What is a fiambreria?

If "queso" is Spanish for "cheese," then "queseria," on the left-hand window, must certainly be "cheese shop." But on the right, what is a "fiambreria"? I was keen to guess.

Fiambre is a Guatemalan "chef's salad" with Spanish roots, prepared for the Day of the Dead and eaten on November 1 and 2, but a store that focused on fiambre would be more cyclical than a pop-up Halloween costume shop. (Can any reader steer me, with certainty, to a restaurant that prepares fiambre?) When I ultimately plugged the word into Google's translation engine, the result registered with me immediately: Fiambre is a hodgepodge of many ingredients, generally heavy on cold cuts and other meat, and "fiambreria," in English, means something like "delicatessen."

Since the awning also proclaims El Almacén a restaurant and café, you might imagine a gourmet store and sandwich shop with Despaña-like aspirations. Let's hope so; I'd hate to think that "fiambreria" is just so much window dressing.

Here's how it turned out.

El Almacén
557 Driggs Ave. (near North 7th St.), Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Comments

[olivetti]

From the "fileteado"-type flourishes painted on the windows (familiar from Buenos Aires buses) and the baby-blue-and-white banner behind the window text, I'm guessing this is going to be an Argentinian joint...

[Dave Cook]

When I took this photo, the only blue I spotted was the duct tape that held the plastic sheeting and DoB notices in place. Interesting note on the flourishes, though; hope we get to find out more soon!

[maura]

'fiambre' also refers to cold cuts, or meats like sausages and salamis, so i think it is more like a meat-cheese plate type place! mmmm. open please!

[Hungry Mama]

In the Philippines, fiambrera is lunch box. Best way to describe is like the tiffin in india, little metal containers that can stack on top of each other, each one containing one kind of viand. Another way is like little dimsum baskets that stack up, but the baskets are made of metal. So fiambreria to me would be a place to get small dishes, like tapas?

[mel]

"Fiambres" means "cold cuts" in Spanish, so I could understand why a dish called "Fiambre" could turn into a chef salad in Guatemala. In Spain, however, a fiambreria is a deli counter where you can by various fresh and cured meats. Interesting how this all gets translated