Many locals (and tourists alike) know Mazzaro’s Italian Market as the premier place to purchase anything Italian in St. Petersburg. Since Mazzaro’s is a legend, parking is a challenge any time of the year; however, during the holidays, and most Saturdays, there are parking attendants to help with the chaos. It can be a nightmare. And we all know time is money. So, what are your alternatives if you want similar Italian foods without the parking problems? Fortunately, in September 2022, DeCosmos Italian Market opened, in Pinellas Park, offering authentic Italian food, along with a wine room and cafe, with space to move around.
The openness of DeCosmos is a welcome relief, allowing you to actually stop and look at the products on each aisle without feeling rushed or worrying about running into someone. The Italian Market portion offers the expected Italian and meatball subs, however. I went a bit untraditional, considering my New Orleans past, and opted for the Arturo—the muffuletta sub with the requisite olive spread, mortadella, ham, salami and provolone. Although it wasn’t on the special round bread from New Orleans, it was about as close as you can get to a muffuletta in the Tampa Bay area.
Beyond the sandwiches, DeCosmos has a wine room, bakery section and a separate coffee area to enjoy a variety of delicacies. There is a selection of fresh pizzas, lasagna and other pasta dishes to pop in the oven for an Italian dinner at home. Although DeCosmos is in the typical Florida strip mall and may not look the fanciest on the exterior, sometimes it’s good to look beyond appearances to have a real experience outside of the normal.
Note: With respect to family traditions and all that Mazzaro’s continues to bring to the area, congratulations go for 30 years of being the original Italian market in Pinellas. The addition of the Casa di Mazzaro has every imaginable kitchen gadget, tea blend and other unique gifts to give any time of year. The continued goal is to get there when it is the least crowded—some times are better than others, but those open windows can never be shared. ♦
[image_slider_no_space on_click=”prettyphoto” height=”300″ images=”23680,23679,23678,23677,23676″]
