The beginning of my obsession with good prosciutto began at Domenic's last year when I needed a quick dinner before a night of studying on campus. I had first heard that the restaurant's paninis were good and upon arrival was impressed to see stacks of fresh, house-baked ciabatta behind the counter. After looking over the specialty panini, photographed and described on printouts lining the counter window, I decided on the Parma-imported Prosciutto di Parma, fresh mozzarella and basil-marinated tomatoes on their ciabatta. The fresh, full-flavored and fragrant prosciutto was layered several slices high, under the wedges of cheese and tomatoes. The ciabatta turned out to be as good as I'd heard-soft in the middle, with just enough bite and the tiniest layer of crunch on the outside, while subtle flavors complemented the insides. Needless to say, the next 10 minutes spent eating in my car were heaven.Luckily, Domenic's is close-about a mile north of Brandeis, up South Street and behind the Shell station on Main Street. It makes for a nice late-morning walk, especially if it's warm enough to sit outside at one of their umbrella-shaded tables.

If you're not into Italian charcuterie (cured meats), or any meat at all, Domenic's has plenty of solid vegetarian options, such as the Caprese, with fresh mozzarella, tomatoes and basil, or the Verde, with mixed greens, housemade dried tomatoes, gorgonzola and balsamic vinagrette (which was drenched a little too heavily on the greens). My favorite of these, equal in stature with the Parma, is the perfectly composed Melanzane, eggplant with smoked mozzarella and basil. The eggplant is prepared al funghetto, or "in the style of mushrooms," which they come to resemble when done cooking. One of the cooks described the process to me: Slender, Italian eggplants are halved lengthwise and sliced into thin half-moons; blanched in boiling water; and then salted and left to be drained of their juice. Once completely dry, they are breaded and fried, then covered in tomato sauce, or, as he then said, "basically, a real pain in the ass." Which is almost always the case with good cooking.

Try to avoid the lunch rush if you can, because of the long lines and decreased quality as the stacks of premade sandwiches can get dried out. Avoid the sides, too, at least the ones sitting out under heat lamps behind the counter window. The arancini, among these, is described as a ball of risotto with three cheeses, parma ham and sopressata, all breaded and deep-fried.

In mine, the chunks of ham were lacking flavor, certainly not Parma ham, and not sopressata at all, while the risotto was flavorless, with no hint of being cooked in a decent stock. The chicken parmesan was no better, scooped from a metal basin, slightly soggy and barely covered in mostly dried-up tomato sauce.

I still need to try the Manzo (garlic roast beef and gorgonzola), Coppa with eggplant and the Meatball, as well as some of the sandwiches among their "Deli Favorites"-more standard American-style sandwiches, made mostly without the housemade Italian specialties. Domenic's also prepares fresh-made pasta in family-sized portions and only for taking home and has a few desserts in a side display-cookies, and gelato made by Firenze in Belmont, Mass. Not to mention their filled-to-order cannoli, which is always a sign of an Italian deli that takes itself seriously.

Domenic's is open weekdays for lunch and early dinner; Saturdays for lunch.