I would venture out of our tiny apartment and get swept into the hum and motion of Columbia City's community on Wednesdays afternoons: food carts (including an helado wagon complete with a bell), neighbors shooting the shit, farmers from all over the state. Truckloads of corn picked that morning, heirloom varieties of peaches and tomatoes, beets and greens, and mind-boggling arrays of locally harvested honey and homemade preserves transformed buckling parking-lot concrete into a dense neighborhood block party.
A few apartments and lots of vegetables later, I found myself in Columbia City again, sweating heavily and powerfully thirsty. I stumbled into La Medusa's beautiful younger sister, Salumeria on Hudson. While I appreciate a nice Sicilian meal at La Medusa, I can't afford to eat there enough to get cozy. But Salumeria? Who can resist an Italian deli?
Columbia City boasts such a gem, in a spacious, airy storefront stocked with jars of good things, so comforting to gaze upon I'm almost nourished by the mere sight of it all: mounds of glistening olives, the odd-looking (butstrangely comforting) organic curves of prosciutto, the no-nonsense chef brusquely taking your order and then lovingly serving you a meatball sandwich that brings a tear to the eye. But this is no sandwich-on-the-run joint. I walked in, looking for Aranciata (a tiny but refreshing Italian beverage spawned by San Pellegrino), and wound up ordering the Number One Sandwich ($6.25), featuring Salumeria's house-cured pork loin (succulent!), marinated red onions (addictive!), and fontina on focaccia--a simple sandwich constructed from a few, basic ingredients, utterly lacking all the Northwest funny business that plagues most local meals between bread. It was perfect. After gobbling down that treat, I ate a not-very-small chopped salad ($4.75), rife with salami and other treats, in order to aid digestion.
I returned on a hot Saturday evening, family in tow, sweating heavily again, and was delighted by the BABY-BACK PORK RIB dinner special ($10.95, with sides). Not only does this deli know how to make a sandwich, but the place also possesses a skill almost as important as knowing how to satisfy a woman: slow-cooking meat to perfection. Falling-off-the-bone tender, Salumeria's ribs nod at traditional barbecue with their royal, Sicilian crown of a deep, sweet, spicy, chunky tomato sauce flecked with rosemary. The marinated veggies ($3.50), pasta with mushrooms ($4.50), and chicken salad ($4.50) I sampled with my dinner were all very solid, and of a distinctly different lineage than those found in (not so) supermarkets. Besides the deli stuff and nightly specials for dinner, Salumeria also tosses fresh pizza ($9.50-$14.95), provides sturdy chairs and tables to eat at... plus there's no corking fee, AND there's a really nice selection of Italian, California, and Northwest wines, plus beer.
So I sat down with my fella and kid,and leisurely ate a nice dinner with wine and kickass Procopio hazelnut gelato ($1.45) for dessert, all for about $30. I left Columbia City feeling very, very warm inside.
Salumeria on Hudson
4918 Rainier Ave S (at Hudson St), 760-7741.
Tues-Sun 11:30 am-8:30 pm. Closed Mondays. $.
Price Scale (per entrée)
$ = $10 and under; $$ = $10-$20; $$$ = $20 and up.