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Growing up, my grandmother hosted dinner parties to celebrate a variety of holidays, including some that didn’t apply to us, like Chinese New Year, to help my family learn about different cultures and cuisines. During Mardi Gras, we devour muffulettas, which is where my love for this unique sandwich originated. (And follow with a slice of king cake.)
A muffuletta (pronounced muh-fuh-leh-tuh) is an Italian sandwich created by Sicilian immigrants in a New Orleans Italian delicatessen called Central Grocery in 1906. It is typically prepared with ham, Genoa salami, mortadella, Swiss and provolone, as well as (the best part) olive tapenade, a salad of chopped, marinated olives, all served on a loaf of round Italian semolina bread.
Shortly after moving to Denver in 2019, I found the perfect muffuletta at Culture Meat & Cheese inside RiNo’s Denver Central Market at 2669 Larimer St.
Culture Meat & Cheese, which opened in 2016 and has another location at Denver International Airport, serves up classic sandwiches like grilled cheese and pastrami, as well as charcuterie boards, soups, and salads.
“I love cheese, I love salami, and I wanted to do something that was a little more European-style in a market where people can come for a breakfast sandwich in the morning, a lunch sandwich, and a board. charcuterie before dinner,” owner Justin Brunson said.
Brunson once owned Masterpiece Delicatessen in LoHi, which closed at the end of 2019. There, he was able to experiment with a more extensive menu of creative sandwiches, such as the popular truffle egg salad sandwich. He also owned butcher-focused restaurant Old Major, which closed in 2020 during the pandemic, and co-owned River Bear American Meats, which he sold in February to focus on a new project he has in the pipeline.
Culture Meat & Cheese’s muffuletta isn’t as traditional as the one I ate as a kid. Instead of a round Italian loaf, it’s served on a French baguette. But Brunson said it’s not his fault.
“I tried to find semolina bread here, but it doesn’t exist,” he said. “You can’t buy anything in Denver, and no one would custom fit it for me.”
Brunson’s muffuletta has a tasty addition of homemade basil pesto, red wine vinaigrette and fresh mozzarella, and comes with the usual salami, ham and olive tapenade.
While it’s a pretty stacked sub, it doesn’t spill when you bite into it, which is hard to do with most Italian sandwiches. The bread forms perfectly with each bite, and the fresh mozzarella tastes like it’s straight out of an old-school Italian deli you’d find in the French Quarter.
“I love Central Grocery in New Orleans,” Brunson said. “I finally had a real muffuletta from there and I wanted to recreate it, and I could do everything but the bread. The one at Central Grocery is the king of muffuletta. That sandwich is good the day after sitting on the counter for 12 hours or in a suitcase for two days.”
There’s no question I’ll be making a trip to Culture Meat & Cheese during Mardi Gras in February, and anytime I’m looking for a classic sandwich. And if you need a sweet treat afterwards, head to High Point Creamery inside the Denver Central Market.
Culture Meat & Cheese is located at 2669 Larimer St. in the Denver Central Market. Call 303-292-2222 or visit culturemeatandcheese.com to order ahead.
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