Phantom Gourmet: LaCascia's Deli And Bakery In Burlington

BURLINGTON - Where do you go if you're craving an overloaded Steak Bomb, a cheese smothered Chicken Parm, or some thin crust Italian Pizza? The answer is LaCascia's. But what if you want something sweet like a cake, or a cannoli, or Lobster Tail pastry bursting with cream? Well, the answer is still LaCascia's.

Located in Burlington, LaCascia's Bakery and Deli is the go-to spot to feed just about whatever you're hungry for.

It all began when the LaCascia family opened a small bread bakery in East Boston about 90 years ago. In 1980, they moved to Burlington. Today, led by brothers Dave and Anthony, the third generation of LaCascia's keeps the tradition alive, 365 days a year.

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"The amount of food we crank out of this place is staggering," said Dave. "Giant bakery, huge deli, lots of catering, pizza, kind of like a little mega store all in one spot."

"I'm a General Manager that focuses more on the deli side," he explained. "My brother basically focuses on the whole bakery side. My sister is one of the cake decorators. My aunt is the head cake decorator; she's worked here for longer than I've been alive I'm pretty sure. And my brother in law, who's my sister's husband, he's been here forever too."

With all that family working together under one roof, keeping the peace can be challenging. But since the deli is on one side of the shop and the bakery is on the other, the LaCascia's have it all figured out - usually.

'What's great is we don't work literally, physically next to each other all day," Anthony explained. "If we did, someone would probably be in a head lock at the end of the day. I'm not gonna say you're not gonna hear a little colorful language every once in a while, or a swear here and there. There's a lot of passion and a lot of love, and I think it shows in our product."

So to help keep the peace, let's explore each side of LaCascia's separately, starting with the deli, where the sandwiches are simply enormous. One of the top sellers is the Chicken Parm, with cutlets that are baked, not fried, and then bathed with sauce and cheese.

"Our Chicken Parm crushes it. Three full chicken cutlets in a large sub, provolone cheese, grated cheese, sauce. I mean that's a meal and a half right there," Dave exclaimed. "I've been working here my whole life. I can't finish even a small sandwich here. I don't know how people do it."

A different take on a chicken cutlet sub comes in the form of the DiParma, layered with prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, roasted red peppers, and basil. For a trip to cold cut heaven, order the Italian layered with premium meats. Bring a big appetite if you plan to tackle the Steak Bomb, stuffed with all the good stuff.

"There's so much steak in there, that's so juicy and tender, you're gonna be blown away," promised Dave.

Out of everything coming out of the deli at LaCascia's, nothing is more popular than their steak tips.

"If you were to walk through the door and someone said to me, 'I've never been here before, what should I get?' Got to go with the steak tips," Dave said confidently. "The marinade we use is like a spare rib glaze, that breaks down the steak to make it more tender. We use, like, the finest cut of steak. We tenderize it; we marinate it for 48 hours. We take great care in our steak tips."

To take the tip to the next level, order a sub known as the Steak Tips a la Fred, with onions, pepperoni, and pepperjack.

"It's like an explosion of flavor. You got the pepperoni, the pepper jack, they're kind of like have a little kick to it, and then the caramelized onions that like smooth it out and sweeten it out. So, it's really nice," said Dave.

Over on the bakery side of LaCascia's, Anthony and his team turn out an eye-popping, and waist-line expanding, amount of sweets. There are cakes and cookies, tarts and tiramisu, rugula and raisin bread. And it's all irresistible.

"Usually if a customer is heading to the deli first, with no intentions of buying something from the bakery, then it's like a gravitational pull," Anthony said. "They'll be pulled to the bakery and they usually end up walking out with something, because as much as they want to have will power, it's pretty tough when you come into LaCascia's to have will power."

The most difficult treat to resist has to be LaCascia's made-from-scratch Lobster Tail.

"Anybody I've ever brought one to, that's never had one, is blow away by it. I mean the creamy inside, and the flaky outside texture; I think it's a home run," explained Anthony. " It's the only product I really brag about here at LaCascia's. I try to be humble, but that one is, I think, the best."

The bakery also cooks up classic Sicilian sheet pan pizza, the same way they've been doing it for decades. Or if you prefer a thin crust pie, you can get that too - made on the other side of the store in the deli kitchen. But which one is better?

"Which one's better? So you got to ask me which one's better?" Anthony asked. "I'm gonna say my pizza's better because I've been making it for 23 years. That pizza's a little newer, so I'm gonna say my pizza, the Sicilian bakery pizza. But their pizza's great too. They're both good; awesome pizza all around."

Whether you order from the deli, or grab something from the bakery, at LaCascia's it's all made with ninety years of delicious family tradition.

"We've been around it our whole life, and now we're carrying the torch," Anthony said. "You know, my grandparents look down on us saying, 'jeez, to think where this came from, a little grocery store bread shop, and now we have this.' I would think they'd be proud. I know they'd be proud."

You can find LaCascia's at 326 Cambridge Street in Burlington or online at lacascias.com.

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