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LakeForestLeader.com dining out<br />
the lake forest leader | December 6, 2018 | 23<br />
Name of the game is freshness for Visconti at R&V Market and Deli<br />
Michael Wojtychiw<br />
Contributing Sports Editor<br />
The restaurant business<br />
has always been a part of<br />
Frank Visconti’s life. After<br />
working for his dad as<br />
a child in the industry, it<br />
was only a matter of time<br />
before he owned his own<br />
restaurants.<br />
The Visconti name has<br />
been around in Little Italy<br />
restaurants in Highwood<br />
and Lake Forest for four<br />
generations. Eight years<br />
ago, he opened up R&V<br />
Market and Deli in Lake<br />
Forest. Visconti is also the<br />
owner of Visconti Foods,<br />
located next door to the<br />
deli, an importer and distributor<br />
of food directly<br />
from Italy.<br />
“My employees (at<br />
Visconti Foods) were going<br />
to lunch for an hour,<br />
hour-and-a-half, and when<br />
I’d ask why, they’d say,<br />
‘There’s nowhere to eat in<br />
the area,’” said Visconti,<br />
of Lake Forest.<br />
That’s when Visconti<br />
knew something had to<br />
change, especially since<br />
there are 4,800 people in<br />
the subdivision.<br />
When opening the deli,<br />
it was important to have<br />
everything fresh on the<br />
premises, Visconti said. It<br />
began with the hot meals,<br />
cold cuts and sandwiches<br />
and went from there.<br />
“Fresh is the only way<br />
to do it,” Visconti said. “A<br />
lot of people buy frozen<br />
chicken and more. Why?<br />
You take up five extra<br />
minutes of your time to<br />
clean up a piece of chicken<br />
and what are you doing?<br />
You’re giving a customer<br />
a fresh taste; you’re giving<br />
them really good food.<br />
“It doesn’t take much.<br />
A lot of people like to take<br />
shortcuts and it’s not worth<br />
it. You’re giving someone<br />
a fresh product; you’re<br />
The Italian sub sandwich ($7.95) that, along with the<br />
normal ingredients for an Italian sandwich, included<br />
tomatoes, lettuce, oil and a vinegar dressing.<br />
giving them a great flavor.”<br />
Catering is also a big<br />
part of the business, and<br />
Visconti said all you need<br />
to do is call a day in advance<br />
to place your order.<br />
Lunch delivery is also<br />
available.<br />
A pair of 22nd Century<br />
Media editors stopped by<br />
the Lake Forest deli and<br />
tried some of the more<br />
popular dishes that Visconti<br />
and his establishment<br />
offer.<br />
Visconti brought out all<br />
six dishes family-style.<br />
First we tried an Italian<br />
sub sandwich ($7.95)<br />
that, along with the normal<br />
ingredients for an Italian<br />
sandwich, included tomatoes,<br />
lettuce, oil and a vinegar<br />
dressing.<br />
The chicken Parmesan<br />
sandwich ($8.95), according<br />
to Visconti, is the deli’s<br />
biggest seller and another<br />
one of the meals made on<br />
the premises. Like many of<br />
the other sandwiches and<br />
foods in the deli, chicken<br />
parm is also available as<br />
a meal-to-go. Examples<br />
of other grab-and-go’s include<br />
salads, wraps and<br />
desserts.<br />
A third dish was a meat<br />
lasagna ($8.95) made<br />
with fresh pasta noodles,<br />
a homemade meat sauce,<br />
R&V Market and Deli<br />
13801 W. Laurel Drive,<br />
Lake Forest<br />
randvdeli.com<br />
(847) 816-6468<br />
9 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday-<br />
Friday<br />
Saturday-Sunday<br />
closed<br />
which had spinach in it, as<br />
well as Parmesan cheese.<br />
The ricotta cheese has Parmesan<br />
cheese mixed in it<br />
and all of the products are<br />
fresh.<br />
One dish that has a special<br />
place in Visconti’s<br />
heart is the eggplant rollatini.<br />
It is a dish that his<br />
mom made when he was<br />
a child and he continued<br />
to use the same recipe<br />
when he started selling it<br />
at the deli. One thing that<br />
sets this apart from others<br />
is that it is fried in vegetable<br />
and olive oils. The<br />
deli offers two eggplant<br />
sandwiches: rollatini and<br />
Parmesan. Both eggplant<br />
dishes are $8.95.<br />
The salmon ($9.95) with<br />
vegetables is marinated<br />
overnight in lemon and orange<br />
juice, as well as olive<br />
oil, and then drained the<br />
next day. The combination<br />
removes any true fish smell<br />
and taste from the dish.<br />
The eggplant rollatini ($8.95) at Lake Forest’s R&V Market and Deli comes from a<br />
special Visconti family recipe. Photos by Eric DeGrechie/22nd Century Media<br />
The salmon ($9.95) with vegetables is marinated overnight in lemon and orange juice,<br />
as well as olive oil.<br />
The last dish we tried<br />
was the pasta alfredo with<br />
vegetables, which is a side<br />
pasta that patrons can get<br />
with many of the sandwiches.<br />
Visconti, who was born,<br />
raised and still lives in<br />
Lake Forest, has been able<br />
to get more involved with<br />
the community in recent<br />
years, something he’s always<br />
aimed to do. This<br />
past year, he was able to<br />
be a vendor at the city’s<br />
Fourth of July fireworks<br />
celebration.<br />
“This was the first year<br />
we did the fireworks,”<br />
Visconti said, “and I had a<br />
blast.”
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