Wine, prosciutto, parmesan cheese, bread and a little pasta with basil and tomatoes. That is really all one could want for on a sunny afternoon in Italy.  There’s a salumeria called Parma & Co. that happens to be the perfect place to enjoy the tastes and pace of Brera, one of Milan’s most enjoyable neighborhoods. Brera is quaint and historic with a lot of great restaurants and shops. It’s more low key than some of Milan’s more happening neighborhoods, and is my favorite place to hang out while in Italy’s most stylish city.

The food at Parma & Co. is simple and delicious, very typical of Italy. The must have is the Prosciutto di Parma — the restaurant claims to have won some type of Italian cured meat award, something I don’t doubt actually exists. Regardless of its prosciutto bona fides, your author can confirm that Parma & Co. definitely worthy of a detour, some of your hard earned money and an opportunity at an enjoyable Italian lunch.

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My appreciation for the hyper-specialized Italian menswear brand Slowear is no secret. While in Italy between Pitti Uomo and the watch show in Switzerland I stopped into the brand’s cozy flagship in Milan. The shop houses a great representation of each of the labels that make up the Slowear brand, with an impressive selection of trousers from Incotex that really caught my attention. Individually, Incotex is by far the most widely known brand of the bunch and the pants have reached icon status in both Europe and Japan. I’m told that the business in America is strong as well. I believe it too, because the brand is strong to me.

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The one shop that really stood out to me in Milan didn’t have any fine Italian tailoring in sight, it was all about the knives. Founded in 1929, G. Lorenzi is really like no other retail establishment I have ever been in, ever. The walls are lined with dark wooden display cases which are very neatly organized with an array of all things man. Knives, pipes, brushes, clippers, trimmers, shaving supplies, cologne, a huge selection of every possible type of scissors and basically every other little well made accoutrement you can think of. The obsessiveness of G. Lorenzi rivals some of the crazy stuff I have seen in Japan. And don’t get me wrong, the place is no C.O. Bigelow steroids, its roots are in knife sharpening and G. Lorenzi is above all famous for it’s cutlery. A logical pursuit given Italy’s obsession with food.

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