GL_120618

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