“Ask your butcher . . .” How many times have you seen that in a recipe and thought, “What butcher?”
Well now you have one.
Fans of local farmers markets may recognize chef/mad-meat-genius Jamie Stachowski from the stand where he hawks kielbasa, Italian, and bratwurst sausages.
Those same sausages can be found filling the glass-enclosed cases at
Stachowski’s new shop, which opened just over a week ago on Georgetown’s
28th Street, NW, in the former Griffin Market space. Neighboring the
fresh forcemeats are carnivorous delights–many from local farms–like
dry-aged short-ribs and Kansas strip steaks, pork loin chops, and pig
trotters. There’s also a variety of prepared items: cherrywood-smoked
chickens, duck prosciutto, Irish bacon, cured salmon, and chili-rubbed
coppa.
High-top
tables at the shop are the spot for digging into massive sandwiches
listed on a chalkboard. Stachowski’s son, Josef–the shop’s
co-owner–recommends the turkey-avocado club, which sounds almost dainty
alongside offerings like kielbasa with kraut and the “hot, big”
pastrami. In fact, it’s a double-decker monster, with crunchy bacon and
piles of freshly-smoked turkey. Grab-and-go “TV dinners” are also on
offer in the shop’s fridge–platters include smoked chicken, asparagus,
and potato gratin or a hearty lasagna.
If
you have meat in mind that’s not stocked in the shop, speak up.
Stachowski is already taking special orders for items like sweetbreads
and bacon-wrapped Muscovy duck. Just ask your butcher.
Stachowski’s. 1425 28th St., NW; 202-506-3125. Open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 AM to 8 PM, Sunday from 11 AM to 6 PM.
Anna Spiegel covers the dining and drinking scene in her native DC. Prior to joining Washingtonian in 2010, she attended the French Culinary Institute and Columbia University’s MFA program in New York, and held various cooking and writing positions in NYC and in St. John, US Virgin Islands.
