Little Italy's Sanguiccio Deli-Cafe makes everything from scratch, waits included

Sandwich-maker Genio Ienzi does things his way or not at all—and his tiny eatery on Preston Street reflects that uncompromising approach.

Ienzi makes his own sausages, which are admittedly salty but burst with flavour. He bakes his sturdy panini buns, which have crispy exteriors and crumbs that are light but sufficiently absorbent to handle all the juice he loads into them. He grinds his pepper, crumbles his oregano, and cooks all by himself in his crowded workstation. "A lot of things you can't buy. You have to make them," he says. "This is all my mom's cooking; I was watching her when I was growing up."

He also makes his sandwiches to order, at his own pace. A wait of 15 minutes or so to have your lunch made isn't out of the ordinary. But you go to Sanguiccio, if you're in the know, precisely because the quality of Ienzi's food can't be rushed.

There's no menu. If you know, you know—or maybe you consult Sanguiccio's social media to see what's available that day. Usually there's a sausage panino, usually with rapini and perhaps tomato if Ienzi gets some he likes. The porchetta—"It takes 15 hours to make," Ienzi says—comes with a simple but super-tasty tomato salad. The chicken sandwich is so good you'd be happy to eat it every day.

The entrance and dining area, which seats maybe six or eight people, are a little cluttered and a little dark. That must be how Ienzi likes it. Formerly, he had a health food store at the same location, but ongoing Preston Street construction did it in. On the wall near the door hang laudatory articles dating back almost 15 years. On the table sits a large metal dispenser for olive oil, labeled "EVOO Calabrese"—a nod to the Southern Italian region where Ienzi was born. More specific are the signs and posters shouting out to his hometown of Cleto.

"I'd live there if I could, if it was possible," he says. His family came to Canada when he was five, and his mother is still around. "I still ask her to do stuff," he says. Sanguiccio survives by word of mouth and customer loyalty. He has regulars who like his unaffected home-style cooking so much they ask him to cook multi-course dinners for them. Which he does. Ienzi is 65 and says, "I can't afford to retire." But he likes what he's doing. "I got good customers and I got good friends. If I could retire, I'd still be doing this. It's fun."

Sanguiccio Deli-Cafe: 183 Preston St., 613-569-0456, instagram.com/sanguiccio. Open Tuesday to Friday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday noon to 4:30 p.m., closed Sunday and Monday. Sandwiches $16. Steps to front door.