Road Tips

Volpi's - St. Louis

Volpi's is more of a traditional Italian meat market than a butcher shop.  Located on the legendary Hill in St. Louis (see map), Volpi's is the retail end of the famous John Volpi Foods, which may be the oldest Italian sausage and salame maker in the U.S.

In 1900, Giovanni Volpi emigrated from Italy to the U.S.  Two years later, Volpi began to make salame, sausage and prosciutto ham and called his company the John Volpi Sausage Company.  In the mid-20's, Volpi was already nationally known as one of the finest Italian meat makers in the country. 

In 1938, his nephew, Armando Pasetti, came from Italy to learn the art of curing meats.  Pasetti, although only 14 years old and only being able to speak Italian when he started with his uncle, quickly learned the trade and took classes at night to learn English.  He eventually took over the company when Giovanni Volpi passed away in the 50's. 

In 2002, Pasetti's daughter, Lorenza Pasetti Denke, who had been the general manager of the company, took over the day-to-day operation from her father. 

Volpi's retail operation on the Hill is a quaint little shop that features all different types of Italian meats, cheese, pastas, and specialties.  Volpi's also has a number of olive oils and sauces to buy, as well. 

But the draw is their Italian meats, and they're simply great.  When I stop into Volpi's I always get their Milano salame and Genoa salame - which is practically the same thing, except the Milano has chunks of peppercorns in it. 

The only problem with their Milano and Genoa salame is that once it's sliced and exposed to air, you have about 24 to 36 hours to eat it or it gets a very bad smell and taste to it. 

They also have great Coppa salame, as well as wonderful Cappicola, Pepperoni and their world class Prosciutto ham.  All of those meats I use in an Italian sandwich that I like to make (and I'll share that recipe soon). 

When Schnuck's - a St. Louis-based grocery store - opened in Davenport about 18 months ago, I found they carried pre-packaged Volpi meats in their specialty meat department.  Although it's still fun to go to Volpi's and watch them slice the meat off the big rolls, I can now get their meat (albeit at a premium price) just down the street from us. 

Even if you're not into Italian meats, Volpi's meat market is a great place to visit to get an old world feel to what an old time Italian meat shop is all about.  It's truly an institution on The Hill.

Usinger's - Milwaukee

Usinger's Sausage Factory in downtown Milwaukee is unlike any neighborhood butcher or meat shop you'll find across the Midwest.  It truly is a meat packer that happens to sell their goods in a butcher-style shop.

Usinger's has a rich history in Milwaukee.  Frederick Usinger, a German immigrant who was a sausage maker in Frankfurt, Germany, began to work in a small butcher shop on 3rd St. in Milwaukee.  Within a year, Fred bought the butcher shop, married the niece of the butcher shop owner and began to make his own sausages that many saloon and restaurant owners used in their establishments. 

Fred Usinger

Usinger's secret sausage recipe was by far the best in Milwaukee.  His business grew so much that he was shipping his sausages as far away as New York City.  In fact, the original sausage recipe hasn't changed since 1880, and now the 4th generation of the Usinger family is running the company.

Usinger's is in the Old World Third Street area of downtown Milwaukee - a historic German district that is the home to such fine places as Mader's Restaurant, Buck Bradley's Saloon and The Spice House. Usinger's building is the biggest on the street and it is very tough to miss. 

The sausage shop at Usinger's is the exact same as it was when it opened in the early 1900's.  Spacious and ornate, the market has meat counters on three sides filled with their packaged sausages, brats, hams, smoked pork chops and other items the company makes.  Ladies man the counters and take your order.  Many times you have to take a number to be waited on, it's that busy.

I especially like Usinger's Summer Beef Sausage, their Garlic Summer Sausage and their Thueringer Summer Sausage.  They also make great brats - including an onion bratwurst and a spicy cajun bratwurst.  They also have bologna, olive loafs and real German headcheese (eeyew!).

One other thing that I like to get at Usinger's are their all-beef hot dogs and their bacon - both hickory and apple wood smoked.  A lot of times, they have bacon available on their "seconds" table - it's usually end cuts, or cut too thick (nothing wrong with that) or cut in weird shapes.  They're about $1.99 a pound and if you don't care that your bacon is not in perfect strips, they're a great bargain.

And Usinger's makes great andouille sausage, too.  I use it when I make cajun food around the house (and that's going to happen this week).  And their spicy Italian sausage has been part of many spaghetti meals I've made, as well. 

