Wednesday, June 21, 2006
NYC Eye-Talian Grocery
Glutton's Club reader and frequent tipster Gabe has a story to tell. It is a story of cured meats, Italian-American celebrity look-alikes, tomatoes and Gluttony. It is a good story and one that has decided what I'll be having for dinner tonight. I like stories like this.
Hi Matt,
OK, so here's the detail (only some of which I mentioned when we spoke). I visited my brother in Soho this weekend, and he took me to his favorite Italian grocery, DiPalo's (225 Grand, I think - it's right on the edge of Little Italy and Chinatown). Not only do they have great food, but one of the guys who works there is a dead ringer for Chazz Palminteri (including his voice).
I had to forgo all kinds of good things that wouldn't have been stable enough for a hot day in the city and the long drive home, but I did leave with these:
1) Excellent parmegiano reggiano, very crumbly and especially sweet
2) Sopressata: one hot, one sweet, and one with wine and garlic
3) Several cans of true San Marzano tomatoes (Pastosa brand), bearing a number of seals indicating authenticity: denominazione d'origine protetta, certificazione agroalimentare, pomodoros marzano dell'agrosarnese-necerino
Everything was fantastic, especially the sweet and wine & garlic sopresetta.
The tomatoes came with a story: I learned that the "italian" tomatoes I've been buying up 'til now (brands like Cento and Pastene, with a "packed in Italy" designation, no salt, and a higher price than the cans of the same brands packed in California) allegedly contain San Marzano tomatoes that have been sprouted in Italy, shipped to California to be grown to maturity and harvested, then shipped back to Italy for canning.
I cooked a simple reduced sauce yesterday (nothing but a little oil and garlic, briefly sauteed before adding one can of the tomatoes, then boiled violently for a few minutes to diminish the acid and simmered until reduced down by 2/3), and it was markedly brighter, sweeter, and had a stronger tomato flavor than a similar sauce made with either California tomatoes or San Marzanos "packed in italy."
G
Hi Matt,
OK, so here's the detail (only some of which I mentioned when we spoke). I visited my brother in Soho this weekend, and he took me to his favorite Italian grocery, DiPalo's (225 Grand, I think - it's right on the edge of Little Italy and Chinatown). Not only do they have great food, but one of the guys who works there is a dead ringer for Chazz Palminteri (including his voice).
I had to forgo all kinds of good things that wouldn't have been stable enough for a hot day in the city and the long drive home, but I did leave with these:
1) Excellent parmegiano reggiano, very crumbly and especially sweet
2) Sopressata: one hot, one sweet, and one with wine and garlic
3) Several cans of true San Marzano tomatoes (Pastosa brand), bearing a number of seals indicating authenticity: denominazione d'origine protetta, certificazione agroalimentare, pomodoros marzano dell'agrosarnese-necerino
Everything was fantastic, especially the sweet and wine & garlic sopresetta.
The tomatoes came with a story: I learned that the "italian" tomatoes I've been buying up 'til now (brands like Cento and Pastene, with a "packed in Italy" designation, no salt, and a higher price than the cans of the same brands packed in California) allegedly contain San Marzano tomatoes that have been sprouted in Italy, shipped to California to be grown to maturity and harvested, then shipped back to Italy for canning.
I cooked a simple reduced sauce yesterday (nothing but a little oil and garlic, briefly sauteed before adding one can of the tomatoes, then boiled violently for a few minutes to diminish the acid and simmered until reduced down by 2/3), and it was markedly brighter, sweeter, and had a stronger tomato flavor than a similar sauce made with either California tomatoes or San Marzanos "packed in italy."
G
# posted by Yossie @ 11:03 AM 
