In 1975, thirty-year-old Mimmo Magliulo, a mechanical engineer living near Naples, visited New York City and was intrigued. Within a year, he packed up and moved. Quickly realizing that his skills as an engineer would not easily translate in America ("the language barrier was a big problem," he says), Magliulo began waiting tables in Italian restaurants.
"I soon discovered that New York restaurants desperately needed quality products but didn't know where or how to get them," he remembers. Since extra virgin olive oil and buffalo mozzarella were foreign to American palates thirty years ago, Magliulo figured he could use his restaurant connections here and his food connections back home to introduce a wider range of Italian foods by selling to restaurants and gourmet stores. Coincidentally, Dean & DeLuca arrived on the scene about the same time and became one of Magliulo's first accounts. "I knew what spoiled and what didn't; I'd pick up fresh fish, porcini mushrooms and mozzarella di bufala from the airport and take them straight to the restaurants," he recalls.
Two decades and hundreds of accounts later, Magliulo opened a retail store in New York City's Chelsea Market. "I display all the products and sell them at close to wholesale prices," he says. Today, Buon Italia--which includes an espresso bar, meat counter and prepared food section--still feels like a genuine Italian market and is a destination spot in the cavernous Chelsea Market. Magliulo also supplies authemtic foods to three hundred Italian restaurants and gourmet stores nationwide.
"I care very much about the relationship between quality and price. Buon Italia is a passion-driven business," says Magliulo. Although he wants to give many people access to his products, it's unlikely he'll open another store: "I always want to be around to wave to my customers," Magliulo explains.
Here are his winter favorites:
1. Setaro Pasta. "This artisanal pasta is white and coarse. The pasta makers use the best flour, shape the pasta with bronze molds and dry it slowly, so the flavor, vitamins and nutrients remain intact." The resulting pasta is so tasty that it can be eaten just drizzled with olive oil. ($5.95 for a 2.2-lb bag)
2. Buon Italia Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Puglia. "When you open the bottle, you can smell the perfume of a freshly crushed olive. It tastes light at first, followed by a sharp and sometimes bitter taste. It will stay this way for two years because the dark bottle protects it from heat and light." ($15.25 for 750 ml)
3. White Truffles. "I get excited about white truffles for they symbolize the nearness of the holiday season. Truffles are an acquired taste, as they fill your mouth with an exotic, musky sensation. You know you're eating something rare and special." White truffles should be sparingly shaved over buttered pasta, risotto or sunny-side-up eggs. ($140 per ounce)
These products can be purchased on www.buonitalia.com or by calling 212-633-9090. Bene Club members can also receive surprise baskets of Buon Italia foods throughout the year. Log onto www.benemag.com to join.
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