Stuff to eat. Mostly around St. Louis.
Salt + Smoke's Brisket
There are a lot of things to like about Salt + Smoke, like owner Tom Schmidt's sultry voice and his Leonidas beard, dense as Germany's Black Forest, dark as night. And chef/pitmaster Haley Riley, who not only cooks meat that can't be beat, but once won a Jon Snow lookalike contest at West County mall. But what I like the most about Salt + Smoke is the brisket.
I've written about their burnt end t-ravs before, but I've never written about the brisket itself.
Brisket is my smoked meat of choice. I would pick fall-apart-tender, Texas style brisket over ribs and pulled pork any day. At the time of writing, there are three places that can quash my qraving for it in St. Louis: Salt + Smoke (obviously), Big Baby Q, and The Stellar Hog.
Before being smoked over white oak for the better part of the day, the brisket is rubbed with a simple salt and freshly ground (pre-ground stuff is for people that don't like flavor) pepper mix. Then it goes in. That's it.
The result is brisket that manages to stay together and fall apart all at the same time. It's smoky. The bark is crunchy. It's juicy, like a meat Starburst. I love it.
You can get the brisket either as a platter, which comes with two sides (I'd probably get the garlic and herb fries and white cheddar cracker mac) and a cheddar-bacon popover, or you can get it as a sandwich with burnt end mayo and tobacco onions.
When you order it, you'll get the option of lean, fatty, or burnt ends. You should order the lean—that leaves more of the good stuff for me. Oh, and I don't want to forget: Salt + Smoke has William Larue Weller bourbon in right now. Treat yo' self.
Brisket
Oaxacan Mole Braised Beef
I’m not a butcher, but I’ve hung around Bolyard’s Meat enough to consider myself a meat journeyman. I’ve learned by watching, not doing. Can I break down a cow? No. Can I stand over your shoulder and tell you you’re doing it wrong? Yes.
In my almost-expert opinion, there seems there are three basic groups that exist when it comes to buying and cooking meat: Grillers, Slow Cookers, and Sausage Lovers (like your sister).
I’m a Slow Cooker. I’ve grilled 3 steaks in the last 3 years, and I’ve ordered steak at a restaurant once in that same time frame. It bores me. I find that braised (or BBQed) meats, on the other hand, tend to be more flavorful and harder to screw up. Plus, most of the cooking can be done unattended in your kitchen. Oh, and the cuts are way cheaper.
Alex Welsch, one of the Bolyard’s meat men, recently guided me to beef neck, a tender, well-marbled cut of beef perfect for braising. Jewish Santa delivered me a package of La Guelaguetza mole. Combining the two, I got one of the most flavorful braised beef recipes I’ve made yet, all thanks to Alex. What a guy.
This recipe doesn’t use up the entire amount of mole each Guelaguetza jar makes, so you’ll still have some left over for nachos, enchiladas, or protein shakes.
I pulled the neck apart into hunks, then served it over grains. The leftovers went into enchiladas. If you have a big family, there will be no leftovers.
Oaxacan Mole Braised Beef
Oaxacan Mole Braised Beef
SERVES: 4-6
INGREDIENTS
3 lbs beef neck (or chuck)
2.5 C beef stock
0.75 C La Guelaguetza Mole Negro sauce
METHOD
Make the La Guelaguetza Oaxacan Black Mole according to the package instructions. Alternatively, buy a different mole or—if you’re really going for it—make your own. Check out Alex Stupak’s recipe in Tacos cookbook. Let cool.
Preheat the oven to 500F.
Put the beef on a rack over a baking tray. Rub or brush the beef with the mole on all sides, then sear in the oven for 15 minutes.
Lower oven temp to 300F.
Combine mole and stock in an oven-safe braiser or Dutch oven. It won’t look like much liquid, but as Kenji taught me: the more liquid in there to start, the more you’ll have to reduce later. If you’re really concerned, feel free to add more mole and stock. Bring to a boil, then set in the beef, put on lid, and place in the oven.
