Consuming Leavenworth
Pursuing cooler temperatures, my mom and I hopped in the car and headed up to Leavenworth in Saturday’s mid-afternoon heat. We actually weren’t really seeking cooler temperatures, the 98 degree temps up there would have disappointed us. Instead I was actually in search of a new salami store a friend told me about earlier in the week.
After arriving in Leavenworth — I performed a doozy of a parallel parking job into a spot probably too small for the Subaru — we headed off to find good sausage. The shop we were seeking, called Cured, was easy to find based on Brandon’s directions. The shop is located in the bottom portion of the Visconti’s restaurant building, next to their yummy gelateria. Based on what the man at the counter told me, the people at Cured should be curing their own meats within the week. In the mean time, there are lots of yummy cured-meat selections. We ended up buying some hot sopresata originating from Salumi in Seattle, that renowned salami shop run by Armandino Batali. We also bought a bit of landjaeger sausage, pretty good stuff, and some La Tur cheese.
Saturday evening’s dinner of cured meats and soft cheese was fantastic with some soft wheat bread from Anjou Bakery. It was worth the drive.
Yes, those are delicious sausages. Dino Batali’s sausages are on the menu at Visconti’s: paper-thin slices drizzled with a bit of olive oil, accompanied by the great bread from Anjou. With that, and a glass of good wine, who needs dinner? I do wish, however, that Cured would sell some kind of crusty roll or small loaf for tourists (or locals) who want to put together a picnic to be eaten within walking distance of the shop. No one wants to leave a parking place because it won’t be there when they return from getting bread somewhere else. And with the excellent wines of Ryan Patrick right next door as an accompaniment, those sausages and cheeses simply beg for some good bread.
We thought that a good roll would be great, too, for an impromptu picnic, but since, as you said, there were none available, we headed down the street to another restaurant, saving our salami for home consumption. Rochelle had been to South before, but I hadn’t and I was so impressed. We shared ceviche and carne asada tacos, and I don’t think I’ve had better anywhere including Mexico. By the way, I’m a Spanish teacher and we have traveled all over Mexico so we have experienced a great deal of authentic food.
My cousin is visiting from Madison, and I am determined to take her there for authentic Mexican food. Rochelle’s Mom
Hmmm. Well, I do believe in second chances for most things, especially with food or wine, so we will try South again, as our first…and only…experience was not one which encouraged us to return…ever. I had the worst fish taco of my life, and I do LOVE fish tacos. But I am willing to try again.