romanian meat guy {mercato esquilino rome}

I wrote about going to the Nuovo Mercato Esquilino the other day. And while the market is known for it’s grand selection of exotic fruits and vegetables, I have a secret to admit. While I certainly leave the market with bags weighed down with fresh produce, there is another reason I always come here: The Romanian Meat Guy.

He’s at Box 116. You can’t miss him. His stand is filled with Romanian things I never knew I needed. Pastrami, yes, that’s obvious. But all other sorts of smoked things like sausages, ribs, roast and bacon. And then there’s the ‘wurst’. Big ones, littles ones, wurst with paprika and those without.

I don’t really know what everything is, but I buy some anyway. It’s always good. In a Eastern European meaty kind of way.

And like any good Eastern European food store they have huge containers of sour cream. Now, if you’re reading this in the States, you’re thinking ‘big deal’ But if you live in Italy, then you know how exciting a tub of sour cream can be. I also never leave without a packet of some sort of paprika-heavy spice mix.

He also has a large selection of raw meat too. And that’s what most people are buying from him whenever I go. But me? I go straight for the bright pink cured stuff. Because that’s just the kind of girl I am.