You can’t go to Riviera Foods without getting a Diavolo ($6.50). That’s just the food rules, I don’t make them. The sandwich (formerly known as the Will Special, named after the late regular who created it) takes a 9-inch length of crisp-crusted French bread, then fills it with fatty layers of spicy soppressata, hot capocollo, salty prosciutto, cured salami, fresh bocconcini mozzarella cheese balls and bracing giardiniera.
But don’t just go for a single sandwich in these coronavirus times. Call in a DIY Italian beef kit too. Get house-made meat sliced to order by the pound, with a tub of jus (juice or gravy they call it), a whole long loaf of bread from Liborio Baking, plus jars of hot or mild giardiniera. I chose both kinds of the condiment, because I can never have enough of the Chicago-style pickled vegetables in my pandemic pantry.
