Meat, And So Much More, At The Meat House

By Nancy K. Crevier

The Meat House, located at Plaza South on South Main Street, opened September 24 and is Newtown’s newest market in Newtown’s newest shopping plaza. The name evokes a vision of cleaver-wielding men in white paper hats, working under dim lamps over well-used butcher blocks, but The Meat House is far from that.

The space is light and airy, and walls painted a gentle moss green serve as a backdrop to black and white photos culled from the archives of the Newtown Historical Society. Wooden floors soften the footsteps of shoppers, and bold displays of spices, sauces, breads, jams, and other gourmet grocery items fill well-spaced wooden kiosks, each sporting a sheaf of wheat. The grocery displays guide the shopper from the front of the store to the rear, and that is where meat shoppers are stopped in their tracks, impressed by the 40-plus feet of refrigerated case lining the entire back wall of the business.

“The idea is to hark back to the days of the personal butcher, and that is our main focus,” said David Beauregard, director of operations for The Meat House. The Meat House does offer an astounding array of fresh meats, as well as an impressive line of frozen exotic meats — think kangaroo, ostrich, alligator, and wild boar (“Pretty much if you want it and it’s legal, we can get it,” Mr Beauregard said) — house marinated meats, and vacuum-packed meat portions.

Only Creek Stone Farms Black Angus prime and the top grade of choice beef is sold at The Meat House, and like all of the other fresh meat products, the products are cut from primal cuts as the case is depleted. “What you see in the case is all that is cut,” said Mr Beauregard. The staff, under the guidance of Mr Beauregard and general manager Jeff Forlastro, is educated to help customers, and unlike large supermarkets, he said, “Here, you’re going to talk to a real person. There are no numbers to take, no lines to wait in. Our job is to recognize you and to take care of the customers. We are happy to help people with their choices,” he said, and custom cut orders are welcomed. Meat is ground on site, often to order.

The Meat House is a purveyor of dry aged beef, as well, a process in which cuts are aged in an humidity controlled environment to create a full-flavored, very tender cut of meat. It is highly prized by meat connoisseurs, and not a cut that is normally available at supermarkets, Mr Beauregard said. The store also offers grass-fed Australian beef and grass-fed buffalo from New Hampshire, frozen.

From Rowland Farm in Oxford, The Meat House brings in certified Berkshire pork products, raised using no feed additive, hormones, or subtherapeutic antibiotics. Greyledge Farm in Roxbury is also known for its all-natural, pasture-raised cattle and pork, and it is from this small farm that The Meat House purchases no-nitrate sausage, and certain cuts of beef and pork, as well as high-end turkeys. All natural, fresh turkeys from Plainville Farms in Upstate New York can also be found in the meat case at The Meat House.

Belle & Evans, and Mountaire, a poultry farm in Delaware, provide hormone- and antibiotic-free chickens.

Popular with customers are the marinated products. Fresh cuts of beef, turkey, and chicken marinated in a proprietary marinade, in house, are big sellers, Mr Beauregard said. Marinated shrimp is currently the only seafood product carried by The Meat House. For shoppers on the go, the marinated meats are also sold in convenient vacuum-sealed packages in a nearby case, and first-time customers leave with a sample of the marinated steak tips.

Creating Complete Meals

But receiving equal attention is the line of groceries neatly displayed in the kiosks scattered throughout the 3,500 square feet of shopping space. The selection includes specialty and locally produced items that work to create complete meals when combined with the meats sold at The Meat House.

“We have a ‘gourmet’ side to us, and Jeff [Forlastro] is a graduate of the Johnson & Wales Culinary Program. Our goal is to try to make this an everyday farmers’ market. Whenever we can find quality local products, we try to bring them in. We want to be micro-local on a lot of items,” said Mr Beauregard.

Among those offerings is the Boxed Goodes products out of Litchfield, a line of organic herb and spice blends, heirloom grains, and lentil and bean blends, attractively packaged in old-fashioned bail-wire canning jars, and handy spice grinders. The spice blends, the “perfect dry rub” from El’s Kitchen in Weston, or a tapenade or spread from Bridgewater’s Gracious Gourmet, are all complementary to the meat products showcased at The Meat House.

In the center of the store, a huge stainless steel vat dispenses Ariston extra-virgin olive oil from Kalamata, Greece, and a smaller vat pours out the rich balsamic vinegar produced by that same company. Customers purchase already filled bottles of Ariston oil or balsamic vinegar, then return the emptied container to be refilled, at a reduced price.

Nearby, a display of artisan breads from Wave Hill Breads in Wilton, and breads from Chaves Bakery in Bridgeport provide the perfect opportunity to sample the rich olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Chunks of the home-style breads are made available to customers each day, alongside bowls of the Ariston products.

Sampling is an important marketing tool used at The Meat House. Every day, samples of the Farm Country Soups tempt shoppers, as do samples of the fresh salsas and chips from Mitchell’s in New Hampshire. “People get a taste of the soups, and they buy them,” said Mr Beauregard. “They are fantastic. The same with the Mitchell’s products, which all 25 of The Meat House franchise stores carry,” he said. On weekends, shoppers will find the smaller vendors on hand, with samples of those specialty products featured.

Cookie Wishes provides hand-decorated cookies, low in fat, and often sweetened with honey from the baker’s own hives. Other seasonal pies, brownies, cookies, and cakes come from Scratch Bakery in Milford (whose brownie gained notoriety on the Oprah show).

Gourmet smoked meats, poultry, fish, and cheeses come from Nodine’s Smokehouse in the Berkshires. Les Oliviers brings in a line of Belgian chocolate dipped dates and gift collections of dried fruits and nuts; and Ola Granola from Redding and SuperSeedz snacks from Newtown are just some of the other local items that grace the shelves.

A small selection of fresh produce is sold at The Meat House, and in the adjacent frozen foods case, alongside exotic meats and a line of Belle & Evans chicken products, are just two frozen desserts: Farmer’s Cow ice cream and Gelato Giuliana from New Haven.

Customers too busy to cook can order a sandwich of Boar’s Head meats and cheeses to go, or pick from the selection of refrigerated prepared meals and side dishes created in The Meat House kitchen.

The Meat House is attentive to the upcoming holidays, and Mr Beauregard noted that goose, turkey, crown roasts, and racks of lamb can be preordered, along with holiday side dishes, pies from Scratch Bakery, and other festive food items. The staff is happy to assist in putting together the perfect holiday gift basket, and gift cards are available.

“We are about everyday and specialty meats and food products,” said Mr Beauregard. “We offer a lot of items, but we are about hospitality and service.”

The Meat House, 266 South Main Street, in Plaza South, is open seven days of the week, from 9 am to 7 pm. For special orders, call 203-426-5445. For more information, visit www.themeathouse.com.