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Don't forget that the Will Special has also been imortalized in print by Jane and Michael Stern.

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Think Yiddish, Dress British - Advice of Evil Ronnie to me.

The Local Beet's very big list of 2013 Farmer's Markets

Did a sub tour of Chicago today. The point of the trip was to compare Italian subs at Graziano's, Conte di Savoia, Freddy's, Scudiero's, Riviera and Bari. We added two sandwiches to the tour - beef/sausage combo at Johnnie's and a Will's Special at Riviera.

With the exception Conte di Savoia, whose dull sandwich was matched by a dull atmosphere, I thought every sandwich was a hit. It was a phenomenal day of eating and I sit here typing a very content man. But the sandwich that stands head and shoulders above the rest was the Will's Special which was positively mind-blowing. And at $4, it may well be the best sandwich deal in town.

Will: Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Mike G recently wrote a great little write up of the Riv on Saveur's website. I'm not sure if it made the hard copy of the magazine. I thought he did a really great job capturing the Pugliese family's venture well.

As some of you know, I very recently relocated back to Chicago where a few of my new office mates were talking about going to a deli over on Harlem to get some sandwich named after a guy. I tagged along and they were a bit surpised at the reaction I got when I walked in the door. It was at that point that I let them on to the fact that I was "that guy".

The sad thing is that, now in my much reduced state of belly, I can hardly eat a quarter of one.

http://www.saveur.com/article/Travels/c ... dwich-shop

I had my first Will Special today and all I can say is that I put this off way too long.

After a stop at pasta fresh to pick up dinner - a couple lbs. of ravioli (1 lb. crab meat and 1 lb. spinach) 2 pints of vodka sauce, some freshly grated imported Romano and a big bag of arancini, I realized how close I was to Riviera and decided to check this one off the list.
No one batted an eye when I ordered my will special and while they were making it I also picked up some sweet sausage flecked generously with parsley - the guy making my sandwich told me it was his favorite when I asked about it.
After a quick stop a Caputo's (they have some very nice outer skirt steak on sale - $3.99/lb.) I brought my bounty home, secured it in the fridge, and plopped down on the couch with my Will Special and an icy Lemonata.

YourPalWill, I think we all owe you a debt of gratitude. This thing is just perfect.

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The cake is a lie

Glad you enjoyed it. I am due for one myself fore lunch one day this week.

Picked one up this AM. Needed a few other things from Riviera. Thats sandwich was huge, too huge I ate it all and 8 1/2 hours later still not hungry. Next Time Im eating half.

Don't want to have two Will memorial threads going, but I do think this thread deserves a bump.

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Think Yiddish, Dress British - Advice of Evil Ronnie to me.

The Local Beet's very big list of 2013 Farmer's Markets

Without realizing it was a momentous one, I had a Diavolo "Will-style" last Thursday, along with two prosciutto and mozz for the road (one domestic, one Parma, was hoping to detect more of a difference but both were delicious). Mike made 'em all. I think his WS is defter than Carmine's, who is cutting the meats plank-thick lately, but the younger defaults to lettuce & tomato on the prosciutto subs, which need them not. They were all eccentrically generous as usual and used a whole long Italian loaf instead of individual rolls from the bin - still delicious.

My usual shopping list here rounded out the rest of the order - oil-cured Sicilian olives (hot, doctored in house), fresh mozz, six-pack of Chinotto, Italian almond milk syrup, giardiniera, dry pasta, 6-in-1. I admired the late morning light bouncing off the dozens of stovetop espresso makers by the door. As at Freddy's, some opera singer friends have CDs by the register. Provolone, aluminum, and basil permeated the air. Better supplies - and people - are hard to find.

Today's Will Special, made by Carmelo and good as ever.

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The cake is a lie

Recently, I made my first trip to Riviera and picked up a bunch of sandwiches to go for a small gathering of friends - Caprese, Italian, Vegetarian and Will Specials (ordered by name), and multiple of each. When I left, I noticed the sandwiches were labeled "Diavolo" on the outside wrapper, but then I noticed the takeout menu listed the sandwich as Diavolo/Will, i.e., one in the same. I'm not sure if this is a change that has been made, but I think the "Will" had the right ingredients on the sandwich (but won't swear to this).

Let me first say that I was astounded how huge these sandwiches were. They were so big that I had plenty of leftovers. I'll also say that the meats and mozzarella were really terrific. I picked some off to taste them on their own and I was quite impressed. As far as the sandwiches as a whole go, my only complaint is that the bread on all of the sandwiches was past its prime, and everyone commented on this. This was a real problem with the Italian as the sandwich ended up being really dry, but less of a problem for the Will/Diavolo which was still excellent.

A couple of questions I have for more experienced Riv visitors: First, whether you have noticed the takeout menu listing Will & Diavolo as one in the same, and whether this means they have permanently transformed the Will into the Diavolo. Second, is there any way to get around this bread issue (do they have fresher bread typically that can be switched)?