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Chris

The Golden Calf Artisan Meat Market

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Find them on Facebook here.

I finally stopped in yesterday to see what they had as well as see what blends they were carrying from Crystal City Olive Oil. They didn't have the blends I was looking for, but there's no way I was walking out of there empty handed. 

I grabbed a jar of Concord Grape jam from a farm in Bradford NY. I also checked out the cheese selections and grabbed a bag of taco-flavored cheese curd from Golden Age Cheese out of Woodhull NY. I am really familiar with their product, as I knew the family through a previous job and can tell you, their product is excellent. I'm thinking these cheese curds will make one hell of an omelette with a little picante or salsa added. 

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Photo by Golden Calf

I checked out the meat counter, and they have a good selection of meats. The meats come from fresh from a farm in the region and sire, the prices are higher than what you'll find at Wegmans or Tops, but remember what you're getting: fresh, locally raised product. I opted for a pound of the jalapeño and cheddar brats which at 11.99 a pound averages out to about 3 brats per pound. But these babies are big and let me tell you, they are PACKED with flavor! And they're made right there on site. How cool is that?

Now, the jam I had this morning and I have to be honest, I'm pretty lukewarm on. I was expecting something homemade from local grapes, more real grape flavor, which I've had and love. Instead it's basically sugar, pectin, and concord grape juice. Nothing different than you can get in the supermarkets. Tastes good, but the same as Smuckers... not what I thought it was. I guess I should have read the label. 

The cheese curd, as I already said, is delicious. The Hickey family produces a lot of different flavors of curd in addition to other cheeses, and it's worth the price. 

But the crown jewel of this shopping trip was the brats. Have mercy... I took them off the grill and when I cut mine open the aroma hit my nose and I knew I was in for some next level eating. I added a dollop of mustard to my plate but truth is, I didn't really use it. Adding anything to this bratwurst only ruined an already heavenly flavor. They had the right amount of zing, and I'll tell ya, I will be getting these again. 

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You're doing yourself a great disservice not trying these. 

I talked to the owner and he told me he's still getting more product in. He plans to have a beer cooler, hopefully featuring regional craft beers ( I didn't ask ) and more fresh produce from the Amish up along the lakes. 

As someone who enjoys cooking, I really love seeing something like this open up in our area. I know there's some that will balk at the prices but folks, you have to remember this is all locally produced goods, and when you shop here you're not just supporting one business, you're supporting multiple family owned farms and businesses all in one stop. We need to support the places that are taking a chance and offering something different. I know I'll be back, and I encourage everyone to stop by. 

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Sadly, Tyler has announced he’s selling the business and building:

A8FE4F37-8090-468A-85D8-A249BCC64948.jpeg

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19 minutes ago, Chris said:

Sadly, Tyler has announced he’s selling the business and building:

A8FE4F37-8090-468A-85D8-A249BCC64948.jpeg

This is a damn shame but in a tough market the little guy gets dirt kicked in his face ! 

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I went as often as I could the meat was well worth the price. You knew you were paying more than grocery store but the quality was so so much more.

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16 minutes ago, Zapp Brannigan said:

I went as often as I could the meat was well worth the price. You knew you were paying more than grocery store but the quality was so so much more.

Yep. Problem is, the price of hay, fuel, feed, etc. continues to rise and the farmers have to pass that on to the store, which has to pass it on to the customer. It's too bad, because it's a great source of fresh, locally raised food.

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4 hours ago, Chris said:

Yep. Problem is, the price of hay, fuel, feed, etc. continues to rise and the farmers have to pass that on to the store, which has to pass it on to the customer. It's too bad, because it's a great source of fresh, locally raised food.

Spot on Chris . Problem as well is that most would rather go to Sprawl Mart to buy that cheaper , thinner cut , Tetracycline and other growth hormone fed Commercial Farm raised … stuff .

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I will say I forgot they were even there. I only heard good things about them.

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I heard this but I'm not surprised. Surprised this lasted as long as it did. This county isn't full of money. I think it may have flourished in Ithaca. They dd have some exotic stuff you couldn't get in this area. I knew someone who said they went once and got two steaks and it was $65. I like steak but as one who doesn't even order them out I can't picture paying some $32 for a steak. I'm not certain I love it $32 worth. 