Bake covered for about 2 hours, then about 1 hour uncovered.
Remove from the oven and pull apart or chop. If needed, simmer the sauce to thicken. Season with salt, if needed.
The Partisan
“So where else do you want to eat while you’re in D.C.? We could go to The Partisan—it’s got really good cocktails and the menu is almost entirely meat and charcuterie. It’s Red Apron butcher’s restaurant.”
“BOOK THAT SHIT RIGHT NOW.”
That, dear friends, is how we ended up at The Partisan (or, as I drunk texted Chris Bolyard:“I’m at your future restaurant”). And we hit it HARD.
You walk into the space and have the butcher shop to your right, the dining room to your left, and the bar in the back. We arrive early, grab a cocktail or three, then make our way to the table.
We have two menus to order from: the first shows 30 or so dishes, ranging from small bites, like $5 lupini beans with pickled ramps, to entrees, like a $120 Ancient White Park Bone-in Ribeye. The second menu is one of the most beautiful sights I’ve ever seen, something I’ve dreamed about but never knew existed. It’s a sushi-style menu (you fill in the quantity then give it to your server) full of 39 types of charcuterie and cheese. How do I choose? Should I just get one of everything?
I put the decision in my brother’s hands and order us two light starters: crispy chicken skins with hot sauce and tallow fries with garlic and rosemary, plus a side of ranch aioli. And then the sun dried duck—basically duck jerky—with sriracha, just for good measure.
The charcuterie and cheese come out and they are glorious. I don’t even know which we had, aside from the ‘tete de pho’, a pho-braised pigs head, pulled apart. We each take a toasted tigelle, the Italian cousin to an English muffin, and go to town. The tray is cleared in under 5 minutes.
Not yet satisfied, I demand more meat. Nduja! More tigelles! Kung pao sweetbreads! House made spam musubi? Give it to me. A masa and ground pork cake? I’ve never seen such a thing, so I must eat it. Half a chicken, cooked on the rotisserie then deep fried? I have room for that.
45 minutes later and I am slowly slumping into the booth. I am food drunk, or concussed, or something. Last night I was at Pineapple and Pearls. I have pushed my body to its limits.
I watch as my friends demolish a basket of chocolate cake donut holes (if these are donut holes, then the donuts themselves must be the size of innertubes) with chocolate pudding, then move on to the buttermilk panna cotta with pineapple and (white chocolate) pearls.
The Partisan is certainly worthy of a spot in my D.C. dining rotation, though next time I go, I think I’m going to try to see how much of the charcuterie I can get through.
Fried Chicken Skins
Tallow Fries
Duck Jerky
Charcuterie Board
Nduja
Kung Pao Sweetbreads
Spam Musubi
Fried Chicken
Donuts
Bolyard's Smoke Out & Roasted Chicken
Think of this less as a "Dish of the Day" and more as a P.S.A. to improve your life. You already know that Bolyard's makes some of my favorite sandwiches in St. Louis. You know they've got some of the best meat in town. But did you know that they have both a weekly Smoke Out and a roasted chicken night?
The Smoke Out takes place every Thursday—early in the morning, they send out the email of what's for sale that day, and then you have approximately 30 seconds to call. Seriously, it's like getting tickets on Ticketmaster. You blink and you're shit out of luck. The meat is just that good. I can't get enough of the chicken rubbed with their bacon cure, but their huge pork steaks and brisket shouldn't be missed.
I've started buying the meat—whatever I can get my hands on—and shredding it, then using it in tacos and rice bowls. Those guys somehow manage to get their meat so much juicier than what I'm able to produce at home. Thanks for making me feel so inadequate, Bolyard's crew.
Just look at that tray of meat and tell me you're not hungry instantly (and if you do go into the shop, make sure to compliment Jon Todd on his fox tattoo and vascular arms. He's been trying to put on mass).
Tuesday nights are oven roasted chicken nights. Don't even go into the shop after 1PM on Tuesdays. It just smells too good, the whole shop perfumed by the wonderful smell of chicken fat.
