Ahh, grilling season is finally upon us, and what better way to ring in the warm weather than to take a look at the best butcher shops and meat markets in your area? Whether you are searching for the basics, like beef, pork, or poultry or are in desperate need of more exotic meats, such as alligator, frog legs, or wild boar, Connecticut has a number of places that can fulfill all of your butcher and meat desires. From nose-to-tail shops to small, family-owned markets that offer delicious, quality meats, this list has it all…and then some. Goodbye winter coats and dreary soups, hello flip-flops and beautifully cut and marinated steaks!
Elicit Brewing Company’s second location will open to the public on Monday, February 12, and CTbites has the inside scoop. More accurately a brewpub, the brand-new location will encompass a microbrewery, 100-tap taproom and social space, an in-house cocktail-focused speakeasy, and a large, covered back patio with direct access from the Fairfield Metro train station.
What happens when a chef, a butcher and a fisherman walk into a bar? Stay tuned and I’ll tell you…
If you’ve noticed some activity behind the brown paper covering the windows of what was once Westport’s Saugatuck Craft Butchery, it’s not just wishful thinking. Big things are happening behind that masked facade …big things that involve a culinary power team including Chef Matt Storch and Susan McConnell (Match Burger Lobster, Match) in partnership with Jimmy Bloom of Copps Island Oysters, and butcher, Paul Nessal, whom you will recognize if you spent any time at the nose to tail butchery, Saugatuck Craft, back in the day. After 5 years of discussion, this group is finally getting ready to open the doors to Saugatuck Provisions, a new concept offering customers a curated selection of the very best ingredients from the land, sea and grocery, enabling guests to create beautiful restaurant quality meals at home.
Saugatuck Provisions is conveniently located next to Match Burger Lobster in Westport, and will be ready for customers in early November, with Thanksgiving pre-ordering already live here.
Pumpkin, pumpkin everywhere. Isn’t autumn divine?! And how crazy that we all get so excited about, well, a gourd. Life is funny but it’s that time of year to embrace the crazy and roll with the pumpkins. From fancy-schmancy drinks to sumptuous desserts, handmade raviolis, cakes and sweets, pumpkin has hit everything that stands still. Get on the haywagon, it’s a good one!
Here are 30+ spots to savor pumpkin season in EVERY WAY possible.
Avon Prime Meats, located in Avon, CT, was voted “Best Local Food Market,” an honor awarded for excellence as a butcher, but also due to their loyal following and footprint in the local community. In addition to having a reputation for top notch meats, they also serve as a specialty grocer, deli and caterer, but as of this week, things are heating up at Avon Prime Meats. Two smokers have been added to the kitchen, and their chefs have been honing the craft of smoking their prime cuts to get ready for the big launch of Avon Prime Smoked Meats. Why are we excited? Here’s what’s coming off those smokers hot and ready Sun-Wed: brisket, pastrami, baby back ribs, pulled pork, heritage slab bacon, and Old Spot pork are on the menu - and their deli customers are going wild. Not only can guests score these smoked meats by the pound (with some tasty BBQ sides), but the deli situation has done some leveling up with the addition of these house smoked sandwich meats.
Some of you may remember the multi-vendor and artist space known as SoNo Marketplace at 314 Wilson Avenue. Don’t worry if you think it passed you by, it was sadly only open for a blink. But if you do recall, the courtyard area of the “market” was always set up for events and an outdoor bar with draft lines. Some years ago, SoNo Marketplace did host a chili cookoff and a pig roast with Half Full Brewery.
In 2021, that patio space has been resurrected as 314 Beer Garden, complete with 13 taps and all the essential biergarten décor with Adirondack chairs, picnic tables, string lights, and a massive fire pit smack dab in the center of it all.
314’s intro beer list on draft and in cans included a strong Connecticut brewery presence. New England Brewing Co.’s signature, hoppy Sea Hag and Supernaut were both available, as was Evenflow, a crushable lager from Hamden’s own No Worries.
“If you don't like outstanding music, fresh chef cultivated sandwiches, farm and forest hand-picked produce, local artisanal product, NYC vibes, an incredibly friendly staff, and whole animal butchery then DEFINITELY do not go to Chef Emily Mingrone and Shane McGowan’s new Provisions On State,” says Chef Jes Bengston.
