2012 was a year of abbondanza for Salumeria Italiana -- good products, great customers, and media recognition. Feb 13, 2012, Andrew Zimmern of Travel Channel featured the North End and especially Salumeria Italiana on Bizarre Foods [1]. Zimmern and a television crew came in the previous August to film his favorite foods. He raved about Coppa di Testa, head cheese filled with all the bits and pieces of pork he loves. He sampled our Olive Antipasto with seven different olive varieties, caper berries, pickled garlic, and sundried tomatoes. And he chatted with owner Gaetano and staff members. Coppa di Testa, usually sought out by older Italians, suddenly became a hot-selling item with customers coming from far and wide to taste what Andrew likes.
Spring 2012 brought an epiphany in super premium extra virgin olive oils. Gaetano read "Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil" by Tom Mueller, about authenticity and fraud in EVOO, and began a hunt for exquisite small-production extra virgin olive oils to offer our customers. 274th Il Novello from Sicily, Colonna Molise DOP from Molise, Le Amantine's Amantino, Taleo and Unico from Lazio, Garda Orientale DOP from the Veneto, and many more were added to our already impressive stock of EVOOs from all over Italy. We feel passionately that the extra virgin olive oil we sell must be the very best. And our customers rely on Salumeria Italiana to tell them about the oils, let them sample, and give them a good value for superior products.
Many customers are very familiar with our retail store, coming in several times a week for bread, cheeses, meats, and other necessities. Others shop online for the best, but have never visited the store. This summer, a crew from Media Temple, our web host, chose Salumeria Italiana to be profiled in a video. It's a glimpse into the life of the store that everyone from Boston to Los Angeles to Texas to North Dakota can enjoy. http://player.vimeo.com/video/48766445 [2]
It's nice to know that taste testers for the Wall Street Journal agree with Salumeria Italiana on our Sweet Soppressata. In a Dec. 7 Mini-Guide to Salami, our Alps Sweet Soppressata was chosen best in its category. All the salumi sold at Salumeria Italiana is tasted before purchasing to sell at the store, and each shipment is tasted to guarantee consistency. That way customers can feel confident that they are getting the very best product we can find. The article caused a run on Sweet Soppressata; luckily we keep a good supply of it. (And Alps Hot Soppressata is deliciozo, too).
As we say good-by to 2012, we offer hopes for a happy and prosperous 2013 for all !! Buon Anno!!!
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