Manhattan, New York: Salume

I had gone back and forth a lot on my first Italian Food Find in New York. New York is known for its authentic Italian community so the stakes were high, and I didn’t want to disappoint. I decided that my Italian Food Find in New York must be as always, affordable, rooted in Italian heritage, and so delicious I’d have full faith in this review.

Michele Colombo, a former Italian advertising executive recently opened a panini cafe in SoHo bringing authentic Italian to trendy SoHo.

Colombo, a new resident to Manhattan, arrived five years ago with one intention, to teach New Yorkers the fundamentals of Italian food. Interestingly enough, these fundamentals coincide with the fundamentals of organic food. (Win-win for you organic readers)

According to Colombo, Italians, are all about fresh, locally grown food. Food should look and taste similarly on your plate as it did in the ground.

Colombo warned me that a true Italian Panini from Salume would not come squashed, but rather toasted on baguette-like bread, and due to this preparation I could appreciate the flavors of the panino better. (Another fact from Colombo, pannini, is Italian for plural sandwiches. Panino, is a singular sandwich. So to order a Panini makes no sense to Italians!)

I enjoyed the Langhirano, a classic Italian-American sandwich consisting of Prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, and Tomato. I would also recommend the Valtellina a serving of thinly sliced lemon and brie on crusty baguette type bread available only at Salume. The thin sliver of lemon almost goes unnoticed but creates a fresh mist in between the bread and cheese.

To test Colombo I asked which panini was his favorite. Proving to be impartial he could not pick one, but let me know that my favorite, the langhirano, was his best seller.

They are indulgent sandwiches, at over ten dollars a sandwich, but worth every cent, and still cheaper than a trip to Italy.

$| 330 West Broadway at Grand St. New York, NY |212.226.8111