When I moved to the Pacific Northwest 8 years ago, I went through the different food discussion forums to find what the locals recommended. Salumi was a place that people raved about. Based upon the info, they were only open for lunch.
I can't get away from work to drive to Seattle for a 2 hour lunch! So we tucked that place for a later date
8 years later! Now that I have some vacation time built up, recently, we made an effort to go for lunch, only to be denied two other times.
Try #1: (Friday, July 3rd) They have a website! There hours are Tuesday through Friday, 11 to 4 pm. I have the day off so let's go try the place out. As we drive by the shop, we notice there's no line. After parking and walking to the store front, we see a hand written sign, "On Vacation till xxx" What??? Why don't they mention their vacation on their website? Argh!
Try #2 (Friday, July 17, 2009) - Bite of Seattle... the plan is to hit The Bite and leave early. However, by the time we leave, it's 3:30 pm and can't get to Salumi before 4 pm! Argh!
Try #3 (Friday, Aug 14, 2009) - It's a Friday... (Check) They should be back from vacation. (Check). We're leaving early to get their around or before 11 A.M. (Check) We have change for the parking meters? (Check) Okay, let's cross our fingers and go.
We drive by the shop at 10:45 AM. Wow! There's already a line of about 20 people. At least, we know they're open today. :-) We park and walk up to the shop about 10:55. Now they're 30 people in front of us.
However, we made it!
10 minutes before opening and the line wraps around the corner.
We stake out our place in line... Not bad, we still see the sign and around the corner is our goal. While we're waiting in line, a worker walks down the line to hand out samples. Very nice!
People from the back were coming up to ask her what the wait was for them. She estimated an hour for those in back. Yikes!
We turn the corner to see the specials. Chiccharones! Hmm... should I or shouldn't I?
The threshold of the front door is within a step or two... This is a long, narrow building that reveals another line!
Through the front door, we see an indication of the porcine goodness that awaits those who enter.
Another board with more delicious choices!
The specials on display in the case.
Proscuitto with figs, pasta, cracklings and the bean salad.
We're eager to order!
The sandwich special on display!
The workers are cranking through the orders.
Finally, I order my sandwich. Hurray!
Hot sopressata salami on a ciabatta. Dressed with a parsley, bread crumb, olive oil mixture (on the left) and a garlic, bread crumb, olive oil mixture (on the right).
No mayo or mustard here.
Our sandwiches!
I ordered a hot (garlic and cayenne) sopressata salami with fresh mozzarella, cooked onion and green pepper on a ciabatta.
K ordered the Salumi salami (mint, garlic and ginger) with provolone, cooked onion and green pepper on an olive roll.
S ordered their meatball sandwich with provolone, onions, peppers on a French baguette.
Salumi has limited seating so we had our order "to go". The cashier suggested the plaza around the corner as a nice place to sit and eat. However, while walking to the plaza, he heard and saw a waterfall with seats.
The sandwiches were delicious. The bread was delicious, the salami was terrific! All the ingredients complemented the salami without masking the flavor.
The marinara on the meatballs was fresh and not overpowering. The meatballs was a mixture of ground and chunks meat. I like the added texture of the meat chunks. The flavor was like a mild Italian sausage with fennel.
I'm glad we were finally able to make it down here for lunch.
It all made for a fun and relaxing lunch for the three of us. :-)
3 comments:
It was the best!! SO glad we finally made it! Love your commentary and photos. Your description was exactly how I remembered it. What restaurant/gem do we try next? What's on your list?
I'm glad I remembered the details... you know me and my memory. :-)
What's next on my list? Well... there's a Neapolitan pizza place that my Italian coworkers rave about as being "true" Italian pizza.
Sounds great! I remember driving by that place a couple of times - at least I know the neighborhood - so, I'd just get a little bit lost finding the place. haha Ask them what they recommend; Pizza or pasta, or both!
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