As the story goes, a boy from St. Louis worked for a couple of celebrity chefs in Los Angeles and noticed the best pork deliveries each day were flown in from his home state. So he packed up, returned to town, and started turning out some of the best cured meats the city had seen. This boy: Mark Sanfilippo. Not long after he began selling his range of salumi at the Tower Grove Farmers’ Market, in 2008, he teamed up with Ben Poremba (who later opened Elaia and Olio), establishing a permanent storefront on Hampton Avenue. Salume Beddu has since been named the best salumeria in the country by Forbes. Sanfilippo’s also added another partner, Cary Exler. The full range of their skills is only realized when you join the quarterly Cure Club, offering one-of-a-kind items like the “del Pueblo,” a Mexican salume with cinnamon and chilies. One taste of their fresh salsiccia, finocchiona, or guanciale is all it takes.3467 Hampton, 314-353-3100, salumebeddu.com.
The Nation's Best Salumeria
Salume Beddu stakes its claim.
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