Sopressata in Plastic: Columbus Renaissance Brand

After my unfavorable review of Columbus Brand Calabrese Hot Salame, I stated that I would try other salames from the Columbus Renaissance line to see if the issue was the specific flavor of salami or if the problem was their shrink wrapped salami in general. With that in mind, I bought a chub of Columbus Renaissance Brand Sopressata (their spelling) yesterday.

The answer is: a little bit of both. The overall flavor of the sopressata is much better than that of the Calabrese Hot salami: it in fact tastes like sausage and not like Slim Jim. And I do appreciate the fact that you do not have to refrigerate this sausage at all before opening it: making it great for long picnic trips and people with a desperate need for decent Italian dry sausage in places where you can't get it. Having just returned from St. George, Utah, I now know such places still exist. But if you live in New York or any other place with access to fresh dry sausage, there is

There are several reasons to do so. First of all its cheaper! Ounce for ounce, regular Columbus Salame cost less than the Renaissance brand at Zabar's. And Zabar's has a better selection of both types compared to either Fairway or Citarella, at least on the Upper West Side. Fresh Direct has nothing: you need to get out of your apartment and shop for real food. Secondly, it tastes better. Third of all, its a pain to get that shrink wrapped plastic off the food.

Although I am still trying to get up to Arthur Avenue, at the moment my favorite dry salamis are still Sopresata Veneta and the various sausages I had from Caputo's in Brooklyn. Columbus brand is widely available, and the fresh varieties are quite good.