Luigi DiPalo, Di Palo's Fine Foods

Luigi Di Palo, a youthful 56-year-old better known as Lou, runs Little Italy’s century-old Di Palo’s Fine Foods with his brother and sister. The store started out as a latteria, selling only fresh cheese, milk and butter. Di Palo likes to say that he and his family are among the “last of the real, original Little Italy people.” These days the store is a little Italy in its own right with hundreds of Italian specialties – salumi, cheese, olive oil, preserves, and Balsamic vinegar among other things. Di Palo’s still makes its own cheese daily and as one customer kvelled, “There’s no ricotta like his ricotta.” And they were right, the bit we tasted was like eating a cloud made out of milk. We chatted with him about his family’s store as well as the neighborhood and its upcoming Carnevale festival, which runs through February 3 and will feature special dishes at area restaurants as well as impromptu shows by Italian performers and singers on weekends.

So what’s the story with Carnevale? Are there traditional foods? It’s a festive time. There’s no one specific dish. You’d eat anything and everything. You’d have your prosciutto, your porchetta. Because once Lent starts you’d be fasting. You’d really want to party it up with those specialty foods. We were always very busy for Carnevale.

The lines at Di Palo’s are legendary. What’s a typical wait like? It’s not uncommon to have a 40-minute wait. During the holidays it could be up to 4 hours. We’re aware it can be a little frustrating. You have to purchase the food in the same way you eat it, you have to savor it. Di Palo’s wouldn’t be Di Palo’s if we rushed you out.

How many times a day do you think you say, “Come over here and have a little taste? I couldn’t put a number on it. We encourage everybody to taste everything. It’s not something new. This is the old way of doing business. That’s why our counters are waist-high, like a table.

How many varieties of cheese do you sell? Is it true that you have 85 types of pecorino alone? We’re ashamed to admit we’ve only heard of pecorino Romano. At last count we had over 300 types of cheese. And more than 100 varieties of pecorino. We have many types from Lazio, which is where pecorino romano originated. We’ve also got pecorino from Sicily, Umbria, Tuscany and Calabria. Sheep’s milk cheese is made all throughout Italy. We pride ourselves on our rare cheeses. Like Britto, it’s made only 3 months out of the year by mountain herdsmen.

What’s your favorite pizzeria? That’s like asking me what my favorite cheese is. When you talk pizza there’s New York style, the original Neapolitan pizza and adaptations of Neapolitan pizza. Traditional New York style pizza was born in the 50s of gas-fired ovens and has a thin crust. Then you have Neapolitan, which also has a thin crust but is only prepared in a wood-fired oven. This is your pizza Margherita, which was named for the first queen of Italy. Then you have pizza made in coal ovens. America’s first pizzeria [Lombardi’s] used a coal oven, which gives a distinct flavor. For a traditional New York slice, I like Sal’s on Broome St. For traditional Neapolitan I like L’asso on Mott. For classic coal oven, it’s Lombardi’s. You ask me which is my favorite pizzeria. I can’t tell you. I can only tell you what I enjoy. I love Una Pizzeria Napoletana. Then there’s this place out on Avenue J [DiFara’s], he makes his with grana padano. Then there’s this guy on Allen Street [Palà] making Roman style pizza.

What’s your favorite spot for a cheap bite in the city? I like to go to Epistrophy, the Sardinian wine bar over on Mott St. For dinner I like the Venetian wine bar Bacaro on Division St. They’ve got great wines from the Veneto region and lots of traditional plates. I get the sarde sour, marinated sardines or bacalao over polenta. And sometimes I like to go to Peasant and simply have a glass of wine and a piatti de formaggi e salumi. After I’ve sold cheese and meats all day, I like to have nice plate of it.

What do you make of all these reports about mercury in tuna? My concern would be eating an excess of any one thing. We have some wonderful Italian tuna. You should try some. You’re not afraid to eat tuna, are you?

What’s the deal with that 12-year-old kid Alex Goldberg who comes in and helps out? That [New York] article didn’t do him justice. It showed only one side of that boy. We taught him how to make fresh mozzarella. He made a frittata at home. My mother tasted it. She said it was wonderful. I hate when customers come in and say, “I read the story about that obnoxious boy.” The good parts of what this boy is about were eliminated. It was an injustice to the boy and the readers.

Mets or Yankees? [Laughs] I’ve always been a Yankee fan. My brother’s a Met fan. But in recent years I’ve been very disillusioned with sports. I think the players were more giving to the fans years ago.

Who do you like in the Super Bowl? I’d like to see New York win. I foresee an upset in the making.

What do you think about the hand-sliced jamon iberico that they’re selling down the street at Despana for $120 a pound? Jamon iberico is one of the most unique cured meats in the world. It’s something that should be experienced, but it is expensive. Some of our cured meats from Italy are equally special. Take prosciutto de Parma. The pigs are fed on the whey from Parmigiano Reggiano or grana padano giving it a moist buttery texture. Then there’s prosciutto San Daniele. Cold dry air descends from the Alps into San Daniele while warm air from the Adriatic Sea funnels through the town. This gives the prosciutto a sweet, slightly salty [and] nutty flavor.