Lady and Son Butchery
1175 Queen Street East
416-913-2598

As soon as customers enter the door, proprietress and butcher Voula Mantis, will most likely try to feed them. It may be the tennis ball-sized clementines just in, or decadent Belgium butter wafers, or perhaps some grilled chorizo. Even regulars who’ve just popped in to say hello as they were passing by are sent off with some homemade meatballs. Those who’ve come for dinner ideas get mouth-watering preparation advice along with their choice. For example, veal - egg wash dip, fresh chive and garlic seasoned bread crumbs, sear in hot cast iron pan with a light oil and a little butter, finish in a hot oven - and serving suggestions, to boot; “A mushroom ragout would go really well with that.”

Continue reading First Lady of Meat On Queen »

Laws are like sausages, it is better not to see them being made. - Otto von Bismarck

I can’t testify to the accuracy of the above quote, at least when it comes to laws. But Mario Fiorucci, co-owner of the Healthy Butcher (565 Queen Street West), may be able to as a former Bay Street lawyer. And despite his years in the muck that is lawyering he still decided to open a butcher shop and actually make sausages.

And of course there is always the old saying about sausages and hotdogs – It’s all tits, lips, and assholes. That may be true at the big meat production companies, I can’t say, however the sausages at the healthy butcher are in no way representative of the factory-produced versions. In fact, to find out the truth about sausage making, simply sign up for one of the Healthy Butcher’s sausage-making classes.

Continue reading Wurst Night in Toronto »

The Butchers
2636 Yonge Street
416-483-5777

I showed up at the organic meat tasting schvitzing like a pig. Which was figuratively significant because I was there to eat a pig. I was late and ran 10 blocks (ok, I walked for one block and stopped in to the Puma shop to catch my breath and look at sneakers). In the past two weeks I’ve gone out, three times for Chinese, twice for ribs, and arranged an all-chorizo dinner. Sheryl, maybe for my next assignment you can send me to a colonoscopy party.

Continue reading He Ain’t Pretty No More »

Segovia Meat Market
218 Augusta Avenue
416-593-9904

In America sausages are victims of urban myth conjecture. They are rumoured to contain every repulsive, undesirable animal part our collective unconscious can will us to imagine. Carried through the back door and assembled in a dank horror movie slaughterhouse. That’s the sausage we’re going to get when looking at a menu that gives us a choice of bacon or sausage with our five-dollar breakfast.

Otto Von Bismarck, first chancellor of Germany, said, “To retain respect for sausages and laws, one must not watch them in the making”. And maybe he was right. But he never met Leonardo Segovia or tasted his chorizo.

Continue reading Sausage Party »

“Twenty five pounds of beef? Where are we going to put it?” asked my husband.

“In the freezer.” I said.

I’d wanted to try getting meat directly from a farmer for a while. I wasn’t sure how my husband would react when I told him I was going to order twenty five pounds of grass fed beef from Beef Connections, nine small farms who have a co-operative sales and delivery service. After an initial surprise at getting that much meat at once, my husband agreed that it was a good idea. I placed an order online and the next weekend found us driving to a parking lot on Bloor Street, where I was to pick up the meat and give them a hundred and thirty dollars.

The people who brought the meat were the farmers themselves. They were very friendly and quickly found my order. It comes in a big cardboard box, which they helped me carry to the car. Twenty-five pounds of beef seems like a huge quantity, but it fit in our freezer with plenty of room to spare. I could have even ordered the fifty-pound assortment.

Continue reading Grass Fed Beef »