Last month something magical took place. Slip discovered on uwishunu.com (Philadelphians— check this out!) that the original DiBruno Bros. store down on 9th Street offers private tastings after hours. It costs $100 for eight people, and $20 for each additional guest. And trust me, it is worth if. You will find yourself privy to the full antipasto bar, some of the world’s best cheeses and meats, specialty desserts, crackers, and nuts. It’s BYOB, so you can bring your favorite wine and beer pairings. And, at the end of the night, anything you want to purchase is 10% off. What’s the catch? There isn’t any.

We began our night with a warm welcome from our two hosts, Matt and Mark. They poured us water, gave us a run-down of the entire antipasto and olive bar, and encouraged us to ask to try whatever our hearts desired (except for dried pasta, unless we brought our own pot of boiling water, in which case we were welcome to give it a go). M and M we’re so wonderful, friendly, and knowledgable, repeatedly telling us that this was our night, and we were welcome to request anything, even music. As we each took our small plates we started sampling the many kinds of olives (some stuffed with the likes of garlic, anchovies, and blue cheese), several different kinds of artichokes, fire roasted tomatoes, seafood salad, gigante beans, stuffed grape leaves, hot peppers stuffed with prosciutto and provolone, peppadew peppers, fire roasted marinated peppers… just to name a few.

While we sampled these antipasto delights, our connoisseurs put out some fresh, house-made Mozzarella (buy this!!), drizzled it with rich olive oil, and sprinkled with Maldon sea salt. It was served with fresh bread and pesto, imported from Italy. It was incredible. Next was onto the meats and cheeses…

We had the opportunity to walk throughout the cozy store, asking questions and asking for samples. We tried a variety of different cheeses, each one accompanied by a detailed story of where exactly in the world the cheese came from, the farmers who made the cheese, and the fact that many of these tasty bites were exclusively marketed in DiBruno Bros. before any other store in the US.

We also got to try a bunch of tasty treats that Matt and Mark had created. I loved the famed duck pastrami, but the creation of New York Flatbread everything crackers topped with dulce de leche and Serrano style smoked Virginia ham (sounds odd? It was amazing) was my favorite. Another treat was small crostini topped with foie gras wrapped in guanicale (really fatty Italian bacon), topped with a cherry sauce.

For dessert we had another tray of dessert cheeses, including a tasty goat cheese and a cabrales style blue. We also had some pieces of Italian Torrone (a favorite), chocolate dipped figs, and a variety of Squirrel Brand nuts, including creme brulee almonds.

At the end of the night we all lined up to purchase some of our favorite tastes of the night, like specialty olive oils, cheese, and crackers. The event was just in time for Thanksgiving, for which we purchased a bunch of antipasto. DiBruno Bros. closes down this private tasting venture during the busy holiday season, but they’ll be up and running again in January. I’ve been brainstorming my reason for our next tasting— I can’t wait!