The Heart of the Italian Market

Di Bruno Brothers, an old school, elbow to elbow, Italian food palace that’s essentially a playground for food lovers.  These culinary pioneers have four locations across the city and surrounding areas (huge market and cafe in Rittenouse, Farmers market in Ardmore and a place in the Comcast center food court).  We visited the heart of the Italian market on 9th street for an unforgettable cheese/meat adventure with some of the most passionate and entertaining cheesemongers in the universe.

The Cheese (all of which are amazing and you must try for yourself to really know what it tastes like):

The Nylander (Holland), brought back from the location of the mongers’ latest cheese field trip, can be exclusively found at Di Brunos. Unlike most farms who burn the cows horns (safety reasons), this farm has scientific proof (whoa!) that removing the horns makes the cows feel nervous, which actually changes the chemical structure of the milk.

Montgomery’s Cheddar (the complete opposite of shitty cheddar cheese).  This cheese takes it back to basics, made by hand, and with a whole host of slow food movement QA measures. As Di Brunos is the king of cheese, this is the king of all things cheddar.

Colston Bassett Stilton (England) is blue cheese… melt in your mouth blue, blue cheese. Di Brunos and a few other speciality places are the only ones to carry this particular version, made with animal rennet vs. vegetable rennet. Dig it.

The Meats:

Surryano Ham: Serrano style ham from Virginia that’s hickory smoked and tastes just like you’d imagine, savory salty meat slivers.

Paleta Iberico Bellota:  The best ham we’ve ever tasted, probably because it comes from the happiest pigs on earth (who roam free on 5 acres for 6 months then spend their last few months gorging on acorns, an antoxidant that actually makes this meat “good for you.”  At $130/lb., this is the type of meat you lock yourself in your closet with. – Cheesemonger Extraordinare/9th St. Manager Hunter Fike

Tips:

• If you can make it to the shop M-Th it’s not as busy as other times leading to more “uninhibited mongers.”  But either way, they are aggressive samplers any day of the week.
• All you need to do is come in with an open mind and tell the staff generally what types of cheeses you like and they will take it from there!
• The shop offers after hours tastings for small parties (6-8).  Another post with pictures, details, and more tips to follow!

Fun fact!  Don’t be scared of a little rhine because all are digestible, it’s a law.  These mongers will at least try all natural rhines but stay away from the wax/cloth variations.

Disclaimer:

Di Brunos is a little pricier than some other markets, as profits go towards all types of amazing cheese research across the globe.  This allows them to bring things to Philadelphia that other places in the world will literally never experience.  Go cheesemongers, go!

Hungry aren’t cha?  Click here to locate Di Bruno Brothers.

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