Di Bruno Bros.

(Danny and Joe Di Bruno)

I’m back in Philadelphia (I opted to fly home…) and car and brother-less. Luckily, I have places like Di Bruno Bros., a gourmet Italian grocer, in Center City to keep me entertained.

Di Bruno Bros was founded in the 1940s when Danny and Joe Di Bruno opened a small grocery in the Italian Market of Philadelphia a couple years after arriving from Italy. Since, it has evolved from an everyday market to a gourmet food store specializing in imported cheeses, cured meats, oils, vinegars and sweets.

After walking through center city the other day, I stopped in for lunch. I had a Mediterranean vegetable panini with tuna aioli. The vegetables (eggplant, squash and zucchini) were nicely seasoned and grilled, while the tuna aioli was a gourmet version of a tuna salad. While the sandwich could have easily fed 3 people and was a splurge at $8.99 now that I no longer have a job, the atmosphere alone made it worth the trip and the expense.

Photos from the Rittenhouse Square location are below (courtesy of Di Bruno Bros).