Fra' Mani Handcrafted Food

So Easter is almost here...and we had to have it, the Rosemary Ham!!Sadly it was not available near home...so we took a road trip to North Oakland...and we got one!I am sure my guests will appreciate it as much as I will....yum!

This is Paul Bertolli's new enterprise. He's the "curemaster" here (and no longer the chef at Oliveto). He opened as a wholesale operation a couple of weeks ago. Some of his products are sold at the butcher counter at Young's Market in Kensington. I'm sure that you'll find them around town.Folks: try this stuff. There was a mound of his dry salami at the New Year's Eve party that I attended this past December 31. (Disclaimer: Paul Bertolli was there.) It was the best thing I ever ate. Highly recommended.

I got a Fra' Mani (meaning "brother's hands") Salametto as a Xmas gift. When I opened the package, it was a moldy log whose musty smell surprised and confused me like a sudden flick on my nose. I cut into the salame and it's a beautiful mosaic of deep red meat, coarse black pepper, and ivory-colored fat. Whew. It's the best salame I have ever tasted, and it is totally blowing my mind. I wish I were better prepared with wine and cheese, and fresh-baked bread waiting because this stuff deserves to be welcomed into your home like this. I'm sorry, Salametto, I feel I have failed you. I'm running to the store to get some proper accoutrements, and I have fresh bread in the oven for you.I did some research and found out that this company is owned by Paul Bertolli, who serves as the curemaster. It's made with meat from humanely raised animals and contains no nitrites. You can get their products including fresh sausages and other dry cured meats at many stores in the Bay Area (they don't have a storefront) or order online through their website. This is a must try for meat enthusiasts; it's like the transmogrification of one's love for meat.UPDATE 12/29/06: I e-mailed Fra' Mani to ask about wine and cheese suggestions, and received a nice e-mail from Mr. Bertolli himself. Can it get any better? I think not.

i am a sausage girl. i fawn over a good meaty sausage. i am happy when i have a sausage in my mouth.ummm no sexual innuendo intendedi had such a good feeling about fra'mani. I had heard good things and the sausages always looked so happy and perky every time I saw them at Berkeley bowl - they even come with a fresh little green leaf tucked into the packaging. but for some reason i had yet to sample them. founder paul bertolli has an exceptional culinary pedigree: he spent ten years at chez panisse, was the chef at oliveto until 2005, and has published a few cookbooks.so its father's day and my dad loves sausages too - we are a happy sausage-adoring family - so I picked up a few fra'mani links from the pasta shop down on fourth street. no packages here, and i was a little sad to see them out in the meat case - alas no little leaves - but it did give me free rein to select exactly how many I wanted. i decided to try the mattinata (with sage) and classic Italian (seasoned with anise and garlic). i of course got distracted by the baskets of dry salamis, which fra'mani makes with natural hog casings and lets age slowly. i could not resist and ended up with a loop of salametto piccante - a spicy, dry chorizo seasoned with pimenton.the salametto piccante was mind blowing. creamy thick texture, flavorful, smoky, and salty. a great chewiness without being at all gristly. oh wow. thank god for you my dear powerful little salametto. and the taste lingers - i had the aromatic reminder of salametto piccante banging around my mouth for hours and hours afterward. fun? perhaps. just don't go snogging strangers or go out on any first dates after indulging - or if you do make sure they love cured meats - but of course anyone you date should appreciate the magnificence of cured meats. so yes it should not be any problem.sadly the fresh links managed to underwhelm us all. they were overpoweringly salty (and mind you this is coming from a girl who all but carries around her own salt lick in a pocket) so none of the other flavors were able to come through - if they were even there. the meat was a little gristly and unpleasantly chewy - and they were even a bit on the dry side. I will give them another shot and sample the spicy Italian sausage.but for now I will stick with fra'mani's glorious dry salamis. and there are six to choose from!! original salametto, piccante, salame nostrano, salame toscano, salame gentile, soppressata...and i plan on hunting down some of their mortadella shortly.

Paul Bertoli leaves Chez Panisse for Oliveto, which I got to eat at once while he was the chef there. Then he leaves Oliveto to make Salumi and Baslamic? Interesting. Of course you knew whatever he was doing with food was going to be good. I've tried most of the salami, many of the sausages, but none of the prepared, pre packaged foods which I think someone told me you can get at Costco? Id be curious as to see what the Penne Puttanesca would be like, though I doubt it's going to beat it fresh from when he was at Oliveto. Still a solid vendor doing handcrafted foods.

Looking for Italian style salumi, I found Fra'Mani at the Berkeley Bowl and bought their Salametto - really excellent in taste and consistency and indeed reminiscent of dried Italian pork sausage.I was very glad to find this company because I am sick and tired of all the unwanted things in the salame of other well-known CA companies, like Columbus (their products contain high-fructose corn syrup) and Molinari (use of sugar).

Dear sweet sausage gods, thank you. Thank you for these deliciously sweet and spicy italian pork treats. I used to proselytise the love for Lucca sausages and while still very good, they pale in comparison to the mouth watering delights of what Fra' Mani puts out. The first time I had one, my good friend Anne Dickey brought them out to Hog Island and we munched on them while shucking fresh kumamotos. At that moment I found god, in a sausage.

This is a review of the refrigerated product they sell. Tried the fra mani chicken marsala or framani and it was the worst taste. Chicken Pieces chew like cartilage and unpleasant taste. No package wasn't expired. Got it from CostcoBland taste Never again

Oh my gosh - while their salumi and meats are so off the chart delicious, I am pleased to see that the same careful attention to detail goes into their other products like the risotto and polenta that I found at Costco. You may not think that there is a difference in salami but once you've tried any of their varieties, you quickly understand how this boutique food manufacturer distinguishes itself from others.

I've been traveling for a few days so I was really looking forward to cooking up some pasta with zucchini and pancetta tonight. The pancetta was fra mani that I bought at Whole Foods a few days ago. The zucchini were the first this spring that I got from my favorite farm. When I opened the pancetta, it didn't smell right, more like hot dogs or something. I almost threw it out, but I thought I'd give it a try. It didn't taste like pancetta either and it ruined my meal. I can't figure out from the ingredients list, what it is that makes it smell and taste like hot dogs. If that's the flavor profile you're going for, that's fine. Lots of people like hot dogs, but please don't call it pancetta.