Mado Salame
Item Purchased: Mado Salame
Location Purchased: Mado / 1647 N. Milwaukee Ave. / Chicago, IL
Price: $4.00 + tax
Purchased on: 05/02/08
Review: Call me weak, but house cured meats are my kryptonite. Homer Simpson has his Duff beer, Al Bundy has his pants in which to put his hand and I have sausages that are smoked, salted and spiced mere feet from where I will eat it. Whenever the opportunity presents itself, I just have to try it. The best I’ve had was at Mario Batali’s Lupa, in New York City, where hair thin strips of meat erupt with flavor from inside thick slabs of glorious fat.
Mado’s namesake sausage takes a different approach, as it is a coarse mince of pork and other meats with speckles of melt-in-your-mouth fat throughout. For four bucks, Mado serves up a sparse, yet fulfilling, plate of five half-dollar sized slices of this meat. Unlike many antipasto meat dishes, salt is not the main flavor in this tender sausage. Instead, an unexpected and powerful anise flavor permeates throughout each bite. Though my girlfriend found the flavor to be a bit overwhelming, I found the anise complemented the dark and earthy flavor of the meats quite nicely.
Though not the best specialty cured meat I’ve had in my life, Mado makes a good showing with a unique namesake sausage and I am eager to head back soon in order to try the other five varities.
Rating: 3.75 / 5
Leave a Comment