Searching for Salami
Selection of charcuterie and salami at A. Litteri
The task was to find the best places for charcuterie and salami in the DMV area. The result had less to do with salami and more to do with amazing foods and a positive cultural experience.
I compiled a list from a discussion I started on the Facebook group “Washington, D.C. Foodies” (operated by @DannyGrubs) and hit the road. Eight definite stops and six more possibles. A fairly aggressive list for one day. Twelve hours later we’d made it to 7 shops and my view of the district has been so pleasantly expanded.
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Gemelli’s Italian Market
12169 Darnstown Rd, Gaithersburg MD
An obvious staple of the community.
As I looked over imported and homemade selections on the shelves, Gemelli’s would inflate like a set of lungs. Customers filling in with a whoosh and a few moments later, their arms filled with deliciousness, headed back out again. Over and over again in rhythm. This is the kind of place that locals have a set routine and relationship with. There are so many regulars around that you may feel out of place asking questions about what the little bottles of fish juice are, and how to use them. That’s not the case though, the staff is friendly and inviting, trying their best to answer questions. With an extensive menu and so many items to cook with at home, it’s no mystery why everyone loves Gemelli’s.
O Portugues, Portuguese & Brazilian Market
17617 Redland Rd, Derwood MD
Large selection of Brazilian and Portuguese groceries.
Friendly staff and a ton of fresh foods and imported groceries, enough to meet the needs of anyone yearning for the taste of home.
Nido Wine Shop and Market
3155 Mount Pleasant St, NW DC
I had seen several cans of sardines in the previous shops and this place had a selection that tripped a childhood memory. I was fishing a backwoods stream in West Virginia with my college age brother and one of his friends. Still a teenager, I was used to having my life and meals prepared for me, assuming there was PB&J nearby, I asked,
“What’s for lunch?” only to be tossed a warm beer in a can.
The excitement was almost more than I could bear. A few minutes later and significantly more dizzy, my hunger continued. Confused and startled by the next offering, I was handed a tin of sardines and a sleeve of crackers for my lunch. My brother and I were raised on boiled chicken and a horrible bean casserole called “Barb’s Beans”. Neither of us were prepared for this. His friend laughed as we struggled to make sense of the meal. I still remember the tangy crunchy squish of it as I washed it down with jail juice. What a day.
Seeing so many cans of sardines on the shelves, I asked the young lady working if she could help me pick out a can and something to pair it with. That’s where things changed.
Before I could finish the question, Thea was out from behind the counter and literally dancing around the shop telling me all about a food culture I hadn’t heard of before. Dubbed as Tinned Fish Heads, she and many others are all about unique and tasty little fish treats I thought were best kept for old men who are as salty as the fish they were eating. She picked out a tin of Matiz Sardines (wild caught and packed in Spanish olive oil and sweet Piquillo peppers) to pair nicely with just plain crackers. She then dove deep into the tins explaining the intricacies of how they were caught, and if the scallops still retained a part that is traditionally cut off before serving, or if owners of the canneries had personally posted about some of them on the popular reddit group she’s a part of, “CannedSardines”. You could see the sparkle in her eyes as she spoke. As much as I wanted to combine the flavor of whatever she was describing in the tin with cheese or other food pairings she said,
“Oh, no! A toothpick, some lemon and Mmmmmmm.” she closed her eyes and with a huge smile imagined eating them herself.
Thea did what no one else did for the entire day’s journey. She actually sold me something I wouldn’t have bought and made me excited about it. Which is weird if you think about it. I was on a twelve hour trip to search out and buy exciting foods, yet she was the only one to really connect with me and as a result I walked out with a tin of Fangst’s Hjertemusling Limfjord Cockles and will never forget her or that store.
Now, more excited about food and the day’s adventure than when I entered, I shared the printed itinerary I had made. Thea plucked it out of my hands and poured over it with a coworker/friend. They both got very animated about all the names on the list with oooh’s and ahh’s and added a few favorites of their own. She mentioned how cool it was that there were so many little neighborhood shops on the list (thanks to the “Washington, DC Foodies” Facebook group). Being the country boy that I am, that really stuck out to me. D.C. isn’t just sprawling concrete? It’s a network of completely unique neighborhoods all with their own shops you couldn’t find anywhere else. Nice.
Nido’s is an amazing shop with a wide and varied selection, but it’s always about the people.
Nido’s has great people.
Each Peach
3068 Mount Pleasant St, NW DC
A short walk from Nido’s we found the coolest little grocer I may have ever seen. A small shop but bustling with business. They had an impressive selection of elegant chocolates that would make any chocolatier quiver. And spices! For real spices, not swept off the floor dried up old oregano like a chain grocery store. Not an overwhelming amount, but what they had, they had in spades. Actual whole spices, like thyme flowers, not ground thyme… whole thyme flowers in a jar. They also had one of my favorite ingredients, dried guajillo peppers, most are dried out and flaky, these were freshly dried and still had color and flexibility in them. The cheese selection and local dairy products were of course, out of this world.
They had a lot of staples too, but they excelled in what I would think could be considered, “the ingredients that just made your dinner da bomb”.
Salumeria
2703 12th St NE DC
Salumeria keeps with the homeland tradition and honors the midday riposa, or rest. Arriving a bit before the afternoon hours had started, we peeked in for a glimpse. Noticed by someone inside, a man comes out and says, “Ten minutes before, ten minutes after. What’s the difference, Come in.”
While he’s busy unlocking the door I ask, “I hear you’re the best in town?” He looks up from what he’s doing with zero hesitation and a pile of Italian enthusiasm and yells,
“YES!” and laughs heartily. No further explanation on being the best is apparently necessary and we all continue to laugh as we entered.
