ROCKPORT – It's called the Muffuletta and it's a traditional New Orleans sandwich. It's featured every Thursday at Maine Street Meats, in the State of Maine Cheese building. Derrick Lynker runs the kitchen at Maine Street Meats, and he explained the roots of the sandwich.

"The sandwich is usually in a larger form and it's pressed for a couple of hours," he said. "It's basically Italian cold cuts. There's Mortadella, Genoa salami, Soppressata and Capicola."

Lynker said the roll is a house-baked sesame semolina, which is a little firmer then the fluffy form they do in New Orleans, but delicious.

Olive salad is used as the condiment and adds tremendous flavor that compliments the meats.

"We chop olives, sweet pickled chilies, red onion, celery, Sicilian oregano, a little garlic, red wine vinegar and extra virgin olive oil," he said. "A layer goes on the bottom part of the bun and is then layered with the Mortadella, Capicola, Genoa salami and finished up with our Soppressata."

The sandwich is topped with an aged provolone cheese.

"Aged, but not extremely dry," he said. "We give a little bit of crumple to it and then we put some of the olive salad juice on top of the cheese. It's finished off with one more scoop of the salad. Place the bun on top and you have a sandwich."

Lynker has been with Maine Street Meats for almost four years.

A word about Mortadella: Mortadella is made of finely hashed or ground, heat-cured pork, which incorporates at least 15 percent small cubes of pork fat (principally the hard fat from the neck of the pig). Mortadella is a product of Bologna. It is flavored with spices, including whole or ground black pepper, and pistachios.

And yes, it is where our modern day bologna got its start and evolution.

Lynker said the store offers a Banh Mi sandwich on Mondays.

Banh Mi is Vietnamese for bread, specifically a French baguette type of bread. Vietnam bread is a single-serving baguette, which is usually more airy than its Western counterpart, with a thinner crust.

Sarah Vokey, of Maine Street Meats, said the store has a large and varied selection of specialty foods and meats.

"We're open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday," she said. "Because we're in the State of Maine Cheese building I like to say we're a little store in a big store. We have a tremendous amount of house made products. We have a head chef; we have a butcher and a baker, but no candlestick maker."

There is a tremendous amount of goods made there, including breads. The store’s sought-after Baguettes are proclaimed the best in the state, by some fans.

And, they carrry goods from all over the world.

"Soups, salads, and corned beef hash are all made in house," said Vokey. "Then, we have our smoked goods, again all done in-house. We have kielbasa and andouille. We make our own hot dogs, chorizo, a whole variety of sausages, pates, terrines, we make our own duck comfit, so if anyone wants to have it at home it's all set to go."

Vokey said their butcher-cut meats and poultry are all from Maine.

"All our meats are grass-started, if not finished," she said. "It's hard to find grass in the middle of winter. Some are organic, but all are natural. It's expensive to get an organic license, so as you can imagine, the standards here are high."

Vokey said since they are in the State of Maine Cheese building they sell little Maine made cheeses.

"We have cheese from Vermont and New Hampshire," she said. "Then we have excellent and aromatic cheeses coming in from all over the world. I love this cheese we have called Harbison. It has spruce bark on the outside. You take a knife and cut the top off then let it sit out for an hour or two. Put it out with some crackers, it's easy enough to scoop or put a cheese knife out with it."

Vokey said they also carry a great variety of goat products for people who are lactose intolerant.

I went for a lunch sandwich, discovered 13 taste sensations all wrapped up in one bun, and three emotions. It was good. See ya there...