Love good food but too pressed for time to start from scratch? Stop at your local Meat House for fresh, prepped, often local, foods for a head start on dinner any crazy day.
Whether you're shopping for a Superbowl party, or book group or just a regular weeknight meal, the Meat House can provide you with options from prepared foods, to marinated meats, to local, grass--fed beef.
The Meat House is a franchise with serious passion for their local markets and local food producers. You might hear "franchise" and be tempted to dismiss them, but that would be a mistake. Too often, we're tempted to polarize the discussions about what good food is. There are lots of places at the good food table and there's nothing wrong with supporting a neighbor who wants to help you eat well, wants to support Celiacs and buys from local farms and producers.
Fresh, fresh-prepped, and on-premise butchers make the Meat House a nice choice in between the farmers markets and the mega-marts.
MBA in Meat?
The Master Butcher Apprenticeship may be on the radar of your local tatooed artisanal chef, but they do take their roles as butchers seriously. With lots of corporate training and this master butcher apprenticeship program you can find most cuts of most meats you might be looking for at the Meat House. They also take their role as a neighbor seriously and are ready to special order whatever it is you might be looking for.
While they advertise heavily using the mostly meaningless word "natural" (zero regulation of the use of this term means that it can be pretty useless as an indicator of quality or humane conditions, etc.) they do carry good quality meats, often grass-fed and locally raised. In Boston, for example, the Brookline Meat House includes Hardwick Beef which is a favorite of foodie chefs and consumers in this area. Most meats are finished in house in ultra-clean facilities. They aim for 80% local suppliers. That's admirable.
They are well-known for their steak tips and it's not uncommon to find as many as a dozen or more varieties on hand. The attention to the local neighborhood is exemplified by packaging of this popular item in both singles and family sized packages in the Brookline store where the population contains a large number of single residents.
Not Just about Meat
You may be surprised to learn that the Meat House carries a good array of gluten-free products and take the needs of this growing population's dietary concerns. There's a section of gluten-free products and most of the prepared foods are labeled clearly indicating which are gluten-free.
Locally baked pies, local preserves and even local produce round out the offerings. There's a wall of spices, under the Meat House Label, wines are selected to complement the meat and in-store tastings extend beyond wine. Samples of breads, desserts are often available and olive oil is sold in refillable bottles. Pampered pets? The Meat House also carries fresh pet food in the refrigerated case.
Customer Service and a Neighborhood Feel
One of the best features in these clean, well-run stores is the attention to service. Most any request is able to be filled (even a customer's request for pig ears was accommodated, though the minimum quantity of 30 was beyond what she wanted or what they could sell in Brookline.) But special cuts, or requests for specialty meats, unique quantities are all met with cheerful attention.
The "neighborhood butcher" carries a wide variety of components to round out your meal.
Chicken wings are easy for a crowd and who doesn't love them? The Meat House has wings marinating for you.
It's sort of like having Alice from the Brady Bunch and her boyfriend Sam the butcher, rolled into one. Dinner from a trusted source, prepared quickly and cheerfully. Check out your local Meat House on any harried night for a good meal, in not so much time, for not too much money.
Jacqueline Church - Award-winning writer, speaker, teacher on topics at the intersection of gourmet and sustainable food issues.
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