Today was an awesome day for Pizza Tonight! Victoria and I drove out to Mechanicsville to Olli Salumeria, a producer of Italian-style salumi (made by a 4th generation Italian salumist on Italian equipment with American hogs.) And not just any hogs, Olli Salumeria is devoted to sourcing hogs who have lived “calm, happy lives,” free of growth hormones and never restrained to pens.
Olli Salumeria represents everything that, in my opinion, Pizza Tonight stands for — artisan production of quality items, informed by ‘old world’ tradition and a ‘new world’ spirit.
We were lucky enough to get to tour their facility…
We enjoyed a presentation on their products…
And, of course, we sampled…
Jealous? You can enjoy your own spread at Secco.
The Calabresse variety was my particular favorite and seemed to have the flavor profile we’ve been looking for to add to our pizzas to fill that “pepperoni gap” on the menu.
Victoria and I are extremely appreciative of the hospitality from the crew at Olli Salumeria – Ross, Chip, and Olli answered all of our questions, and their passion for the product was infectious. It’s safe to say we will be partnering with them in the near (hopefully very near) future. Their webpage is still in progress, but do check out their f’book for more info!
Cheers!
