Boccalone Salumeria

Beautiful flavors from the hot sandwiches. Love the mess piggy and italian sausage - old time favorites. We always stop here for a quick bite and share 1 or 2 sandwiches depending how hungry we are. They are quite the size and very filling. Great stop if you have to catch the ferry or roaming around Embarcadero. Under $10 for sandwich - great prices!

Yes, I know it is in a touristy Mecca. Yes, I know it is tourist Mecca. This is what I repeatedly told my SF local friend whom I was visiting. But even sometimes there are undiscovered gems that even the locals can share with the throngs of tourists. Once such place is Boccalone. Located along the main artiery of the Ferry Terminal Building; friendly service and the clear glass refrigerator holding the precious cured Italian salumi hang for all to see. I've made a believer out of him. Mortadella hot dog - $9.50 Prosciutto Crudo Panini - $9.50. Sparkling Water $2.50. Sitting on a pier enjoying it with friend - Priceless.

Ay Dios Puerco. You see what I did there? Equated pork to god. Not literally…….welllllll. I think Boccalone sells a few things here that might change your opinion as you read this. Before the pork cone and before the online ordering I had to come here, wait in that line and buy as much as I could afford. As the features and products started growing I too joined the Salumi Society. Sadly I was confused and thought the subscription was total and not per month and I chose not to renew and switched to the salami of the month due to cost. I really wish they partnered with a local cheese shop and wine bar’s sommelier like say RN74 and Cowgirl Creamery. It’s small, but all the magic happens behind the scenes as they hand butcher, small batch, cold cure and age each specific specialty. They hand select heritage breeds as well. The cone was all the rage and was a game changer in cured meat vehicles. I’m going to try and describe each variety of meat, but I can tell you I much prefer the Hot panini’s to the cold one’s. Don’t get too crazy on the customizations as it’s not a deli like that. Really basic and traditional. They partner with a good bread maker, but not a good sandwich breadmaker (I think may be within the landing or embaracadero, ACME perhaps). Muffuletta lacks the proper bread and is too heavy on the tapenade. Proscuitto cotto is a perfect mix of mustard and meat, so thin and oily and rich and buttery. I stay away from the hot dog and pulled pork as those are a little to specialty to perfect. More industrial regions like Philly, Chicago and NY really fort the dog right while the south and BBQ do a pulled pork much better. They specialize in pig meats, but found their sausage variety lacking. I wish they had a dozen sausage offerings like say a good butcher, their variety focuses on the salami versus sausage. They differentiate themselves from a true “European” salumeria in that they veer away from the historical best like iberico and mangalista’s with more emphasis on Italian styles like guanciale (cheek), nduja (sausage spread), capocollo, lardo, lonza. I was particularly impressed with their NJuda and found it better than anything I’d had in the states. Perfect spice level will take any piece of bread or sandwich you eat to the next level, this would make any bahn mi otherworldly. It’s a little too craft to produce real volume like Ollie in VA and not as authentic as Salume Beddu in St. Louis. It’s probably the best in the City and rivalling the meats uproar in Portland.

Oh my. The cured meats hear mean business. They're ready to kick your taste buds rear end! The spread of different meats is stellar, ask the friendly and knowledgable staff about each meat and the flavour that comes with it. In addition, check out the well designed meat locker - lovely! And if you're daring, try the "meatsicle", which is a handful of slices of different meats in a cone. It may sound odd, but it's delicious and gives you a great variety of tastes!