Since I’ve been mentioning gift ideas with sausage and cheese in the same post recently, I can’t ignore Di Palo’s new online store, Di Palo Selects, as another option for the holidays. New Yorkers and die-hard Italian tourists know that they can get the best of Italy from the Di Palo family on Grand Street, but now they can get the same products without spending money on airfare. The Web site is powered by iGourmet.com but it’s less confusing because they’ve trimmed down the content to Lou Di Palo’s favorites. While there are the useful related items cross-sells, descriptions are not as overwhelming. I love the glossary page and the Ask Lou feature: you get both in person when you visit the store, which is the main reason why wait times are usually longer than my allotted lunch hour.

Some of my favorite meats and cheeses that I buy regularly from Di Palo’s:
- Piave
- Truffle cheese
- Crucolo
- fresh mozarella
- Prosciutto de Parma
- Prosciutto de Coto
- one of the sausages hanging from the ceiling
- spicy soppressata

I also restock on Di Palo’s olive oil, those glass-jarred tuna, marinated olives and artichokes, as well as Illy coffee. Lou’s brother, Sal, is my favorite. He sounds like Raymond from Everybody Loves Raymond and he makes sure that I always leave with a free treat. When it’s your turn at Di Palo’s, it’s really your turn and no one else’s. Now you can go online and every good thing is just a click away.

Di Palo’s Fine Foods is at 200 Grand Street corner of Mott in Little Italy, New York.

Related post/s:
Order your Di Palo’s goods online
And then pickle that soppressatta with herbs