The shop is cold, narrow, and short. Wines, pasta and olive oil line the left wall, and the right side is all cooler. What’s even cooler than the cooler is the guy behind it, Massimo. Presumably doing this for a lifetime, he’s still happy and animated about the whole process and takes his time to explain everything we are looking at, he adds which are his favorites and which are purchased the most.
“The meatball sandwich is my favorite, of course, (he smiles as he speaks with his hands) we make it all here. The Crudo (The one I chose) is good too, lighter flavors, but it’s good, it’s good.”
We got our recommendations, and as he’s preparing them you notice what isn’t in the store. Bullshit. There is nary a spec of it in there. Only the best of the best and nothing else. The few meats behind the glass have vibrant and deep shades of pink and red throughout, and the hand labeled garlic soaking in olive oil is all but telepathically communicating with me about its creamy luscious texture and flavor. The pride is palpable as he's talking about when he roasted the garlic just a short time ago and explains, (as did Thea at Nido’s) you could pair it with other tasty treats, but his favorite was to combine it with a fork and eat it straight from the jar.
I feel grounded and humbled at the love coming from inside these narrow walls. Like I’m part of a secret that wasn’t being hidden, I just hadn’t been ready to discover it yet. We had such a great time talking about old school Italy and how many places in town sell the food they create. Mid conversation I nearly forgot we had ordered lunch.
I was not prepared.
Four ingredients:
Prosciutto di Parma
Fior di latte mozzarella
fresh basil
EVO
I’ve never had it’s equal.
Time literally stopped for a moment with the first bite. I wanted to over think it, instead I just let it happen. I’m grateful that we had a lengthy list of shops to visit, at every light or traffic pause I reached to the back seat for another delectable bite of that life changing sandwich.
My traveling companion of Portuguese descent had chosen Massimo’s favorite sandwich for its bold flavors (The meatball) and had it mostly consumed before we had pulled out of the parking space. Barely a word, rather mostly sex sounds, escaped him for the next several minutes.
An unforgettable and delightful experience. I can’t wait to go back.
A. Litteri
517 Morse St NW DC
I had been excited all day to visit here. It was weird finding it though. I felt like we had pulled into Gentrification Station, and not a revered neighborhood store. It is a warehouse style atmosphere but with new stores all around trying to pull off the warehouse style by cranking awful music onto the sidewalk and printing their menus in a chalk board font…and the parking… it was free?! That really threw me for a loop. That aside…
Perfect with a side of perfect. Narrow isles packed with all the good things. Handmade pasta, fresh bread, and lots and lots of olive oil. While looking through the Amaro selections I pulled a bottle of Fernet from the shelf and the man alongside me made a grimace and inhaled quickly between his teeth. The whistling sound it created made me think my selection could be a mistake.
“Why are you picking that one?” He asks
“I like Fernet Branca but I don’t always like the menthol flavor so I thought I’d…” He politely interjects and we start talking about Amaros and Italian food and all the places we’d been that day. It’s so much fun, those little conversations. The ones where you don’t know someone, but at the end of a few minutes you know all about his daughter who often visits from New York with hard-to-get Italian liquors (which at his bequest, are sold now at A. Litteri) and how the neighborhood has changed so much and so on. I asked what this place was best known for and he takes a step back,
“Oh… The deli for sure. I’ve seen eight cops lined up in a row at once, lines of people through the store almost out the door waiting for food at the deli.”
While we didn’t get a chance to sample the deli selections, There was a steady line of people coming in and out with determined looks on their faces and all headed straight to the deli.
This place had such a cool feeling to it, worn down concrete floors, empty cardboard boxes stacked by the counter to pack your purchase in, a total lack of promotional signage all over. It felt like you were in a place where the food did the talking, and there was no need to get all fancy about it. Old school ingredients done right, fresh from Italy to you.
The world can continue to change outside the doors of A. Litteri, but inside I doubt anything ever will.
Cheesetique
2411 Mt Vernon Ave, Arlington VA
Late in the day we headed over to Cheesetique in Arlington, a large cheese shop with an adjoining restaurant.
With exhaustion setting in, we simply asked for the favorite of the young man, Ricky, behind the counter. There’s a pause for a moment, he comes out from behind the counter surveys the vast array and replies,
“Honestly, I would start at one end of the cooler and work my way through them all.”
Laughing along with him and enjoying his energy we started tasting through some of his favorites. Just wow! We had seen and sampled many insanely tasty Italian cheeses throughout the day, but Cheestique has a worldwide selection, and they are dead serious about it. The Humbolt Fog (California) was an easy winner, Ricky agreed then remembered how good the Vacherousse (France) was, which became our new favorite and then he remembered how good Midnight Moon (Holland) was, which became our new favorite, and so on. He was enthusiastic about cheese and it was catching. Working there a mere nine months he spoke as if he had been a cheese monger his whole life.
This is a must visit shop. If not for the mind bending flavors and selections, for the hospitality. (Thanks again Ricky!)
Conclusion:
While I didn’t find one shop that had every salami ever created, I did find that everyone had several selections of the ones they liked the best. The real discovery was the beauty found in these little neighborhood shops and their dedication to doing one thing, and doing it right. This was one of the best days I’ve had in a long time and I only made it halfway through the list.
Thanks again to the Washington, DC Foodies facebook group!
To the victor go the spoils:
Bread - A. Litteri
Cheese - Vacherousse from Cheesetique
Salami - Gemelli’s
Roasted Garlic - Salumeria
Stay tuned for more reviews, interviews and photos from A Wide Place in the Road.