NYC Eats: Salumeria Rosi

Nothing makes a girl's day like cured Italian meats.  This girl, anyway. So, my first stop in New York, for lunch on Friday, was Salumeria Rosi on Amsterdam and 73rd. An upscale meat counter on one side, and a small batch of tables on the other (including a bit of sidewalk seating), this place was the ultimate neighborhood establishment and a great place to park for an early lunch. 

I heard about Salumeria Rosi from a friend who described the piles of charcuterie as a snacking extravaganza.  With a distant gleam in his eye, he spoke of an afternoon where he and friends lingered for hours and wrapped up the experience with a cigar and a stroll in the Upper West Side.  Oddly I did not ask what he ordered, but my guess is he enjoyed the buttery and delectable Prosciutto di Parma, an array of rich aged cheeses, a slice or two of porchetta, and more than one bottle of Brunello. 

Anthony Bourdain spoke of it in a slightly more colorful light, featuring this stop in his Food Porn episode.  Tony also lauded the Prosciutto di Parma, which was paper thin and positively dissolved in your mouth (though maybe I was drooling as I looked at the pile of cured meat before us).  

The empty corner you can see in the photo above belonged to the prosciutto before my lunch companions and I tackled each other for the last slice.  It was fantastic, as was the seductive and spicy Bresaola (the dark slices in the lower left corner of the plate). 

My own stroll down Amsterdam after this meal was jaunty for sure.  I remain incurably addicted to eating in NYC!