Belcampo Meat Co. opens today in Palo Alto

Uploaded: Jun 23, 2014

Belcampo Meat Co., a hyper-sustainable meat company founded by a Palo Alto native, is opening its doors today at 10 a.m. at Town & Country shopping center.

Locals will be privy to deli cuts and prepared foods with meat that was handled from start to finish by the company. Belcampo raises all its animals at a huge Mount Shasta farm, takes them to a 20,000 square-foot slaughterhouse designed by renowned animal science doctor Temple Grandin just 20 minutes from the farm when they're ready to go and butchers all the meat by hand rather than machine. Read more about the Belcampo farm and practices here.

The Palo Alto store is one piece of a big expansion push by CEO Anya Fernald, who opened the first Belcampo retail shop in Larkspur in 2012. She's since opened in downtown Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and just two weeks ago, a restaurant and butcher shop in San Francisco.

Town & Country isn't getting a full sit-down Belcampo experience, but rather deli and take-out prepared options. Meat ranges from the typical to the more unusual, like quail, partridge and rabbit. Some menu items include a braised lamb belly bun with caramelized onions, spiced yogurt and arugula; a pulled pork bun with jalapeno aioli, cucumber daikon and carrot; steak salad; smoked jalapeño and cheddar sausage on a toasted bun with red cabbage and lime slaw; posole soup with shredded pork, Rancho Gordo hominy and dried chilis.

The main focus of the 900-square-foot space, located at the back at Town & Country between Sushi House and Tava Indian Kitchen, is a 12-foot traditional butcher case. The store also has hand-painted gold-leaf windows, a hand-painted mural by New Bohemia signs of San Francisco, Belcampo's signature blue hand-made tiles from Mexico and a menu board built by local artist Lawrence LaBianca.

Fernald's parents, both Stanford professors, still live in the area, so as she told me in February, the Town & Country location is "really nice" for her personally.

Stay tuned for an in-depth feature on Belcampo in the print editions of the Palo Alto Weekly and Mountain View Voice in the next few weeks.

Belcampo Meat Co.
855 El Camino Real #161, Palo Alto
650-561-3492
www.belcampomeatco.com/restaurant/palo-alto

Butchery hours:
Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m; Saurday, 9 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

Restaurant (prepared food) hours: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. daily

Comments

Posted by Oops!, a resident of Stanford,
on Jun 23, 2014 at 2:00 pm

Can't wait to try?..and I'm looking forward to the in-depth feature?.

separately... please check your facts before you print it the feature?..

?.. Fernald's parents (Anne and Russ) are both current Stanford professors?. which is so EASY to confirm when the stanford directory is online and accessible to everyone:

stanford.edu - upper right hand corner - search - people.

Also - they own a home on the Stanford Campus?.not in Palo Alto?..NOT the same

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Posted by Elena Kadvany, a resident of another community,
on Jun 23, 2014 at 2:04 pm

Oops!: Thank you very much for the correction, though I was going off what Anya originally told me.

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Posted by Desmo, a resident of Southgate,
on Jun 23, 2014 at 2:43 pm

I went yesterday. Ribeye steaks are $34 a pound. *THIRTY FOUR DOLLARS A POUND*
Staff was nice and all, but at those prices I can't be a customer. And I though Schaubs rib eyes at $25 a pound was up there.

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Posted by Laurie, a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood,
on Jun 23, 2014 at 3:58 pm

I just tried one of their Philly Cheese-steaks (on a soft roll). As a Philadelphia expatriot, I was very impressed. And the price was very reasonable.

As for others who commented on the high prices, I think you have to expect that for beef raised this way. If you appreciate such meat, the workaround is to eat smaller quantities less often. Your doctor will appreciate that too.

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Posted by Laurie, a resident of another community,
on Jun 23, 2014 at 7:00 pm

Oops, I meant 'expatriate'.

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Posted by Anon, a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood,
on Jun 24, 2014 at 10:53 am

I hope there's a mechanism to get some of this meat on sale or about to expire. I would like to shop there, so please keep us posted if there is something like that. We have teenagers in the house, so food is a big percent of our income. However, I'd like to support this kind of practice if possible.

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Posted by Desmodog, a resident of Southgate,
on Jun 25, 2014 at 10:36 am

Had the sausage with kraut and cheese sauce yesterday. Outstanding! Best dog I've had in a long time. No weird ingredients. Just a great flavor. Cannot wait to try other stuff they make there

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Posted by Jay Park, a resident of Jackson Park,
on Jun 27, 2014 at 10:39 am

@Anon:

I doubt if this butcher shop will have any deep discounted or "almost expiring" sale items. I've never seen it in any high-end butcher shop around here, they must skillfully manage inventory to stay profitable.

Note that Belcampo has prepared food items on a menu that changes daily.

Many of the chosen preparations are highly effective and time-honored recipes designed to address less-than-premium cuts and leftover meat (braised lamb, pulled pork, posole, meatballs, chili, etc.).

If you want discount meat, try a large chain grocer like Safeway or maybe Costco.

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