/sbindyfood
nirasha rodriguez
Food &drink
p.37
@sbindyfood
eli new d
Charcuterie Wishes and Capicola dreams paul wellman
M
ore than a few Christ— called Bella Rosa. The tiny triumph mases ago, I was faced is the selection of mouth-melting prowith the daunting sciutto: The parma is buttery good, and task of assembling an the store does not stock lardo, or even antipasto tray for dinlard. ner after my grocer had switched its deliMetropulos, a little deli that piocatessen selection from Columbus brand neered the Funk Zone food scene, (medium, okay salami and mortadella) to contains some of the best deals and a company with a wild pig on its label and pricier delicacies at the same time. The no flavor inside. day I was there, they had Genoan (and genuine) ’Nduja for $11.99, which is betComplicating matters, I was involved in a no-holds-barred rivalry with my son, ter than Amazon prices. They have a who was the first to use the word “charfull range of Italian meats, including very reasonable capicola, surprisingly cuterie” out loud in my presence and was expensive gyros meat, and $70-a-pound then living in Philadelphia near a street called The Italian Market. That made him jamón Ibérico. And, right, no lardo. well-versed in all things salumi (Italian Via Maestra 42 began life as an for “salted meat”), so he knew the subtle Italian import store and then morphed differences between capicola (“gabainto the little, graceful mall restaurant/ gool” in Soprano-ese) and coppa, catering/deli business it is today. It’s the could negotiate the distance first place I ever had burrata (mozzaOLD-SCHOOL CUTS: Tino’s Italian Grocery on Carrillo Street, where (from left) Dino and Elio Morinini from speck to jamón rella stuffed with mascarpone) and the Where to Find dried, and Hayden Lafond work the counter, is just one place to experience Santa Barbara’s rising best place to buy frozen cannoli. But the Ibérico, and was becomcharcuterie trend. Cured, or Salted ing Facebook famous for salumi connection here is solid. Virtuhis mandala-like charally all the meats hail from Italia, and shop gratefully did not grow overpriced. “I think we the Parma prosciutto has a long, sweet, cuterie arrangements are probably very competitive with most gourmet salty taste with the integrity of the ham right there on your on cutting-board slabs. in Santa BarBara right noW shops,” said owner Michael Graham. tongue. The strangest item they sell is bottarga, which is He even bragged about the proper use of lardo, a While the cheeses are remarkable, my faves are the pressed mullet roe. It looks like a sausage and is often grated By D.J. PallaDino trendy ingredient that’s basicharcuteries that hail from crazy town: an addictive mole- over pasta — try it on nice fettuccine with clams, lemons, cally spiced pig fat. Forced to flavored salami, a chorizo-like substance called ’Nduja, made broth, garlic, and parsley. But pozzo people slice it thin and scour Los Angeles in retaliation, in-house with funky-salty-bitey delight, the wonderful fen- eat it like a slice of caviar — big-time taste explosion. the big city only yielded me high prices nel-dusted Finocchionna, prosciuttos (the big sellers), and Maybe cured meats — like ice cream and bread — don’t and Columbus meats. Graham’s current interest, Rosette de Lyon, an American- need to be artisanal to be good. I was looking for plain But today, our town is a paradise of salted, dried, cured, made but French-influenced sausage with lime and deep old antipasto-platter foods, and my son was the one who and otherwise delectable meats, and the c-word is employed garlic flavors. “Not much call for lardo,” explained Graham, remembered that Tino’s that moved to Radio Square at on menus as diverse as Farmer Boy and The Lark. The except at Christmastime. Carrillo and De la Vina streets where he used to buy high change came via the arrival of two different retailers, one a The chain beloved by charcutiers is Whole Foods. Not school lunches. Blustery old Tino is gone, and the paint is blessing and the other a chain. But two more were here the long ago, cheese and salumi were in the same counter at still fresh, but there are cottos, prosciutto, salami, and coppa whole time, one of which was rediscovered by my braggart the upper State Street store, and it seemed more adventi- at about half the price of the other stores, and just as good. tious and ample then. Now, dried meats are next to the There are chunks of sharp provolone and bright green olives son. The blessing is C’est Cheese, first arrived in 2003. Though sandwiches, including the commanding picante salame with a sharp salt kick — perfect before manicotti marinara. one ponders whether it was worth uprooting a whole neigh- (almost as good as the mole mentioned earlier) and the And when I asked, the clerk laughed.“Oh yeah, I heard about borhood of stores, the 2014 expanded version of the tiny decent uncured salami — even if that sounds like heresy lardo,” he said. “Maybe we should get some.”
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Pairing Stout with Sword Swallowers
n the ever-challenging quest to make a beer festival more interesting than just chasing the next sip, Peter Melton believes he’s hit on a winning idea.“Circus freaks meet craft beer,” he says, “together at last!” Yes, on June 11 Chase Palm Park plays host to the Craft Brew Circus, in which a coterie of fringe-act performers, from sword swallowers and contortionists to fire eaters and skin stretchers, will prance around as a few dozen breweries pour their latest ales. Melton plays ringleader, announcing acts through his megaphone, gathering folks around for the quick show, and then moving around the park to do it again. “There’s something about being up close to these circus sideshow people that is just really powerful,” said Melton, who’s made a career of putting on food-and-
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s ew circu craft br
drink and extreme sporting events from Dana Point to Santa Cruz. “The contortionist blows my mind. You’ve seen it on TV, but to see one three feet away is just amazing.” The first go at this in San Diego went quite well recently. “It just adds a different kind of camaraderie to the attendees,” he explained. “They’re experiencing it together.” Indeed, for a world full of stale beer and wine events, this one does actually sounds quite unique. Promised Melton,“We’re just gonna have some silly fun.” — Matt Kettmann
The Craft Brew Circus is at Chase Palm Park on Saturday, June 11, 2-5 p.m., with VIP entry at 1 p.m. Save $10 on the $40-$70 tickets by using the code SBINDY. See craftbrewcircus.com. independent.com
JUNE 2, 2016
THE INDEPENDENt
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