It's hard to properly express the crispy skin of roasted chicken through photos, but I assure you that if you tapped on the chicken below, the undeniable sound of crackly skin would ring out. Once again, your best bet is to call in the morning and reserve your bird.
Smoked & Braised Lamb Shoulder
Few things in the wide world of food can compete with the beautiful simplicity of smoked meat. If done properly, it's a perfect meld of soft fat and crunchy bark, smoke and sweetness. I love pork ribs just as much as the next guy, and a slow-smoked brisket is hard to beat, but I'll be bold: my favorite meat for the smoker is lamb. Buying high quality bone-in lamb is imperative for this recipe—if you cheap out, you're going to end up with gamey, dry meat. For those of you in St. Louis, no where comes close to Bolyard's Meat and Provisions. The recipe is based off Chef Edward Lee's pulled lamb BBQ, from his cookbook Smoke and Pickles.
The quick smoke at the beginning of the recipe helps develop the crust and give the lamb a nice hint of smoke, and the braise turns it all into one heaping pile of easily shreddable meat. The leftover jus makes for great French dip sandwiches, but I've used this recipe to make tacos, rice bowls, and pastas. It's a fantastic way to prepare lamb that skips the red wine and rosemary like every other recipe out there.
Smoked & Braised Lamb Shoulder
Smoked & Braised Lamb Shoulder
SERVES: 6-8 | PREP: 15 MINUTES | TOTAL: 4 HOURS AND 45 MINUTES
INGREDIENTS
SPICE RUB:
2 T kosher salt
1 T black pepper
1 T dry mustard
1 T smoked paprika
1 T ground cumin
1 T garlic powder
1 T Korean chili flakes
1 T brown sugar
1 t cayenne pepper
1 t coriander
LAMB:
1 3 lb. lamb shoulder
5 c beef stock
1 bottle stout
1/4 c apple cider vinegar
1 T soy sauce
1 t tabasco sauce
METHOD
Combine all the rub ingredients and mix. Rub the meat with the spice rub until well covered. It’s best to let the meat sit uncovered in the fridge overnight, but if you’re short on time, leave it to rest for at least 1 hour.
Light your smoker and get the temperature between 225-250F (lower is better). Once there, add your smoker wood chunks. I prefer a 50/50 mix of apple and oak. Add the meat, leave to smoke. Preheat your oven to 300F. After 1.5 hours, remove the lamb from smoker and place in a roasting pan.
Add the liquid ingredients and cover with foil. Put the pan in the oven and check on it in 3 hours.
Lamb’s looking and smelling sexy, right? Remove from the oven and place the lamb on a cutting board. Pull it apart—wear disposable gloves to help from burning your hands. Eat all the good crusty bits when no one’s looking.
Strain the liquid and use it as jus, or use to cook grains in. Quinoa cooked in smoky lamb jus is orgasmic.
Bolyard's Burger Battle: III
Another Bolyard's Burger Battle has come to pass, and we've got another one just ahead of us. On Saturday, May 14th, Jeff Friesen (Sugarfire) will compete against Alex Cupp (upcoming restaurant The Stellar Hog). Here are five reasons you need to go, using last month's battle of Michael Petres (Porano Pasta) against Michael Miller (Kitchen Kulture).
1. Meet the Chefs
Chefs are cool. They're like rock stars—they stay up later than you, they're covered in tattoos, they do a job you think you'd love (but in truth you couldn't handle), and the men tend to have beards. Usually, they're tucked away in kitchens, working their asses off to make sure you have an enjoyable evening. Now's your chance to say hi and tell them you love their food. If you really want to get in good with them, bring some Busch beer.
2.Tallow Be Thy Name
Tallow makes everything taste better. But why wouldn't it? It is rendered beef fat, after all. Bolyard's doesn't let anything go to waste. A toasted, buttery bun is always delicious, but when it's crisped up in tallow, it goes beyond that. And don't forget about Chris Bolyard's tallow fries, which may be the greatest fries known to man. This is how McDonald's used to do it.
