A Step Back in Time…for Me 

Yesterday was my birthday and to celebrate I decided to take a day off from the shop (I know I should have said, “another” day off) and make some comfort food for dinner.  For me that meal would be homemade spaghetti and meatballs.  Preparing my Italian “gravy” from scratch is always a snap but, the meatballs are a different story.  Sometimes they come out to hard (my Aunt Francie would say that was because I didn't use enough water in them); but sometimes they're too soft (too much water, I guess)  So to solve my culinary dilemma, I decided to go to the folks who are champions at creating the best meatball mix in the world…Ascioti’s Meat Market on Milton Avenue in Solvay.  

When I was a kid growing up on Willis Avenue in Syracuse’s west end, my mom used to send me to the corner grocery store a lot to pick up something we might need, like bread, milk or butter.  But, when she needed ground beef, pork chops, chicken or, the rarely purchased steak, she would send me off to Ascioti’s Meat Market in Solvay to pick it up.  Ascioti’s was about a one-and-a-half to two mile walk from our house, but back then it was no big deal because everyone walked everywhere.  So, off I’d go money in my pocket feeling very important because she trusted me to get there, tell the butcher exactly what she wanted, pay for it and come home with the treasure and the change.  Quite a lot of responsibility for a ten year old!  But remember times were a lot different way back then.  And I loved Ascioti’s.  Upon entering the shop my eyes would widen as they scanned the meat case filled with steaks, roasts, whole chickens and other not easily recognizable stuff.  And the aromas…how I loved the way the place smelled of cheese, salami and cold cuts.  The white-aproned men behind the counter always treated me with the same courtesy and respect they gave to adult customers  (like the always-present little Italian widow dressed head-to-toe in black) standing next to me. And that courtesy was part of the charm of the place.  After telling them what my mom wanted, they’d wrap it up, pay for it and get the change. Then off I’d go, brown-butcher-papered purchase tied up in string in hand and a sample of little something to snack on for the road. It was fabulous!  

Flash forward too many years than I care to count… Now that Dale and I moved back home, we’ve have started shopping at Ascioti’s for meat.  The faces are different, but the aromas and charm of the place are the same, and a big smile crosses my face every time I walk in there to make a purchase.  The meat in the case is always fresh; theywill cut it to order and the people are just as courteous as they were back in the day.  And Dale and I feel it’s important to a support small, locally-owned business.  So, stopping in there on my birthday to get meatball mix was the perfect beginning to a perfect birthday meal. My birthday dinner, complete with meatballs from Ascioti’s meatball mix, was pure delight! 

If you’ve never shopped at Ascioti’s, or if you would like to take a trip down memory lane, drive (or walk) on over there.  They’re located at 2239 Milton Avenue, Syracuse, NY 13209;phone (315) 468-6863. Bring your checkbook or cash because Ascioti’s does not accept credit cards.

CinCin!

Allison

--November 3, 2009