Meatball Mission Continues at Cortina's

Cortina's Italian Market

2175 West Orange Ave.

Anaheim, CA 92804

I know I've hit a winner when I can't wait to write about a restaurant we have just recently visited. Another sure sign of hitting pay dirt when it comes to eating out is when I can't stop gushing about a sandwich, or whatever else I happened to have consumed at a certain place. That's what I have caught myself doing since we ate at Cortina's in Anaheim.

I did not even have Cortina's on my list of restaurants that we need to visit. No need to write it down since I knew we would eventually make a trip to this iconic Anaheim restaurant. They have another location in Orange, which is closer, but they are only open on weekdays, and even then they are only open until 3pm. The Anaheim spot is open until 8 and even open on Saturdays, which makes them way more convenient, even though they are farther away from where I live in South OC.

Cortina's has been around since 1963. They had to withstand a fire back in 2013 that saw them close for six months, but they are back and better than ever serving their very ardent supporters. One of those customers just happens to be Gwen Stefani, who has deep roots here, as her brother and sister in law both worked here, and she visits Cortina's when she's back in town to visit her parents.

There would be no Gwen sighting for us on this Tuesday afternoon, but I was fine with that since this was going to be all about the food. Make sure to take some time to visit the market next door, as they have one of the best Italian markets around. I got some Italian baked goods and brought them to poker, and my good friends Cosmo and Carmela loved them, and they are really picky when it comes to Italian baked goods. They know their stuff, and they said the Italian cookies here are legit. Also legit was the variety of Italian groceries that Cortina's carries. If you need an Italian item that your local grocery store does not carry, I'll bet that Cortina's carries it. A pretty impressive little grocery store here, but I really wanted to give their food a try, so we headed next door, put in our order, found a table, and waited for our food to come out. Here's how everything went for us at Cortina's.

My parents ordered before we did, so we'll take a look at what they had first. My dad is really picky about pastrami, always asking if it is sliced real thin. He seemed really pleased with this Pastrami Sandwich ($7.70) from Cortina's. They use Boar's Head meats for their deli sandwiches, and they must have had the pastrami sliced to his liking because we did not hear a peep from him about it being too thick. This sandwich also featured some melted Swiss cheese, mustard, and a sliced pickle on the side. A very solid pastrami sandwich, one that rivals some of the best in OC. I loved the way that the Swiss cheese and pastrami complimented each other. I'm not usually a big fan of mustard, but it did not detract from this wonderful sandwich, although I'd like to have tried this with thousand island next time. It made me happy to see my dad enjoy this sandwich so much.

My mom is a pretty basic eater. She likes to eat simply and does not like a lot of big flavors to contend with. This Turkey Breast Sandwich ($6.90) satisfied her immensely. Sliced turkey, provolone cheese, light mayo, and red onion stuffed into their very good homemade Italian roll. My mom was over the moon about the bread here, which was very sturdy, but yet had a softness to it at the same time. The guts of this sandwich were very fresh, but what made this sandwich for her was the bread.

Here's an overview of what Katie and I got on this early afternoon. I had every intention of only eating half of my three items, and taking the rest home, but that, of course, did not happen since I have no willpower when it comes to food. Just looking at this picture still makes me happy reliving this meal. Let's take a closer look at what we consumed.

Even though my mom only finished half of her turkey sandwich, she nearly ate a whole slice of this pizza by herself. This was part of the Pizza By the Slice Special ($9.40) which also includes a salad and a drink. Sorry no picture of the salad, as I was sidetracked by the spread I had laid out in front of me.  The pizza here is hearty. This is not a thin crust pizza, as it had to support an evenly spaced and hefty amount of cheese, and the pepperoni on this was some of the best I have had on a pizza. It's not that processed stuff we have all become accustomed to at inferior pizza places. I'm surprised I haven't seen this pizza on more top 10 lists in OC.

One of the most popular sandwiches online at Cortina's is this Cortina's Special ($6.50) and that's what Katie went with after much debate. This sandwich came with a cavalcade of Italian cold cuts; Cotto salami, mortadella, capicola, dry salami,  and was finished off with provolone cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, and Italian dressing. Katie exclaimed after finishing this sandwich that this was the best Italian sub she has ever had. She loved the fresh produce and bread and called the Italian meats first class. The Italian dressing tied everything together wonderfully, and she would not hesitate to get this again.

The first of my two sandwiches was this Rocky Balboa ($6.80). Just like what the fighter would do to me, this sandwich knocked me out. Sliced porchetta is the star here, tender and flavorful. Then its topped with melted provolone, broccolini, garlic chili oil, and then as if there were not enough flavors included here, they also provide you with an au jus for dipping. If it wasn't for the next sandwich I'm going to share with you, this would have been one of the best sandwiches I've had in years. The insides were excellent, with the melty cheese, the crunch from the broccolini, and the chili oil which gave this a fantastic flavor boost. The au jus added some moistness, even though it was not needed here.

I only took one picture of my Meatball Sandwich ($10.20) because I was very eager to dive into it. After my first bite, I did not want to come back up for air. The menu says this sandwich is world famous, and it really should be. The meatballs here are tender as all can be, taste like an Italian meatloaf, and they provide you with plenty of them, so you get meat in every bite of this. The blanket of cheese is excellent, and they do not over sauce the sandwich so you can taste that the meatballs are the star of the show here. Like the rest of the sandwiches we tried, the bread on this was sturdy and a great vessel for the insides of this sandwich. Quite simply, the best meatball sandwich I've ever had.

If you have read up until this point, you kind of have to know that I am in love with Cortina's. Everything that we had on this afternoon really shined and my quest for the best meatball sandwich in OC might have ended with this visit. Even a few weeks later, my mom is still raving about the pizza here and has already made plans to come back to get a whole pie so the whole family can experience it. That's a big step in the advancement of my mom's food cred. Prices were more than fair, with a sandwich this good I almost felt like I was stealing from them, as I would have paid more for this sandwich experience. My only complaint is that Cortina's is not very convenient for me location-wise, but I will definitely find reasons to come back very soon.

Out of five curtains, (because cortina in Italian translates to curtain, and after trying this restaurant out, you'll definitely think they deserve a curtain call), five being best to zero being worst, Cortina's Italian Market gets 4 curtains.

For more information about Cortina's Italian Market, head to their website here: http://cortinasitalianfood.com/