3.Cooking Becomes a Spectator Sport
Every burger battle ticket comes with beer—the option changes for each event—which means you can dive into a nice, cool brewski while watching your favorite chefs sweat, swear, and attempt to cook something like 80 burger patties each. It's more exciting than going to a Cardinal's game. 4. Celebrate the Cow
The obvious star of the battle is the burger. Each adorable patty is made using Bolyard's top-notch beef, then creatively topped by the dueling chefs. Petres topped his "Smoky Mountain Magic" burger with a scoop of pimento cheese, a golden chow chow, psychedelic mushrooms and hickory smoked bacon. Miller's "Gaucho" burger came with a smoked chili and onion remoulade, Mahon cheese, spicy greens, and a ramp & cucumber chimichurri. Bold flavors from both chefs.
By the end of the battle, you've had two burgers and enough tallow to keep you warm through winter. You feel all beefed out. There's only one solution to that: go to the Ices Plain & Fancy booth and get yourself some ice cream! Yes, friends, it truly is a culinary wonderland celebrating all things cow-related. 5. Pick a Winner
Once the dust has settled, fill out a card and vote. You get to decide who goes home with the Golden Pig Skull! I know, the power is invigorating. Treat it like a real election—you can vote with your heart, vote based on which chef's restaurant you like more, or even try to solicit a bribe. It's just like real life!
Chef Miller won by 11 votes at this last battle. Make sure to congratulate him at the next Tower Grove Farmers Market (and do NOT miss out on the Kitchen Kulture breakfast sandwich).
You can buy tickets to the Burger Battle on the Bolyard's site here, or you can get them at the door if you're too lazy to get your wallet. I'll be there, camera in hand. Come say hi!
Salt + Smoke's Burnt End T-Ravs
I can understand why other cities haven't welcomed St. Louis favorites like gooey butter cake and Provel cheese with open arms. But there's no good reason that every city in America shouldn't be serving toasted ravioli (a.k.a. t-ravs). For the uninitiated, toasted ravioli are just like your normal ravioli, except they're breaded and fried—no, there's not toasting involved here. We're talking about a Midwestern speciality, after all. The typical t-rav is filled with a nondescript meat, basil, and oregano—basically a meatball. Some are filled with cheese to appease vegetarians.
That's not the case here at The Delmar Loop's Salt + Smoke. No, sir. Salt + Smoke has, over the last 6 or so months, become my go-to for any kind of BBQ meat relating to the cow. Owner Tom Schmidt and his crew have mastered beef. Expect another post later this summer on their brisket, but in the mean time, make a note-to-self: I must go to Salt + Smoke and order the brisket. If they have the option of burnt ends, I must tweet at Spencer so he can come eat them instead of me.
Salt and Smoke
You know what burnt ends are, right? I won't say there's no shame in not knowing. You're an adult. You should know by now. Burnt ends could more appropriately be called Brisket Gold, Diamonds in Le Boeuf, or just the emoji for the crying smiley face. Super fatty chunks of the brisket are cut and smoked extra long, allowing the fat to render out and produce bites of brisket as smoky as Don Draper's office and as crunchy as meat bark can be.
They are my single favorite bite of BBQ.
Salt + Smoke takes their burnt ends, chops them up, then stuffs ravioli with them. These are ravioli that are 15+ hours in the making. It is impossible for them not to taste like heaven. Especially when served with white BBQ sauce—a tangy, even more fattening version of normal BBQ. It's mayo-based and loaded with horseradish and vinegar. It's like ranch 2.0.
To recap: fatty, smoked meat stuffed into pasta, then fried. In a post-apocalyptic world, I would accept these as currency.
Lunch Pick: Annie Gunn's
I get that St. Louis has a little bit of city vs. county competition, but the number of times that knowledgable food enthusiasts that I trust have brushed off "The Gunn" is both disheartening and aggravating. If your aim is to eat at all of St. Louis' best restaurants, a visit to Annie Gunn's is in order. Actually, two visits are in order. Go for lunch and ask to be seated in the semi-outdoor atrium. Go for dinner and enjoy a decadent steak dinner with the finest wines. At some point I'll write about their dinner, but this post will serve as a lunch guide.
