Daniele Drama: the most expensive Ozzo, and the only one we won't apologise for
San Daniele prosciutto, truffle stracciatella, asparagus, peas. $24. It's the most we charge for a sandwich, and the reason is in every layer — sourcing, season, and a refusal to dilute.
The Daniele Drama is the most expensive sandwich on our menu. $24.
We've thought about that price more than any other on the board. Whether to drop it, whether to swap an ingredient, whether to make a "lite" version. Every time we've come back to the same answer: no.
Here's why.
San Daniele, not "prosciutto"
There's prosciutto, and then there's San Daniele.
San Daniele DOP comes from a single town in Friuli, in the foothills of the Italian Alps, where a specific combination of mountain air and Adriatic breeze cures the pork in a way that no other region replicates. The pigs are born and raised in Italy. The salt comes from one approved supplier. The hams hang for at least 13 months. The certification body counts every leg.
If we swapped it for generic Italian prosciutto, we'd save $3 a serve. The sandwich would also taste 30% less interesting. We did the math. We did the taste test. We're not doing the swap.
You can taste the difference. The fat carries sweet notes you don't get from grocery-store prosciutto. The salt is restrained. The slice is paper-thin and dissolves on warm bread.
Truffle stracciatella
Stracciatella is what happens when mozzarella's softer, milkier inner cousin gets shredded into cream. It's the filling inside burrata. It's the most decadent dairy you can put on a sandwich.
We get ours from Vannella in Marrickville — a family who's been making it the old way for three generations. We then steep it with shaved black truffle for 24 hours so the funk works its way into every strand.
This isn't truffle oil. We do not buy truffle oil. (Truffle oil is almost universally synthetic; even the "real" stuff is one molecule pretending to be a hundred.) The truffle on this sandwich is the actual fungus, sliced thin, doing the actual work.
Asparagus and peas (because it's spring)
Asparagus and peas only land on this sandwich when they're in season. That's roughly September to November in Sydney — late winter into mid spring.
The rest of the year, the Daniele Drama gets a swap. Charred zucchini and broad beans in summer. Roasted heritage carrots and lentils in autumn. Slow-roasted leek and butter beans in winter.
We don't tell people about the swap on the menu. We don't want to be a quiz. But every time the produce changes, the sandwich is built around what's at its peak — because dropping a $24 sandwich on a customer that contains a sad February asparagus would be a betrayal of the price.
If the asparagus isn't right, we don't serve the asparagus.
The supporting cast
Rocket. Peppery, fresh, generous. The pepper cuts the dairy and the prosciutto. Without it, the sandwich is too rich.
EVO. Single-origin Sicilian, cold-pressed. We drizzle it on the bread before the build — the bread drinks it — and a little more across the top after the prosciutto goes down.
Parmigiano Reggiano. Shaved, not grated. 24-month aged. Crystalline bite. Goes on last so you can see it.
Bread. Our 72-hour fermented focaccia. The same one that goes under every other Ozzo. We're not making a fancier bread for the fancier sandwich. Good bread doesn't need an upgrade.
What you're paying for
People sometimes ask why our sandwich is more expensive than the prosciutto sandwich at the Italian deli down the road. Fair question.
Their sandwich is excellent. We've eaten it. They're charging $14 and making a small margin.
The Daniele Drama is $24 because:
- The prosciutto costs us almost double per serve
- The stracciatella + truffle adds another $4 per serve in raw cost
- The asparagus and peas are seasonal premium produce, not a year-round commodity
- We pay our team properly, lease two Sydney shopfronts, and don't cut corners on the part you can't see
That's it. No drama. Just numbers.
When we costed this sandwich, we had a choice: build it cheaper, or charge what it costs. We charge what it costs.
When to order it
Honestly? When you've had a good week.
It's a sandwich for a Friday. For when a friend has flown in. For when the work has gone well and the day deserves a small ceremony. We don't push it. Most people order it once, then the next time, and then they bring someone they want to impress.
It's at both shops. Eat it warm, the prosciutto loves a slightly heated bread. We pour a glass of something dry on the side if you ask.
Why we keep it on
Because every menu needs a sandwich that's just good. Not clever. Not opinionated. Not making a point. Just very, very good ingredients respecting each other.
The Daniele Drama is our quiet flex. We don't need it to be on. We keep it on because some sandwiches earn their place on the menu by being unapologetic about what they are.
Italian prosciutto. Sydney dairy. Spring vegetables when it's spring. Bread that took three days.
That's the whole drama.
The bread that took three days is the Ozzo. Read the bread story →
Order at Pyrmont or Marrickville →
