Cremona is known for one thing, and it isn’t risotto. Maybe it should be.

Tucked along the Po River in northern Italy, Cremona has been an epicenter of music since the 12th century and home to some of the world’s most renowned string instrument makers since the 16th century.

I went there on a lark, told it was a beautiful town for an afternoon stroll. Probably true, when it isn’t a frigid downpour. Which is why instead of appreciating the town and its music scene, I dashed into Osteria Pane e Salame.

The Bread and Salami Restaurant.

Small, but airy with vaulted stone ceilings, the space began as a bar more than 60 years ago, eventually becoming a restaurant. Antonio Statella has owned the place for about 12 years. He doesn’t know how it got its name.

But he does know that same name gave rise to what has become the restaurant’s signature dish—risotto pane e salame. I probably don’t need to translate, right?

I was intrigued. Meat in risotto, while not common, I could wrap my head around. But bread? Worth a try. When it arrived at the table, there was no mystery to it. A creamy risotto studded with bits of meat, all of it topped with crunchy breadcrumbs and a dusting of Parmesan cheese.

It was impressively good. Creamy, rich, crunchy, meaty and savory all at once. The meat was tiny chunks of salamelle di Mantova, a local sweet and garlicky sausage. The breadcrumbs were irregular, some fine and melting into the rice, others big and chunky, all of them toasted in peppery olive oil and mixed with tons of rosemary.

Despite my apprehension of carb­on-carb, the combination was delicious. As chef Lexie Garcia walked me through the recipe, she explained that a former chef gets the credit for creating it. Apparently, he was inspired to combine dishes and ingredients from around the region—risotto from Milan, Parmesan from Parma and that wonderful sausage.

The bread? Just from the restaurant’s name, Garcia said. In a town otherwise built on violins... Why not?