Bob’s
We are in the middle of a residential neighborhood near Tufts University, and this place has stood here since 1936. It's a family owned and operated business, and the DiGiorgio family has been behind it since the beginning. They're now on their third generation of DiGiorgios, who are serving massive portions of delicious made from scratch Italian cuisine. The first time you walk into Bob's, prepare to be bewildered. You look around and you will see every nook and cranny of this place is filled with something delicious. There are shelves and coolers and cases. You can find prepared foods. You can get pastas. You can get sauces. I mean, everything about this place is old school, from the signage to the personal service you can get from your butcher or from your sandwich maker.
Sandwiches are the number one specialty at Bob’s, and I gotta tell you, I don't know if anybody does an Italian sandwich better than this place. Now this is one of my favorite traditional sandwiches, the Prosciutto Caprese. This features a big pile of fresh sliced Prosciutto di Parma, some thick cut local farm fresh mozzarella cheese, a couple of ripe fresh sliced tomatoes, basil and some extra virgin olive oil. Stack all those ingredients onto a nice, crusty, braided, seeded roll. It is just an Italian masterpiece. You get the saltiness from the prosciutto, the creaminess from the mozzarella cheese, bright pop of freshness from the basil and from the tomato. A pure, unadulterated Italian masterpiece. She's a beauty.
If you want to bring your sandwich to the next level, go for the Deluxe Italian Caprese. It has the prosciutto, the mozzarella. This version also stacks on some fresh sliced mortadella and soppressata. So you're taking an already meaty sandwich and you're adding even more meats. That's my kind of sandwich.
Anytime I visit an Italian sub shop, I have a tough time deciding, do I want a chicken parm or a meatball sub? Bob's has the solution, and it's called the 50/50. So this is part chicken parm, part meatball sub. You got cheese, chicken sauce, meatballs, more cheese. It's basically all my favorite Italian comfort foods in one delicious handheld bite.
Now, if you're looking to feed an entire army, let me introduce you to the big boy: Bob's signature six foot Italian sub. There are over 10 pounds of fresh sliced imported Italian meats. So we're talking stacks upon stacks of Italian genoa salami, mortadella, capicola, pepperoni, salami cotto and provolone cheese. And it wouldn't be an Italian sub without all those glorious toppings. You got your hots, your peppers, your pickles, tomatoes, Italian seasoning, olive oil. This is the peak of quality, and they're serving it in absurd quantities.
Beyond sandwiches, there's an entire menu full of great Italian classics. When you talk about old school, traditional Italian, this is what I'm talking about, a big old plate of lasagna and meatballs. This thing is made with fresh pasta. It's layered with four kinds of cheeses, including ultra fluffy ricotta. It's seasoned perfectly. It's topped with their homemade signature San Marzano tomato sauce. And then of course, you need some of those meatballs to round out your meal. I mean, I wish I had an Italian Nonna that cooked like this. Thankfully, I have Bob's to go for.
When you talk about Italian comfort food, it doesn't get much better than a big bowl of bolognese. Bob's bolognese is some of the best I've ever tasted. These are little, handmade, hand stuffed tortellini. They have cheese on the inside. The pasta is cooked perfectly. The bolognese is made with a blend of beef and pork. This dish is rich and it is hearty, and it might make you want to take a nap after but it'll be well worth it.
If you ask the staff around here with their favorite dishes, a lot of them will tell you it's the chicken piccata. This is fresh boneless chicken that they cook up in a sauce of lemon and white wine They throw on some capers to add a little bit of saltiness to it. Finish it off with a little pecorino romano cheese. You end up with something that looks as good and tastes as good as anything you can get in the North End, but it costs less than half.
So whether you're picking up some meats to cook at home, a sandwich to eat in your car, or a gigantic Italian feast for the entire family, you cannot find a better place to do it than Bob’s in Medford.
