Claro's Italian Market

Since 1948, this family-owned market and deli in the San Gabriel Valley has imported a dizzying variety of preserved meats, cheeses, sweets, crackers and seemingly any other kind of Italian or Italian American foodstuffs you could ever possibly want or need. On our visit, we spied a human-sized piece of provolone cheese hanging off a rack, lemon-flavored digestive fizzies and pickled lupini beans—a party snack common across the Mediterranean. The made-to-order deli sandwiches are delicious as well. Locations in Arcadia and San Gabriel are closest to L.A. proper, but Claro's extends its reach out to San Bernardino and Orange County with outposts in Upland and Tustin.