Sunday, November 16, 2008

Meat! - it's what's for dinner!

Been busy, haven't been concentrating on this blog like I would like to but am hoping to have more to put here in this week to come.
One place I would like to tell everyone about who doesn't already know about it Bryant's Pic-Pac grocery on Second street. Danny Bryant owns it. He started off there a good while back working as a meat cutter when it was still the A&P grocery. Now he runs the whole shebang and has the best meat in Frankfort, bar none.
When I was much younger the local Kroger's groceries had good meats. Now they've gone over mostly to pre-packaged stuff and frozen meats brought in from warehouses where it's all done up for them in advance. They do some stuff on the premises, but not that much. Walmart's the same way.
But Danny still gets in meat in pieces that you can look at and identify as being a real animal, great sides and quarters of beef and pork. He handles the full range of meat and poultry, and he'll get whatever you want and cut it any way that you like it.
I love being able to cruise in there and ask for pork loin steaks cut an inch thick. I cooked a bunch of those for some guys who were here for a shooting class several years ago and they raved about the food the whole time they were here. Thick or thin, Danny'll do it like you like it.
They make a lot of their own stuff in house, like pimiento cheese and some really fine beer cheese. And their made-in-house sausage is amazing. They take the trimmings and other cuts from the pork that they butcher, then mix it all together in the classic country manner with seasonings and spices and grind it all together. The result is something very lean, so lean that you have to cook it with some water or oil in the skillet since it won't release enough fat itself to keep from burning as you cook it. You can make big patties with it and they hardly shrink as they cook, it's so lean!
It's nice to be able to say good things about a local business like this, as they fade from the scene while the big stores displace them. Customer service is what they do best, making sure that you get what you need the way that you want it, and they manage to match pretty much any price that the big stores can throw out there in the process.
They cook chicken for various clubs and groups, cook and slice whole hams to order, and can provide various delicatessen services for any size group. Their deli makes the best lunch bargain in town. You get a meat and two vegetables along with a roll or cornbread for only $4.99 - you just can't beat that price for a full meal. Yeah, you can get hamburgers, or what some so-called chefs in this town want to sell you for twice as much, but you can't get food like that at that price anywhere else.
Lots to love about Bryant's, more than I'm going to try to tell you about in one piece on a blog. You owe it to yourself to go see them, at the corner of Second and Steele streets, if not to sample their deli and plate lunches then to order a prime cut for supper. Tell Danny I sent you so he knows that I'm thinking of him and giving him a thumbs up.
You can shop in bigger stores, but you can't get better meat or better service. Gotta love that.

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