Foodie Friday: Piazza Italian Market
EASTON, Md. – A visit to the spot we’re featuring in this edition of Foodie Friday is kind of like being transported to Italy. The ingredients they sell and serve up to their customers are the real deal.
Expertise and Excellence
Piazza Italian Market owner Emily Chandler has traveled to Italy more than a dozen times, and lived in Rome for a spell, learning from the locals about the best quality eats. And since 2008, Chandler has been bringing that expertise to locals in Easton.
But on this visit, Alex Roman, who’s been on the Piazza team since they opened their doors, takes host Hannah Cechini and Foodie Photog Mike on a tour of all they have to offer; including homemade meals, and some of the best meats and cheeses around.
“I definitely dig the kind of funky, nutty notes it’s got going, which I suspect will go very good with the prosciutto,” Mike commented with his first bite of mouth-wateringly delicious parmesan cheese. “The difference between good, fresh prosciutto and stuff that’s been sliced and sent to the fridge case, is the fat is too chewy. This is very pleasant.”
“The main differences, prosciutto-wise, is the region and the diet of the pigs,” Alex explained with her own expertise.
Sunchoke Bliss
Something else that stands out at Piazza is their homemade soups, which rotate daily. “A lot of people will call in and ask, ‘What soups do you guys have today?’ So, we definitely have a big soup following, as well,” Alex said.
On this day, sunchoke soup is on.
“For this being my first time trying sunchoke anything, I’m definitely a new fan,” Hannah said with their first bite. “It is really similar to artichoke. It’s got a really nice, kind of nutty flavor to it. The texture is really creamy, as well.”
Melty and Magnificent
However, what really shines at this eatery, is their sandwiches. The Capuano steak panini is a fan favorite.
“We make garlic butter, we put steak on it, we use fontina cheese, and then we grill it, and then we add arugula afterwards,” said Alex. “All of the beef, and all of the pork, is made in house, as well as all of the spreads and sides.”
The sandwich gets an open-faced kiss on the grill, before being closed and pressed. Alex says this allows for the cheese to get extra melty, and extra yummy.
“It’s got great, herby notes that are just enhancing the quality of the beef, because good beef should be more than one note, right? It should have other qualities to it,” Mike said of the meat. “There’s a great, medium to medium rare cook on the beef. The amount of herbs is right. It shows up but doesn’t overpower anything else. Just a nice crunch on that roll.”
A Sentimental Sandwich
And, we can’t forget about Piazza’s Campana handheld, simple and delicious: fresh mozzarella, basil, prosciutto, tomato, and olive oil on a ciabatta-like roll. “This prosciutto is only made in the Parma region. The pigs are on a very specific diet. It’s a mostly whey diet,” Alex explained.
For Hannah, this was a sentimental sandwich.
“When I go home to visit my mom and my step dad, this is what’s for lunch at my house. It’s a piece of fresh bread, and it’s some fresh mozzarella, it’s some prosciutto, some tomatoes from their garden in the back yard,” Hannah said. “This reminds me of home a lot, and that’s why it’s putting such a big smile on my face right now.”
Getting down to the ingredients, “The bread is really light and airy. But, it also holds up under all the mozzarella, and the prosciutto, and the tomato,” Hannah said. And then, the basil just kind of amps up the refreshing aspect of it. Certain kinds of olive oils are much better than others, and when you have a fresher, just better-quality olive oil, it really elevates the food that you’re using it on.”
Piazza Italian Market
Piazza Italian Market is located in the Talbot Town Shopping Center at 218 North Washington Street, Easton, Md. You can call them at 410-820-8281. If you go to check it out, tell the team that you saw them on Foodie Friday.