Usinger's mascot is Fritzie the Elf.  Elves are important to German lore as they were said to finish the work of laborers at night.  Fred Usinger felt the tradition of elves in Germany had to be part of the Usinger Sausage Factory.  As Usinger's grew, more elves became part of the story of the business.  And in the sausage shop, a mural painted in 1906 depicts a number of elves making sausage in the factory at night. 

Usinger's is a must stop every time I go to Milwaukee.  Don't forget to bring a good sized cooler.  I always fill ours each time I visit. 

Golick's - Davenport

The Quad Cities are blessed with a number of very good neighborhood butcher shops, but in my opinion none are better than Golick's (see map). 

Golick's is an old fashioned neighborhood grocery store caddy-cornered from the Genesis Medical Center East hospital.  Mike Richards is the owner and he looks like Barney Rubble, only with glasses and a beard.  In the spring thru early fall - and even on nice days in the winter - Mike will be outside during the noon hour firing up a grille and cooking steak sandwiches and chicken breast sandwiches on it. 

The pork I get from Golick's is the best I've ever tasted.  I've never had one piece of bad pork from Golick's.  And they have great beef and will stock veal, as well.  Mike's main cutter, Ronnie, can cut your steaks to any thickness you want.

About five or six years ago, a food critic from The Washington Post was back in the Quad Cities visiting family and he went over to Golick's to get some steaks for a cookout.  He was so mesmerized by the taste and tenderness of the steaks that he went back to Washington, wrote a story about how great the steaks were there.  Suddenly, Mike began to get phone calls from people in the Washington D.C. area wanting to order steaks direct. 

He would pack up a number of New York Strips, ribeyes, filets and t-bones and pack 'em with dry ice in a styrofoam container and ship 'em off.  He was getting something like $120 to $150 a pop for each order.  However, the Food and Drug Administration stepped in and said that in order for Mike to do that legally he had to have a full time FDA meat inspector at the store.  Since it was going to cost him a minimum of $40K to do that, Mike suspended his meat shipping business. 

Golick's also has a "meatloaf mixture" that I use to make my meat loaf that is a mixture of 1/3 ground beef, 1/3 ground pork and 1/3 ground veal.  I use the same stuff to make my meat balls.  It's not cheap - about $4.99 a pound, but it's great to eat. 

Golick's also carries Webster City Hams, probably the finest hams on the face of the earth.  My friend, Paul Zach, who runs The Avenue Bar in Madison, WI, told me that Webster City Hams are the only hams he serves on Christmas.  After having one for Thanksgiving one year, I have to agree with him. 

I wholeheartedly recommend checking out Golick's in you either live in the Quad Cities, or if you're planning on traveling here in the near future.  But bring your cooler!

Edgewood Locker - Edgewood, IA

A good friend, Jim Kellogg, turned me on to the Edgewood Locker just west of Edgewood, IA., and his recommendation was seconded by members of my wife's family who are from - and still live in - the area. 

I've been to the Edgewood Locker on a few occasions and have never been disappointed.  They have good pork chops (not as good as Golick's, but still damn good) and their steaks are good.  But they're probably more well known for their specialty items, such as seasoned brats, hams, sausage products, and their award winning beef jerky. 

The Edgewood Locker has a large freezer area full of pre-packaged meat and the thawed meat has always tasted as good as fresh to me.  And if you like venison, they have a selection of deer meat, usually in the winter and spring.  They do a lot of venison processing in the fall and winter for deer hunters throughout NE and Eastern Iowa.

About the only thing they don't do is veal, which seems to be a growing trend with some butcher shops these days.  I understand their stance, but, God!  Veal is so good! 

The Edgewood Locker opens very early - 6 a.m. Monday thru Saturday, but are closed on Sunday's.  They just opened a satellite location in Arlington, IA.  I haven't been there, but it appears to be much smaller than the one in Edgewood.

The Edgewood Locker is truly off the beaten path, it's truly in the boonies, but if you're out for a drive in NE Iowa sometime, you need to stop at the Edgewood Locker.  Oh, and bring a cooler... 

Weber's Meats

Weber's Meats started in Cuba City, WI as a meat processing plant.  They have a great selection of meat products to choose from in their shop on Highway 81 north of town.  I like to stop there when we would go out for drives in SW Wisconsin.

About three years ago - unbeknownst to me - the daughter of the owner of Weber's in Cuba City opened a Weber's Meats in Geneseo, IL.  And then two years later they opened up a branch in Bettendorf, IA.

Weber's has a lot of specialty meats and sausages to choose from.  They have great bacon and a very good jalapeno and cheese sausage roll that is very, very good. 

I don't know if they're better than Golick's in the cut of their meats, but they definitely have more specialty and processed meats to choose from.