Carlino's : a Visit to Italy's Kitchens

Some thirty years ago there was only one place that I could find semolina flour for use in making fresh pasta. That place was Carlino’s in Ardmore. In those days, the shop was small, simple and for the most part rather bare.  Carlino’s specialty in those days was their home made egg pasta. For me, at the time, it was the greatest find. You have to remember that in those days there was no Suburban Square Farmer’s Market, no Whole Foods, and no notion of finely prepared foods. The closest you might get to Italian delicacies was a hoagie at The Silver Slicer on Lancaster Pike or spaghetti and clams at Rittenhouse Deli. Then things began to change. Slowly and almost imperceptibly there was a food awakening. The clarion call was sounded by the Carlino family.  The store went into its second stage of growth.  Carlino’s offered stuffed artichokes, prepared baccalà, olives of every kind and numerous other delicacies. Carlino’s became the food Florence of Italian foods on the Main Line. People came from miles around to experience their creations. On holidays, the crowds were such that a Lower Merion police officer directed traffic into their parking lot. Then, about two years ago, Carlino’s blossomed into the full flowered gourmet Italian food emporium that now delights eye and nose and tongue.  Enter the shop and immediately to your right a shiny glass counter sparkles with the most enticing Italian pastries.  Just beyond the pastries a long rayon of fresh salads, cold appetizers and imported salumi bring Italy to America. Chickens roast in a turning grill. At the cheese counter two very well informed women help with your selection of just the right cheese from an extensive assortment. For breads, Carlino’s has no rival. The varieties of bread are exceeded only by the depth of their tastes and textures. The last row of Carlino’s counters parades you before an irresistible variety of dinner preparations. The menu behind the glass of this final richly colorful counter surpasses any number of the best Philadelphia restaurants. And if you are looking for real Italian American home style pizza, you can do no better than Carlino’s tomato pies. 

In the old days, Angela “Mama” Carlino was the matriarch of the family. Her recipes set the mark. Some years ago, before her passing, I recorded her kitchen work in a proposed television pilot. www.cometomyhouse.tv.  Today, her grand-daughter sets the contemporary kitchen styles. Carlino’s is not just a Main Line treasure but a guardian of the Italian American kitchen.