Emily and Shane, owners of the award-winning “restaurant of the year” Tavern on State, in New Haven, decided to expand the brand and recently opened this sister spot just down the street from the restaurant, bringing an old school nose to tail butchery and a small grocery store to the East Rock neighborhood. As I took the two steps down into the store front ( like so New York I was like omg) I was immediately over taken with a vibe and energy that can only be created by this tag team duo who met by working together in a local restaurant in 2018, opened a restaurant in 2019, and now this. The store is so small I could lay eyes on all 4 walls at the same time but it took me 3 circles to absorb all the curated culinary greatness going on in here.
One of life's principle joys is an unexpected bulldog. There you are, mind preoccupied and steps ahead of whatever you should be paying attention to in the moment you're actually living, and boom: giant smiley meatball of joy out of nowhere. How could that not improve any day? Last September, in the Before Times, I went to a Connecticut farm to find out about hop growing, and discovered a newborn brewery instead. At the time, Stewards Of The Land in Northford wasn't finished, not quite ready yet for the outside world. So now, just as the eyes of the world are cautiously blinking open again, I returned to sit on the farm brewery's patio and, yes, there was a bulldog.
I'm not just making an allegory here: Guinness (that's the name he came with, give head brewery Alex DeFrancesco more credit for creativity than that), was cooling off on the stone patio, set with chairs outside the New England tavern style brewery, above a field of sprouting row crops - the hillside and lawns swaying here and there with bluish stalks of heirloom rye. I squatted down and scruffled Guinness' huge head behind his ears. He had it right. This is a place to stretch out and relax.
As some Connecticut restaurants begin the slow process of reopening with outdoor dining, you’ll either rush right out, ease back into it, or wait a bit longer when it comes to reintroducing yourself to your favorite eateries based on your level of comfort. Regardless of where you stand, it’s a safe bet that your dining repertoire will still include takeout.
At the very beginning of quarantine, one of my first orders came from an oldie. Joe’s Pizza has been open since 1967, almost two decades before I was born. I’ve actually had my entire life to try it, but here I am in 2020, a Joe’s newbie.
Who do you picture when you hear the word "butcher?" For many, a grizzled older man with strong biceps comes to mind. Butchery is undeniably male-dominated, with only 27% women, only slightly higher than the 25% of women farmers and ranchers. But times are changing, and the rise of craft butchery has meant more opportunities for women. For International Women's Day (Mar. 8), Fleisher’s Craft Butchery (locations in Westport, Greenwich & Brooklyn) interviewed some of the many women in the Fleishers family.
Connecticut Magazine shares a unique find in Mystic. Half sandwich shop, half butcher, these guys know a thing or two about meat. Check it out.
A sandwich is a common thing. Delis and grinder shops can be found throughout our state. But once in a while a new sandwich comes along and causes us to look with fresh eyes at this most classic of foods. Down in Mystic, the brains behind the operations at seafood-focused Oyster Club and burger-centric Engine Room have launched a new venture called Grass & Bone, structured around making the best sandwiches they can, with the freshest, most locally sourced ingredients they can muster.
Fleisher’s Craft Butchery is collaborating with Leyla Dam Jenkins from Lorca cafe, on opening a sunny new location in early November inside the Fleisher’s Greenwich butcher shop at 160 E. Putnam Ave. Cos Cob.
Like the beloved Stamford original, Lorca's new branch will be offering a variety of specialty coffee drinks and Spanish-influenced sweets, like their signature alfajores (shortbread cookies with dulce de leche and coconut).
This spring downtown Westport will see the opening of M.EAT Organic Beef and Provisions, an old school meat market with new school fundamentals. Founded by Beto Esteves and Rodrigo Echeverrigaray, the business partners saw the need for a boutique organic meat shop.
