This Old-School Pork Store Is A Carnivore’s Dream
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Emily Abrams / Swirled
While your guidebooks might tell you otherwise, New York City’s Little Italy isn’t located along the tourist traps of Manhattan’s Mulberry Street. The real deal little Italy, according to reliable Italian Grandma sources, is located in the Belmont neighborhood of the Bronx, better known as Arthur Avenue.
Waves of Italian families moved to Belmont in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Immigrant families opened mom-and-pop stores like pasta and butcher shops, bakeries and neighborhood markets. These family-run businesses give Arthur Ave and the surrounding streets a cozy, small village charm that you won’t find in Manhattan.
You might think ceilings blanketed with soppressata (Italian dry salami) only exist in idyllic villages in Italy, but luckily the Calabria Pork Store proves this theory wrong. While you’re strolling down Arthur Ave, step inside this cured meat cave. Sweet and spicy homemade dried sausages cascade down from the ceiling in a somewhat daunting way. Depending on your tolerance for cured meats, you might want to enter with caution. The meats come in varieties like housemade capocollo, hot flat soppressata, pancetta, and fresh sausage links.
It’s like a trip to the old country with meaty aromatics intense enough to either intrigue you or send you running. You won’t want to miss the bright and zesty ‘nduja (a spicy, spreadable pork salumi made with roasted peppers and spices) or the chili-rubbed calabrese table cheese. You’ll find hard cheeses like Parmigiana Reggiano and Pecorino Romano and soft cheeses like burrata and mozzarella di buffalo.
You won’t find touristy knickknacks here. It’s just about as close as you can get to traditional sausage making and old world charm. Pick up a bunch of meats for a charcuterie board that’ll impress your friends at the next dinner party. Most of the cured meats go for around $14.99 a pound. If you’re headed to Arthur Avenue to do some serious Italian shopping, the Calabria Pork Store should be on the top of your list. It’s one for the books and an Instagram-worthy situation, trust us.
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