Katelyn Foster

Hi! I’m Katelyn Foster, a Public Relations major and Spanish minor from Kansas City, Kansas. As a sandwich enthusiast, I simply had to taste and review one of Arezzo’s most popular delis.

Pesto is for Pasta (Not Sandwiches)

Off Via Cavour sits a charming, Tuscan deli with some of the freshest ready-made sandwiches in all of Arezzo. Positioned directly across Piazza della Badia, the location is frequented by tourists, students and locals alike. Functioning as both a deli and store, customers approach the counter to order a bite to eat or shop around for pasta, spices, olive oil, balsamic vinaigrette, wines, meats and many more cooking delights.

Unfamiliar with the best lunch spots in Arezzo, I stumbled upon the shop with a group of fellow students. We oohed and awed at the creamy, round wheels of cheese and piquant, salty meats enclosed in a glass counter. We skimmed the menu until one item caught our eyes: “Alex.” Salame toscano, pesto, pomodoro e mozzarella… a savory find to the American palette, but according to shop manager Riccardo Moretti, “a knife in the heart to Italians.”

“Meat and pesto do not mix,” Moretti said. “Pesto with pasta, that is good.” As the creator of nearly the entire menu, Moretti highly encourages customers to, in fact, order anything but the Alex. While the warm pesto, fresh tomato, steamy mozzarella and spicy salami certainly make for a hearty and enjoyable sandwich, it does not have the same skillful blend of simple ingredients that define the other menu items.

Take, for instance, the “Light” made with salsiccia fresca (fresh, raw sausage), stracchino (Italian cow milk cheese) and salsa piccante (a hot jam). Compared to the Alex, each component enhanced the other’s flavor, creating a melt-in-your-mouth, salty, sweet and spicy combination.

With the Alex, it’s easy to taste each ingredient separately. Each element fights for dominance as your taste buds’ experience a system overload. Contrastingly, the Light’s flavor embodies elegance, each bites a seamless fusion of sandwich toppings. Individual flavors don’t have to fight; they come together to present a completely new and exquisite taste.

I would be remiss to only discuss Dal Moro’s sandwich fillings. Half of what makes or breaks each sandwich is one of Italy’s greatest loves (besides olive oil and wine): bread. To Moretti, there is a wrong and right order. Dal Moro offers two choices between Tuscan and French bread. Being, in Tuscany, it’s safe to assume this tough, chewy, saltless bread makes for not only a better textured but a more authentic, traditional Tuscan sandwich.

“In Italy, you have one good food and another good food, but we enjoy them separate,” Moretti said, referencing the simplicity of traditional Italian cuisines and their ingredient lists.

“In America, you have one good food and other good food and you all think they should be together,” Moretti said. “You say that is good, but it’s not. Less ingredients are better. You use too many ingredients. Think of pizza we make here… tomato, bread, cheese. Three things, and it’s delizioso.”