Salumi, Seattle

Justin and I took a mini vacation to Seattle this week. It was short and sweet with the ultimate goal of seeing some friends for a few hours, but the secondary goal was to try out the legendary sandwich shop Salumi. The place is run by Mario Battalis's father and they make all their own salamis and other cured meats. We have heard the sandwiches are worth the drive from Portland! Be warned that they are only open Tuesday - Friday, 11am-4pm. So don't drive on the weekend.

We spotted the shop before we saw the pig on the sign, because of the line snaking down the block in the cold, December sunshine.

We waited in line for over an hour before being let into the tiny store front. 8 or 9 sandwiches were listed on the board, mostly cold, with two hot choices.

We were barked at by the harried sandwich lady behind the counter and placed our order.

Cotto salami with fresh mozzarella, muffo (mixed meats, cheese and an olive spread), and a hot pork sandwich. We wrapped the muffo to go and then tucked ourselves into a tiny table between the sink and the bathroom.


The hot pork sandwich was A-MAZ-ING! Pulled pork cooked with carrots, onions, fennel and maybe cinnamon, piled into a fresh baguette, then pickled onions and peppers were added. Sweet and savory and juicy in each bite. Seriously good food - and one I am going to start digging up a recipe for as soon as I can.

The cotto salami was good, but way too much bread for the amount of meat in it. We had plentiful leftover and this sandwich was much better grilled up on the stove for dinner. The bread got compressed and toasted and had a better texture.

We didn't get to try to muffo because we used it as currency to pay my folks for watching Doug. They loved it, so if I ever decide to stand in line again I will try the muffo!

All in all, I am not sure if it was worth waiting in line outside, freezing, for an hour. But, I am glad we finally got a chance to try the place and cross it off our "must-eat" list.