I Binari del Gusto – Carni e dintorni

The sign over Paolo and Nadia Nicola’s butcher’s shop alludes to the fact that the building used to be a departure station for coaches and horses bound for Saluzzo, and that after the advent of steam engines, it served as a ticket office. It was in 1998 that the Nicolas took over the business from an uncle and began selling, above all, prime-quality beef and veal, buying in heifers and steers from a livestock farm near Mondovì. At the counter they sell not only classic cuts but also meat dishes: in winter they serve braised beef with an infusion of Nebbiolo red wine, cooked at a low temperature, in summer jars of boiled beef in aspic. The braised beef also an ingredient in Machebun, Turin’s answer to the kebab. The shop’s white meats – Saluzzo blonde hen and Carmagnola gray rabbit – are also much in demand. The lamb sold is that of the Sambucano breed, a regional excellence. The charcuterie – salamini, wurst, mortadella and boiled ham hock – are all produced in-house. The product range is rounded off by homemade agnolotti, anchovies in parsley and garlic sauce, insalata russa and insalata capricciosa, along with an impressive assortment of canned goods, preserves in jars, rice and pasta.