Il Porcellino is a little deli shop, just off Tennyson St in the Berkeley neighborhood of Denver. They pride themselves on locally sourcing all their products and curing all their meats in-house. However, when I eat out I try to steer myself away from red meat if there’s an equally appealing alternative.
With that in mind, during my visit to Il Porcellino I decided to go against the grain and order a few of their non-meat menu items to see if these guys could only do meat, or if their pollo/vegetarian options could also hold their own.
Please note: Financial compensation was not received for this post. I was invited by the PR firm working with Il Porcellino to come in for a meal on the house. Opinions expressed here are my own.
Decor
I suspect most of their business is takeout, but there are a number of pretty pleasing sturdy wood tables in the shop and some wall-mounted bar seating if you’re looking to have a more leisurely meal at the restaurant. There isn’t much to speak of in the way of decor, it does feels like you are eating at a neighborhood deli shop… which is exactly what you are doing.
Food
I ordered the Roasted Colorado Harissa Chicken sandwich ($12), which was filed with pickled and fermented veggies and served on a ciabatta roll. First off, the sandwich was ginormous – I could only eat about 1/3 of it before boxing up the rest. It has a strongly tangy taste, due to the lemon and spring onion aioli sauce the chicken was marinated/deeply tossed in.
I ordered the Roasted Colorado Harissa Chicken sandwich ($12), which was filed with pickled and fermented veggies and served on a ciabatta roll. First off, the sandwich was ginormous – I could only eat about 1/3 of it before boxing up the rest. It has a strongly tangy taste, due to the lemon and spring onion aioli sauce the chicken was marinated/deeply tossed in.
I liked it, but initially I thought the sauce was maybe too strong for my personal taste. However, I continued eating the sandwich as leftovers for lunch over the next couple days and spread the chicken over a bunch of plain tortilla chips to mellow out the taste and after doing that, I found the sandwich really satisfying.
My husband got the Whipped Goat Cheese & Spring Vegetable Salad ($13), which features an almost foamy Boulder chevre with a pile of roasted and pickled vegetables. He said he’d never had a sweet goat cheese before, but he liked the unique flavor combinations of the salad.
For all my non-meat eating efforts, we still couldn’t resist buying some salami to eat later. We got 20 slices of the Diablo salami ($36/lb) and my husband LOST IT when we got home and tasted it because it was so good.
Going back to buying supermarket salami is going to be painful, if not impossible, knowing that there is such delicious locally made cured meat right here in Denver.
Verdict
I’m glad to report that Il Porcellino is more than *just* a meat place. It’s definitely a satisfying lunchtime spot, and also a great place to pick up some charcuterie if you are planning on hosting a dinner party.
Details
Il Porcellino Salumi – 4324 W 41st Ave, Denver, CO 80212
- Decor: Upmarket deli
- Crowd: Locals getting lunch