Yeah, so what I ordered chicken from Salumi today? It’s not always about pork people. Besides, I work in the same building as the famous joint, so I can try something different every day they’re open if I want. (In fact, maybe I should start doing regular blog updates about how long the line is and what the specials are???). Anyway, back to the chicken: it’s not just any chicken.

It’s a Marco Polo sandwich: marinated chicken thighs, grilled with prosciutto (pork, aha!), drizzled with a wasabi-based dressing and topped with Ma Ma Lil’s Peppers (spicy!). It’s oozy and oily and my keyboard is getting all mucked up as I type and eat with my greasy fingers.

This is one of the rare days where being a Food + Drink editor is semi-glamorous at lunch time. While I do lots of great wining and dining on the weekends and on weeknights, I’m generally too busy at lunch time to wander from away from my desk. I eat a lot of take-out chicken teriyaki – doesn’t get much less glamorous than that…But I digress.

Back to Salumi. I love listening to people in line trying to figure out what and how to order and the friendly but no-nonsense staff’s replies. Today, one of the specials was gnocchi and when someone ordered it to go, one of the women who works there chided: “Our gnocchi is very fragile so we recommend eating it here.” The customer persisted and the woman grilled him a little more: “So you understand that it could fall apart if you take it to go?” Yes, he promised he did. Wish I could see how that works out for him….