I sat down with the two in their Southport offices, eager to learn more about this concept. “There is no one in the US market involved with both the importing and the retailing organic meat, explained Beto. Generally, it’s a process that involves many, the importers, distributors and suppliers. So by the time the organic product hits the shelf the prices are astronomical. We have the unique ability to source meat from Uruguay, Australia and New Zealand, directly from the producers. We decided that we wanted to be able to offer these products in the States. The partners decided to take this concept one step further and have a dedicated retail space specifically designed around these organic meats, a unique concept here in the states. The first of these locations is scheduled to open in Westport at the beginning of June.
Custom Meats, a 100% locally-sourced, traditional whole-animal butchery, is slated to open this spring at 1903 Post Road in Fairfield.
This next-door neighbor to Isabelle et Vincent French Bakery plans to serve non-GMO, nitrate-free, fresh meats raised on organic principles.
Sourcing beef, pork, lamb, and poultry from small farms in Connecticut and New York, everything will be cut and prepared in house, including dry-aged beef, sausages, and various prepared foods. Farm-fresh local eggs, raw milk, and seasonal vegetables will also be offered.
This Saturday will be the last day of service at Fleishers Craft Kitchen, the restaurant adjacent to the beloved Saugatuck butcher shop. In 2013, co-founders Ryan Fibiger and Paul Nessel opened the restaurant to further the company's commitment to nose-to-tail eating. Every dish featured cuts of meat from the butcher counter famed for its quality, ethics and transparency. Fibiger, who recently left his position as CEO but continues to advise on long term vision and growth, says, “The restaurant and staff have been integral to teaching people how to prepare Meat Raised Right. But, we've always been a butcher shop first, and we think it's time to get back to our roots and refocus on providing a truly remarkable customer experience.”
South Avenue Butcher offers an assortment of burgers that are ready to be brought home and prepared in the manner of one’s choosing. Current burger selections include lamb with rosemary and garlic, lamb with shawarma spices, and dry-aged beef. To showcase the patties, South Avenue Butcher is teaming up with local chefs and food personalities. They will put their own culinary twist on the burgers, describing the perfect cooking method, bun, and accompaniments for the meat.
Darien native and chef Peter Crawford is the culinary braun behind lower Fairfield County's newest destination butchery, The Darien Butcher Shop. The shop focuses on high quality meat and gourmet specialty products, as well as events and catering, not to mention hot pressed sandwiches if you're looking for a new lunch option.
We had a chance to chat with Peter, and wanted to know what this carnivore cooks for himself, his preferred cut of meat, and his most memorable meal.
New Canaan, Connecticut is excited to welcome an old fashioned butcher shop to its already impressive culinary offering. South Avenue Butcher is the creation of businessmen, long-term friends and Darien residents Dermot Flynn, Alan Griffin and James Farrell. The friends grew up in southern Ireland where rural towns would have a butcher shop and locals would go in for special cuts of meat and advice. The concept, which was inspired by a nostalgic chat at the bar, is a direct nod to their farming heritage and reinforces that consumers care about their meat source. They strongly advocate the community and have plans to support local town events.
The proper old-style butcher specializes in home-made sausages and burgers - they will even make some to a specific family recipe. Heading up the operation is Head Butcher, Michiel Hutten who hails from the Netherlands. He worked at Darien Butcher Shop, and has over 30-years of butchery experience. Inside the store he will serve prime cuts and order in specific meats. The meats are sourced from animals that are free to roam and will be organic wherever possible.
Beginning her journey as a chef in Switzerland, Ki Delicia’s owner Fernanda Ferreira had the drive and determination to turn her dreams into a reality by coming to America with nothing but a suitcase and two sets of clothes. Fast forward to 2016, and her customer base has grown exponentially with people traveling from all parts of Connecticut just to get a taste of her incredible edibles. Upon visiting this hidden gem, I witnessed customers lining up around the block in their cars just to get their breakfast essentials. As a family run business both her son and her daughter, Clara Gaspar, help out with the intention of helping Ki Delicia thrive. “I think it’s still a hidden gem to many,” says Clara Gaspar daughter of owner Fernanda Ferrara.
When walking into Ki Delicia Bakery and Deli, you are drawn in by the welcoming aroma of Brazilian delights. Travel a few steps more into the building and it feels like home. Almost immediately, I was greeted by Ferreira and her staff who welcomed me into the establishment with a warm and welcoming presence like a mother who invites guests into her humble abode.