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$32 for a good steak? I’m in!

This area could support a place like Golden Calf, but too many people want or are used to cheap mass produced products, including food.

What a lot of people failed to realize or appreciate is it wasn’t a steak mass produced from a factory farm somewhere. It was super fresh meat from a cow raised less than 50 miles from here on a family farm. You’re gonna pay more for that because they have to pay more to produce it. Or, you can go get a cheaper one from Wegmans.

I loved his jalapeño and cheddar sausage. I think it was 13.00/lb but it was locally made, and it was damned good. 

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12 hours ago, Chris said:

$32 for a good steak? I’m in!

This area could support a place like Golden Calf, but too many people want or are used to cheap mass produced products, including food.

What a lot of people failed to realize or appreciate is it wasn’t a steak mass produced from a factory farm somewhere. It was super fresh meat from a cow raised less than 50 miles from here on a family farm. You’re gonna pay more for that because they have to pay more to produce it. Or, you can go get a cheaper one from Wegmans.

I loved his jalapeño and cheddar sausage. I think it was 13.00/lb but it was locally made, and it was damned good. 

Since we are rehashing old posts. I was very disappointed to see him go. Id happily pay 32.00 for a good fresh steak but I am a quality over quantity person.

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27 minutes ago, Zapp Brannigan said:

Since we are rehashing old posts. I was very disappointed to see him go. Id happily pay 32.00 for a good fresh steak but I am a quality over quantity person.

Yeah that was likely 32.00/lb and you're gonna pay more than that for a decent 8oz filet from Sysco in most restaurants around here.

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jalapeno and cheddar sausage. I yearn for thee. 

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On 7/11/2023 at 10:24 AM, Zapp Brannigan said:

Since we are rehashing old posts. I was very disappointed to see him go. Id happily pay 32.00 for a good fresh steak but I am a quality over quantity person.

I actually didn't even notice this was older until after. I just had heard the news on the 4th of July weekend from some family members at a BBQ. I never got over there so I didn't honestly know it happened back around last fall. 

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On 7/13/2023 at 7:40 PM, Jack said:

jalapeno and cheddar sausage. I yearn for thee. 

That sounds like a novel concept idea for a sausage. Bummed I didn't get to try that. 

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On 7/11/2023 at 10:52 AM, Chris said:

Yeah that was likely 32.00/lb and you're gonna pay more than that for a decent 8oz filet from Sysco in most restaurants around here.

I guess this is why I like steak but I don't. 8oz to me is like eating not much. Dome people like quality over quantity I can respect that. I just don't like leaving a restaurant still hungry. Defeats the purpose especially if I'm paying an arm and a leg to eat it. 

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On 7/10/2023 at 9:18 PM, Chris said:

$32 for a good steak? I’m in!

This area could support a place like Golden Calf, but too many people want or are used to cheap mass produced products, including food.

What a lot of people failed to realize or appreciate is it wasn’t a steak mass produced from a factory farm somewhere. It was super fresh meat from a cow raised less than 50 miles from here on a family farm. You’re gonna pay more for that because they have to pay more to produce it. Or, you can go get a cheaper one from Wegmans.

I loved his jalapeño and cheddar sausage. I think it was 13.00/lb but it was locally made, and it was damned good. 

Fresh meat is better no doubt, it would be hard to go back to the stuff in the store. But at the same time the stuff in the store is cheaper so you can buy it more frequently or even regularly. At this place if you could on every product(not sure if steak is sold by the pound or would honestly freeze well or not, some beef profucts like burger freeze just fine.l but you will pay more. I guess if you get a few pounds of everything you buy in the long run it may be fiscally worth it. But if you went constantly like you did grocery store runs it would probably be hard to fiscally sustain at that pace long term. 

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6 hours ago, JustAGuy said:

8oz to me is like eating not much.

That's a half pound of meat LOL! Then add to that the sides, any appetizers and drinks...

Maybe when I was younger I could eat that much, but not now. 

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