Smokey Sunday

If you follow the LA food blogs, you no doubt read about Lindy & Grundy when they opened in LA over a year ago. This sustainable butcher shop supports local farmers, and over the past several months, they have become my neighborhood butcher.

This is exactly what Amelia Posada and Erika Nakamura had in mind, and they are no doubt passionate about what they do. Most days you will find them both behind the counter—Amelia chatting with and educating customers and Erika custom cutting steaks or chops. Every time I walk in, I feel like I’m back home in NC, where everybody knows my name.  This is not place you visit once. It will become part of your weekly routine, your very on butcher shop.

In addition to meat, they sell a small selection of local, seasonal produce—like pomegranates, garlic, and fingerling potatoes.

They also have cookbooks, sauces and their special spice mix, which I use on their pork tenderloin—so delicious!

Recently, they have started Smokey Sunday, where they smoke ribs and chops for afternoon pickup. And that is why I was here on this particular day. We decided to invite a few friends over for a Sunday supper of bbq pork ribs, southern green beans, baked beans and cocktails. But, I can never just buy what I came for.

I truly never ate a pork chop until I ate one from here. The flavor, the texture, even the color is different from what you would get at even the most expensive grocery stores. I have no doubt this is because the farms they use feed their pigs fruits, veggies, black eyed peas, cotton seed, local barley and almonds that fall from the trees at the ranch. If I were a pig…

Their house-made sausages are one of my favorite things. The flavors change often, so if you are lucky enough to get the chicken cordon bleu, grab em all!  I also love the chorizo, which I put in Jamie Oliver’s potato and chorizo frittata and the Kielbasa with a little mustard and sauerkraut. You will never buy sausage in the little packs again!

 The only downside to buying ribs at Smokey Sunday is that you have to wait until you get home (or in my case, until my friends arrived) to dig in. I knew that if these tasted as good as they smelled, we were in business. And, they were quite possibly better. Finger lickin’ good indeed.

What better to wash them down than with Gramercy Tavern’s Fall Classic cocktail, which I found in a recent issue of Bon Appetit magazine. Made with fresh apple cider, bourbon, apple brandy and thyme, it is sure to warm up any autumn night and pairs perfectly with a slab of bbq ribs. Just make sure they are from Lindy & Grundy!

On another note, they are now taking orders for Thanksgiving Turkeys and will even deliver. They are offering three different birds at different price points.  Yes, they are way pricier than what you would get a regular grocery store, but I believe you get what you pay for.

Lindy & Grundy. 801 N. Fairfax Avenue. Los Angeles, CA 90046. 323-951-0804