I’ve been awaiting the opening of Minden Meat and Deli with high hopes. Stopped in today for a sandwich, and was fairly disappointed. The beef all comes from Creekstone Farms. http://www.creekstonefarms.com/about.html The good things: according to their website they don’t use hormones or antibiotics, the slaughterhouse is designed by Temple Grandin, the animals are all raised in the US, which makes it dubiously local, but better than Mexico I guess. Still, they brag about it being corn fed. There were no organs on display, and when I asked was told “maybe, we don’t have all our shipments yet.” Not the way I was hoping a local butcher would be operating…. And there was literature about how the salmon was all being farmed in a responsible manner in Patagonia. http://www.verlasso.com/our-story/faq/ Hmmm. I won’t be buying fish there either.
The ambiance is overall very pleasant: display, checkout, tables and a bar; I could see it being an enjoyable bar in the evening. The space devoted to meat and deli cases though is quite small, and the line to order food goes in front of them, so if you come in looking for butcher purchases at lunch time it’s not very convenient. Signage about the prepared food prices is lacking. Pickles, breads, cheeses, olives, and some other deli type things were in a center display. Jars of pesto made with canola oil. There *was* some raw sauerkraut and a raw goat cheddar. Some nice Cabot cheeses. Sauerkraut is so easy to make, though, and the cheeses you can get so much cheaper at Costco….
I ordered a Reuben and a cup of artichoke bisque. The soup was very nice. The Reuben was done in a panini press, and although it had sear lines across the nice marble rye, the sauerkraut could have been straight from the fridge it was so cold. Cheese not melted. And surprisingly bland for a Reuben. I’ll give them one more try in a month or so, maybe some of these are start-up issues. As a deli and bar they might turn out ok. For a butcher I suspect we have to keep waiting.
Janelle
NEVER AGAIN!!! My parents suggested I try their catering services so I stopped by the shop and inquired about their catering menu. No menu was available so I left a message for the catering manager. Two weeks later after no reply, I called and was left on hold for 15 minutes. I hung up and called back and left another message. With no response for another two weeks after that, I called a third time and was told by the owner that I would hear from the catering manager later that day. Indeed, I heard from her and we spoke about details and she stated that she would send me a message detailing a quote later in the week. The quote never came and four days after it was due I was the one who had to initiate communication by calling to find out what was going on. I was told I would receive a phone call from the catering manager later in the evening. Instead of a phone call I received an email notifying me that she was busy covering shifts for other employees and that was the reason I had not received the message. Later, an incomplete quote with only half of what was discussed had been thrown together and was sent to me. The next day I received a phone call asking me to forward the same message back to the catering manager because she lost the original message she sent to me! After discussing the entire experience with my parents, they informed me that considering I had to keep calling them to even get any response, and since they clearly had issues keeping their word when they stated they would do something, this was not the type of business we wanted to handle the catering for my wedding. With their level unprofessionalism and rudeness how on earth could we expect that the experience on the wedding day would be much different? Their lack of attention to their potential customers and inability to organize a simple quote convinced me that this was not the best option to choose for catering. I contacted the owner and informed him that my parents and I had decided not to utilize their services after our experience with them and the response I got was, “Well I am sorry to hear that, it would have been a perfect wedding!” I was floored and what was said to me and after being treated in such a manner I am very glad I chose not to use a company whose staff is so rude and does not have any sense of accountability or responsibility. Part of being in the catering business means that you cater to your client’s needs. NOT THIS COMPANY!!