Walking in, the smell of cured meats, cheese and fresh pasta was overwhelming. I remember how back then, Gargani seemed like an enormous cathedral. Obviously in the eyes of a child it did appear spacious, when in fact this salumeria (a shop selling culinary delicacies) is a long and narrow shop, surely not a large one. One particularly busy shopping day around Christmas time, when my mom and I were there for last minute grocery grabbing, I remember briefly "getting lost" amidst ladies with furs and pirouetting salespersons, in the bustling space occupied by the customers.
From that day on, hand firmly clasped in my mother's, I negotiated the cue at Gargani with the utmost respect (and a residual smidgen of terror). Continue Reading ➔
