Where’d You Get That Meat?

The conscientious Chicago omnivore can exult in the news that two new butcher shops offering locally and humanely raised meats are set to open within the year. Rob Levitt, formerly of Mado, is opening Butcher & Larder next week while Paul Kahan of the Publican just signed a lease for a building across the street from the Publican for a butcher shop set to open in 6 to 10 months.

Butcher & Larder will be located at Noble and Milwaukee. There will be one lone display case full of freshly ground sausages, bacon, terrines, patés, and ham while the majority of meats will be cut to order from whole chickens, lambs, pigs, and cows. Customers can even specially order meats such as duck, goat, and rabbit. 

Levitt explained to the Chicago Reader that cutting meats to spec will engage customers and give the shop a strong sense of place, “The aesthetic attraction is that you walk up to the counter and there are butchers there working… There might be half a cow on the table and someone like me sweating and grunting and cutting an arm chuck. Which might turn some people off. I’m guessing it’ll really excite a lot of people to see what’s happening. You can say, ‘Hey, what are you doing?’ and I can explain, ‘This is flatiron. This is the chuck eye, and so suddenly you start a dialogue.”

Levitt has big plans for Butcher & Larder, including bringing back the popular butchering classes he offered at Mado, daily specials from guest chefs, accepting Link cards from low-income patrons, and obtaining a Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Points (HACCP) food safety plan to allow him to offer dry-cured meats. [Chicago Reader]

Kahan’s venture is partly in response to the overflow within his own restaurants. “The idea for the butcher shop comes from the fact that we’ve outgrown our space at this point. At Blackbird we’re running up and down between the basement and the second floor. The amount of time we waste is unbelievable,” he told The Stew. Much of the meat cut and cured at the shop will be sent directly to Kahan’s Publican, Avec, and Blackbird.

The shop will offer customers fresh meats (also purchased whole from local family farms and broken down on-site), charcuterie, and lunch and weekend breakfast served at communal tables with enough room for about 50. The industrial space can even be rented out for private parties. [The Stew/Chicago Tribune]