Pictured are Side Hill Farmers Meats & Market chefs Rhoad, Prial, and McCann.
(Manlius, NY – Aug. 2013) A local-foods butcher shop, Side Hill Farmers’ Meats & Market, has just opened in Manlius. A classic butcher shop that also offers prepared meals and a local-foods grocery, Side Hill Farmers’ Meats & Market has a bit of twist: it is owned by a cooperative of farmers, and operated by a triumvirate of chefs.
“We are Madison County farmers who wanted to bring our own meat to people in Central New York,” said cooperative member Bee Tolman. “All of our shop’s beef, pork, chicken, turkey, and lamb is produced in Madison County. It’s all top quality, pasture-based, and natural. And we farmers had the good sense to hire three really talented chefs: Greg Rhoad, Emily Prial, and Kevin McCann. They are experienced, classically-trained chefs who create amazing food from our meat and our neighboring farms’ produce.”
Chef and butcher Kevin McCann explains that the shop is completely centered on whole-carcass utilization. “Let’s say we get one steer and two hogs processed this week; that’s what we have to offer,” said McCann. “We’re protein psychiatrists: we talk to our customers about meat choices they don’t even know about, how the cuts compare, how to cook them, how to put together economical but phenomenal meals. We’re not like the supermarket; there’s no box of tenderloins that we’ve bought from some distributor. We may sell out of beef tenderloin, because there’s only two on an animal, and when it’s gone, it’s gone. But there’s still exciting beef left – dry-aged rib steaks, dry-aged sirloin, hangar steaks, breakfast steaks – and you can have a conversation with the butcher about all the choices.”
The prepared-meals case at Side Hill Farmers’ Meats & Market has creations produced by Chef Emily Prial. The prepared meals change daily, and spring from Prial’s culinary imagination.
“Our meals are based on what Kevin has at the butcher table, what produce and herbs have come in from the farms, and what tastes really good to us,” Prial explains. “We put together great meals that come from what’s right here in the shop, and will make a nice variety in the case. It’s grilling season now, so we’re making salads and sides that complement our grilling meats. Hmm, how about a potato salad made from Alambria Farm’s tri-colored potatoes, garlic greens and chives, and a sweet-onion dressing. Or how about a white-bean salad, made from Gianforte Farm beans and our smoked ham hocks.”
The chefs and farmers of Side Hill Farmers’ Meats & Market are proud of their product and their service. “We’re not hiding anything,” says McCann. “When you walk in the door, you see the butcher table and the kitchen. Our food, our production, our skills – they’re all there for you to see.”
“Our whole business is a bit of a throw-back,” adds Tolman. “One of our slogans is ‘Meat Your Grandmother Would Recognize.’ It’s like we’re going back in time, providing wonderful, simple food from local farms.”
Side Hill Farmers Heats & Market is located at 315 Fayette St. For more information, call 575-1105 or 760-2766 or visit www.sidehillfarmers.com
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What are your hours? Have you advertised anywhere else? I heard about this from my neighbor. It’s a great concept, but needs to be better advertised, i.e Post Standard, news channel 9, etc.
I am looking for hot dogs like we use to get, they were all hooked together. Do you have them or know where I can get them?