The third of the triumvirate of places I stop at while I'm on the Hill in St. Louis is Urzi's Italian Market (see map). Urzi's is a small market on the south edge of the Hill across the street from Cunetto House of Pasta. They offer everything from pastas, meats, cheeses, spices, wine, sauces, and breads all geared toward Italian food.
Urzi's started over 50 years ago just down the street from their present day location. It was called Urzi's Blue Ridge Italian Market and some of the locals still call it "The Blue Ridge" when they refer to Urzi's. The son of the original owner, Joe Urzi, took over from his father in the 80's and he's been running the place ever since with his wife, Diane.
I stumbled onto Urzi's a few years ago when I was looking for a little Italian market for spices and sauces. I'll tell you - Urzi's has a wide variety of fresh spices (below left). They have the best granulated garlic that I've ever found. And they have a special Italian seasoning mix that I use in all different types of foods that I make from red sauces to sprinkling on steamed broccoli to adding it to the flour when I'm making chicken fingers. I usually buy a big container of it as I find myself going through it all the time. Diane Urzi told me that she has an Italian restaurant in the Chicago area that she ships pounds of the seasoning to.
And they have a wide variety of Italian specialty foods to choose from, as well. One whole aisle along the wall is dedicated to olive oils, balsamic vinegars and rich marinara sauces (above right). I just love going into that place and getting ideas for what to make at home.
My last trip into Urzi's was tinged with some sadness as I was informed by Mimi over at The Missouri Baking Company that Joe Urzi had died unexpectedly in early September. He had been fighting a cold, and typical of a hard-working guy he didn't go into the doctor until it was too late. He was taken to the hospital the night of August 30 and died on August 31.
I last saw Joe about a couple days before he died. And that kind of spooked me out a little. He was only 53 years old. You could always see Joe behind the meat counter, his apron on and working feverishly on something. But he always had time to stop and answer questions or give suggestions. He loved the fact that I was from Iowa and would always stop in to pick something up.
I picked up a few things and Diane checked me out at the register. I told her that I was so sorry to hear about Joe's passing and she said that it was quite a shock to her and her kids. She said, "I still think he's in the back from time to time."
She said that she had been trying to get Joe to go to the doctor, but he kept saying he was too busy. She said, "It was a viral infection and we just got him in too late."
Diane said that she is going to carry on running the place with the help of family and friends. Well, she knows that she has a repeat customer in me. With all the great Italian foodstuffs they have to offer, Urzi's Italian Market is a must-stop every time I go to St. Louis.
Joe Urzi died? Oh my god!!! I didn't know that! He was a great guy and would always give us samples of meat and cheeses to try. I hope his wife can keep the business going.
Posted by: Tim Lake | November 10, 2006 at 08:14 AM