashy and low class.

Perhaps those at Luciano's want to invest in some sanitizer and manners. And maybe get rid of the old bag behind the counter. Disgusting.

Having tried many sandwiches from Italian Delis throughout the city, The sandwich from Luciano's has emerged as my favourite. Top quality ingredients, excellent price (around $3.25), and lots of care in the preparation. Worth checking out if you can get there during the limited hours -- it is a grocery store after all.

The cheese at Luciano's is by far the freshest compared to the other Italian grocery stores in the city. The grana padano and Italian Fontina (when you can get it) are always top notch.