Many moons ago, I wrote about one of my favorite sandwiches in St. Louis: the French Dip at Annie Gunn's. My pictures do it little justice. It's got a perfectly buttery and soft bun, some of the best roast beef on Earth, and the right amount of cheese. Add to that the au jus and creamy horseradish dip and you're in heaven.
A French Dip might be a bit too heavy for you daintier eaters, so I figured now would be a good time to share some of my other favorites. First off, if you're an eater of chili, theirs is a must-try. I don't really have much to say about it besides "it's really good chili." If you're the kind of person who tells people that you're just big-boned, you should probably go for the potato soup.
For main dishes, there are almost always two fish specials, and they are always good choices. Chef Lou Rook and his team are constantly changing fish and preparations, based on what's available. This past weekend, for example, they featured both fluke and rainbow trout; below is the roasted trout with a badass salsa verde on top. The dish originally came with braised greens and some kind of starch, but my dad is watching his figure, so he opted to get green beans and asparagus instead.
If you really want to take advantage of The Smokehouse Market aspect of Annie Gunn's, you should do the smoked seafood sampler (or the WOW board—I'll cover that another time). I get this all the time because I'm fancy as hell. The plate is composed of their famous Vermont maple glazed jumbo shrimp, Viking Village sea scallops, Troutdale Farm trout, and sturgeon, served with onion, tomato, capers, Pennsylvania Dutch BBQ sauce, a dill sauce, and Guinness rye bread.
The shrimp are good, but overhyped. Your server will almost certainly tell you how you can get them individually as an appetizer. They're a little too smoky and a little too sweet for me. The sturgeon is a nice meaty chunk of fish, with a light smoke and a little sweetness. To me, it tastes a lot like swordfish. My Jewish soul loves it. But nothing tops my love for the unbelievable little sea scallops, something I've tried to replicate at home but failed miserably at doing so. Oh, and the trout—once again, perfectly smoked. I sometimes get a salad with a side of the trout, when I'm feeling particularly healthy—which is rare.
You can't visit The Gunn without stopping by the Smokehouse Market, the connected market and smokehouse. Bolyard's and Truffle's have both done an admirable job of bringing meat to the masses, but no one does it quite like The Smokehouse. There is so much meat in this store, it is unbelievable. Cured meats, fresh meats, sausages, steaks wrapped in bacon, bacon wrapped in steaks. Whatever you want, they have. Their smoked chickens make for a great dinner, their roast beef (the same as the French Dip) is always great to have for sandwiches, and butcher Andrew Jennrich (formerly of Farmhaus) is there to help guide you to the right meat choice.
The Smokehouse also has its own rather large take-out menu of sandwiches and salads. The not-secret but oft ignored sandwich that really shouldn't be ignored at all is the John's Smoked Trout. The same hickory smoked trout from the seafood plate with sliced red onion, capers, cucumbers, and the dill sauce. It is so good.
Truffles Butchery
As mentioned last week, I have become a bit of a meat fanatic with the opening of Truffles Butchery and Bolyard's Meat and Provisions in the last year or so. They're similar to each other in that they both deal in the art of meat, but they have their differences, as well. Rather than a single sandwich per week, the Butchery offers a selection of 5 standard sandwiches, plus a sandwich of the day. Their options are typically more 'classic' than what you find at Bolyard's, but no less delicious. The sandwiches you see below are the rib tip, pickles, and cheese special from a few weeks back and the house roast beef sandwich on their buttery, delicious brioche bun.
Menu at Truffles Butchery
Rib Sandwich at Truffles Butchery
Roast Beef Sandwich at Truffles Butchery
Truffles Butchery is, surprisingly, connected to Truffles Restaurant, which gives them access to a large kitchen and a wide array of ingredients. With this extra space (plus the extra personnel), they're able to carry more than just meat - you can get vegetables, both raw and prepared, quiche, house sauces and rubs, marinades, and more. Their Mongolian Marinade, an orgy of Asian flavors, is easily my favorite, but a steak marinated in their chimichurri is hard to beat.
