.jpg)
.jpg)
The Meat Market: A Butcher Shop Goes Back to the Future
Posted by: Dan Shaw
Posted on: Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Comments
WOW! If you missed opening day at The Meat Market you missed a treat; a breakfast sandwich with sausage patty, fried egg and warm cheese on a toasted bulky roll, lunch of pulled pork with coleslaw and summer squash. Mmmm! The breakfast sandwich was juicy, succulent, mouthwatering and lunch was, if it’s possible, even better. As I said, Wow!
But don’t worry if you weren’t there such delightful delicacies will be available every day. Call ahead for the menu - 413 528 2022 - open 11 to 7 every day.
See you soon,
Nick Stanton
I know that I might be a litle predjudiced, however I WAS BLOWN AWAY BY THE COMBINATION OF FLAVORS THAT JEREMY AND HIS TEAM PUT TOGETHER FOR OPENING DAY. IT ALSO SURPRISED ME THAT THE MEAT WAS SO TENDER THAT IT MELTS IN YOUR MOUTH AND I BELIEVE THAT IS BECAUSE IT IS FRESH, GRASS FED AND PROPERLY AGED. THE MEAT MARKET IS BEAUTIFUL AND FUN. CONGRATULATIONS, JEREMY AND EMILY!!!
Gonna try next week and make sure I didn’t just get lucky the first time.
Bold, italics, strong, emphasis, and block quote tags are allowed in comments.
Notify me of follow-up comments?
Comment Guidelines
As we believe it promotes responsibility, civility and neighborliness, we encourage Commenters to use their real names unless there is compelling reason not to. In any case, profanity, personal attacks and unsubstantiated or excessive criticism of people or places will not be tolerated and will be deleted. By completing this form you are agreeing to abide by these rules and all terms laid out in the Rural Intelligence User Agreement.
For questions concerning the use of personally identifiable information, please refer to our Privacy Policy.
IMPORTANT: You must be a member of Rural Intelligence and logged into the site to post comments. Already a member? Click here to login. Want to become a member? Click here to register.
Please enter the word you see in the image below:
Full Article
When Rural Intelligence first reported two years ago about Jeremy Stanton’s dream of opening a butcher shop in Great Barrington devoted to locally raised meats, he had yet to meet Ruth Reichl, the editor of the late lamented Gourmet magazine, who spends her weekends in Columbia County. In July 2010, Reichl hired Stanton’s Fire Roasted Catering to produce a pig roast for her husband Michael Singer’s birthday, and she was blown away by Stanton’s artistry and passion for real food. She pledged to invest in his next venture. With her moral and financial support, Stanton was able to finally assemble a group of investors to back The Meat Market, which officially opens on Monday, August 29.
As someone who’s made his living by grilling over open flames no matter what the weather, Stanton is a bit of a daredevil—the Evel Knievel of cooking. So it comes as no surprise that he may or may not have steaks for sale on opening day. “We have some beef in the walk-in, but it may not be ready to sell—it takes 14 to 21 days for an animal to relax,” he explains. “We’ll open with the best we can offer, including a lot of sausages, pork chops, liver sausages and chickens.”
The Meat Market wiil be more than a butcher shop. “We will have an assortment of prepared foods that you can eat here or take home,” says Stanton, who vows to serve the best egg-and-sausage sandwich in the Berkshires all day long. “We’ll serve it with coffee made in a Chemex server. It’s what I like to drink, and I like that Chemex comes from Pittsfield. But we are not going to have an espresso machine and we are not going to be a coffee shop. Everything we do will be about meat with a focus on local and artisanal products. I’ll sell mustard and capers, but not granola.” He will have a lunch counter where he’ll offer customers a chance to eat exactly what he and his staff are having for lunch that day such as a Philly cheesesteak, a North Carolina-style pulled pork sandwich, or a bowl of spaghetti Bolognese. “There will be three ways to experience the shop. Buy the ingredients to cook at home. Buy prepared food to eat at home. Or eat it here.”
As any locavore knows, eating responsibly and seasonally means not necessarily being able to have what you want when you want it. “I probably won’t offer baby back ribs except by special order because I would rather sell bone-in pork chops and you can’t get both from the same animal,” he explains. “But I will have spare ribs.” Like an old-fashioned neighborhood butcher, he and his staff will be teachers, explaining the difference among various cuts and offering cooking advice as well as recipes.
Located in the old Gypsy Joynt space (near Cafe Adam and across Route 7 from Price Chopper), The Meat Market is surprisingly stylish. “Ritch Holben, who’s an architect and our neighbor in Southfield, helped us source the chairs and subway tiles and gave us lots of advice about colors,” says Stanton. “We both like that chic industrial look of soft woods mixed with hard metals.” The snappy logo was designed by Greg Klee, another friend. While Stanton hopes to be open seven days a week, he will adjust his schedule based on how much meat he’s selling and how much he has on hand. “We are not going to be afraid to run out,” he says dare-devilishly.
The Meat Market opening August 29
389 Stockbridge Road (aka Route 7), Great Barrington
413.528.2022
Daily 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.
