Tucked inside an unassuming strip mall off Prince of Wales Drive, just down the road from residential streets and a Passport Canada office, Farmers Pick Italian Foods doesn’t exactly scream “destination sandwich spot”—but it should.

From the outside, it looks like a small grocer. And it is. But wander in, past the stacked crates of summer peaches and rows of glossy bell peppers, and you’ll find something more: a deli counter that’s become a low-key lunchtime legend. There’s no neon signage, no specials board screaming for your attention. Instead, there’s a small form, a counter, and a staff who treat you like you’ve been coming for years—even if it’s your first time.

It’s past the lunch rush when I stop in. The aisles are quiet, the AC is humming, and I’ve got the place more or less to myself. A woman behind the counter greets me with an easy smile and helps me pick my sandwich. I go with the number eight, the Misto Italiano. It’s a towering stack of mortadella, Genoa salami, capicollo, and provolone, layered onto a fresh Italian bun. The bread is made in-house daily, and it shows—soft and warm, with just the right chew.

The sandwich takes about five minutes to come together, but it’s worth every second. Wrapped like a gift, it’s hefty enough to double as a paperweight. Walking it back to the car, I feel like I’m carrying a brick of banana bread. And at just under ten dollars, it feels like theft.

Inside, the vibe is easygoing—no rush, no fuss. The kind of place where regulars know the drill, and newcomers are quickly welcomed into the fold. It’s been this way for years, but the sandwich counter itself is a newer addition, started about a decade ago by the Curcio family, who own and run the shop.

“We’ve always taken it day by day,” says Johnny Curcio, the store’s general manager and brother of owner Alfonso Curcio. “It’s like a rollercoaster sometimes. But we’re working together, and that makes it stronger. We’ve got the same goal, the same mindset.”

Johnny tells me the ingredients are prepped fresh daily, with nothing cut ahead of time. “We’ve got the best Italian bread, we carry the highest brands, and we’re working on quality—food quality, meat, vegetables, cheese. That’s our focus.”

And you can taste it. The sandwich is enormous—enough for two, maybe three. The amount of meat alone would cost nearly the same at a grocery store, but here, it’s part of a whole that’s balanced and built with care. The vegetables are crisp, the bell peppers especially vibrant for summer. The meats are flavourful without being too salty, and a generous smear of Dijon brings everything into sharp focus. It's a sandwich that demands two hands—and maybe a little extra jaw flexibility.

Farmers Pick isn’t trendy. It doesn’t advertise. It doesn’t need to. What it offers is a well-kept local secret: a family-run grocery store that just happens to serve one of the best sandwiches in town.