Meat Case at Truffles Butchery
Meat at Truffles Butchery
Condiments at Truffles Butchery
Bacon at Truffles Butchery
The Butchery has a constantly changing selection of cured meats, which recently included a bangin' chorizo, a spicy calabrese, and the secret topping for the delicious burgers I make at home: lamb bacon.
Chorizo at Truffles Butchery
Pork Chops at Truffles Butchery
One of the coolest features that the Butchery has is its Himalayan salt dry-aging room, which you can see as you walk into the store. Monstrous cuts of meat hang from the ceiling, just waiting for your order. Or, if you're a big baller, you can order a quarter of a cow and have them age it for you.
Aging Room at Truffles Butchery
Strip Steaks at Truffles Butchery
Jamon Iberico at Truffles Butchery
Cured Meats at Truffles Butchery
Deli Meats at Truffles Butchery
If you're feeling like a glutton, they often have a FRIED chicken salad. The skin loses its crunch when mixed, but it still adds a delicious flavor you don't get with normal chicken salad. I would try it, if I were you.
Fried Chicken Salad at Truffles Butchery
Aside from their own products, they also carry a good amount of small batch and high end sauces, spreads, and oils.
Soy Sauce at Truffles Butchery
Sauces at Truffles Butchery
Brioche Buns at Truffles Butchery
Bread at Truffles Butchery
Gouda Seaweed Bread at Truffles Butchery
One of the biggest surprises I had when I first started going was that their bread is great. The man behind their bread baking, Caesar, is like a mad scientist, coming up with wild stuff like fermented seaweed, turmeric and peanut, and most recently, a gouda cheese and spinach bread. If you like Asiago bagels, this will blow your face off. Using some secret techniques that I cannot divulge, he has made it so that every little bit of crust has that crunchy, burnt cheese flavor. The inside has little pockets of gouda, too. If they don't have it when you go, make sure to ask them to make it again. It should be a permanent fixture!
Truffles Butchery has become a staple in my grocery shopping. The expectation is that because it's in Ladue and connected to a fine dining restaurant, the prices will be exorbitant, but they're not. I've actually found the meat to be comparable (or even cheaper) than a number of local groceries, especially Whole Foods. Similar to what I mentioned about Bolyard's, the crew at the Butchery remember their customers and their preferences. Every time I go - literally every single time - I end up leaving with FAR more than expected. Remember all of the things I listed that were in my fridge and freezer from Bolyard's? I've got just as much stuff from the Butchery. Check it out.
Truffles Butchery
9202 Clayton Road
St. Louis, MO 63124
314.567.9100
Bolyard's Meat & Provisions
After suffering through three years of eating Australian, Malaysian, and Chinese beef and pork in Singapore (there's no room for animals to roam there - some houses in Frontenac are bigger than the whole island), I had all but given up eating meat. The pork lacked flavor and the beef's taste was abysmal. I needed American beef! American pork! The good stuff. When I washed ashore in the US, I slowly began adding it back into my diet. Then I turned it up to 11. All of a sudden my freezer and fridge were full of sausages, burgers, cured meats, smoked meats, raw meats, cooked meats, dried meats! Why the sudden change? Two reasons: Truffles Butchery and Bolyard's Meat & Provisions.
If you don't already know, Bolyard's is owned by Chris (formerly of Sidney Street Cafe) and Abbie Bolyard, though I believe the brains of the operation may actually be Betty, their adorable, chorizo munching daughter. They offer lamb, pork, beef, and chicken, all sourced from small Midwestern farms. When you walk in, you'll see a big board with the cuts available, plus a display case with all their creations. The creations range from the known (hot dogs, hamburgers, meatballs), to the more unfamiliar (tasso, lamb merguez, country pate), to the OMG is that?? (beef heart pastrami, blood bologna, confit chicken hearts).
Inside Boylard's Meat and Provisions
Boylard's Meat and Provisions
Shelves at Boylard's Meat and Provisions
Butcher Area at Boylard's Meat and Provisions
Chris Bolyard at Boylard's Meat and Provisions
Pork at Boylard's Meat and Provisions
Watching Chris prepare a pork shoulder for smoking was awe-inspiring. His finesse with his knives was so smooth and precise - I went home and attempted to prepare my own pork shoulder at Chris Boylard speed and now have 2 less fingers. As he finished up the shoulder, a truck pulled up with two huge freezers in the back. Chris smirked and beckoned me outside.
If those guys weren't all wearing butcher's aprons and Bolyard's shirts, neighbors might get the wrong idea about what goes on inside Bolyard's. It's not every day you see a bunch of meat hook wielding gents carrying a massive plastic wrapped body. I would have offered to help them carry in the humongous cow quarters, but, you know, I was busy photographing.
Cow Delivery at Boylard's Meat and Provisions
Steer Quarter at Boylard's Meat and Provisions
The Walk In at Boylard's Meat and Provisions
Butchering at at Boylard's Meat and Provisions
Pork at Boylard's Meat and Provisions
Omnivurger at Boylard's Meat and Provisions
Burger at Boylard's Meat and Provisions
As part of the James Beard Better Burger Project, Bolyard's has been making "omnivurgers", a beef and mushroom hamburger patty that is just off the chain. I don't even really like mushrooms and I've got 12 or so of these in my freezer. Just look at that bad boy cooked and ready to be devoured.
The other thing that Bolyard's is doing right are their weekly sandwiches. Seriously. As part of my research for this post, I have eaten said sandwiches. Let's see what I've consumed the last few weeks:
Roast Beef Sandwich at Boylard's Meat and Provisions
Spicy Roast Beef Sandwich at Boylard's Meat and Provisions
Route 66: Roast beef, porchetta di testa, arugula, pickled red onion, chipotle aioli, all on a Companion Peacemaker roll. SO F***ING GOOD.
The meatball sub: housemade meatballs (get them, freeze them, break them out whenever you're feeling low), housemade sauce, shredded cheese. REALLY F***ING GOOD.
Meatball Sub at Boylard's Meat and Provisions
My favorite so far has been the special this week, the [symple_highlight color="blue"]Seoul Mate[/symple_highlight]: ham, roast beef, Korean barbecue aioli, kimchi, sunflower sprouts, crunchy Ramen noodles. Just let that sink in. How smart is it to smash up ramen noodles and use them as a topping? 5/5, EXTREMELY F***ING GOOD.
Sandwich Prep at Boylard's Meat and Provisions
Korean Sandwich at Boylard's Meat and Provisions
Korean Beef Sandwich at Boylard's Meat and Provisions
Seoul Mate Sandwich at Boylard's Meat and Provisions
Walking into a place like Bolyard's is, in a lot of ways, what things were like in days past, I imagine. Before the era of Schnucks, Dierbergs, and the faceless butcher. Chris and his team know what I like and what my family likes. They remember the things I ordered before. You want something custom ordered or prepared differently? Just ask.
If you haven't visited Bolyard's, this week is the perfect opportunity to do so. You want to impress your friends on the 4th, right? That all starts with having great meat. You can try your luck by just showing up, or you can call and order ahead. My recommendation: Omnivurgers and Berzerkers, a beef, bacon, horseradish, and cheddar sausage. Bring a military ID and get 20% off. And, if you're reading this today (Thursday), they're doing their Thursday night smoke out. Call to inquire about what's available (I do know they're doing a rabbit porcheta stuffed with bratwurst!).
Seriously. Go. This is what I've got in my fridge and freezer right now from Bolyard's: Omnivurgers, lamb merguez, berzerkers, hot dogs, bratwurst, buffalo turkey sausages, meatballs, pickled red onions, bread and butter pickles, beef tallow. I'm ready for the 4th.