If you follow us, you’ll know that we’re great promoters of Local, Sustainable and Organic.
There’s nothing moralistic about our views. It’s simply that, in our experience, these three qualifiers lead to better-tasting meals. Much better. And if you’re going to go to the trouble of cooking a good meal to share with family and friends, you owe it to yourself to start with the best ingredients.
What could be more local to us than The Ventura Meat Company?
This pristine, airy space has been open since November 2011. It’s the first sustainable butcher shop in our area, serving Ventura residents with grass-fed beef, organic poultry, and pasture-raised pork. Owner/operator Michael Buckley is determined to source his meats exclusively from small, family-owned farms.
“By my definition, ‘sustainable’ means that the livestock must be humanely treated, with access to natural pasture and raised on a wholly natural diet. You’ll pay more for our meat than a local supermarket product but the truth is it will be an entirely different taste experience. We aim, too, to make it an entirely different shopping experience.”
Addressing Michael’s comments on cost, we’ve been buying from a butcher 30-odd miles away, so when you factor in gas and time – let alone truly superior quality and taste – cost/lb becomes a loss less significant.
Ask Michael to spell out what makes his operation different and he’s on a roll: “We don’t sell sodas, cookies, frozen entrées, potato chips, or breakfast cereals! There are no candy bars at the register, and you certainly won’t find any chewing gum. You also won’t find any high-fructose-corn-syrup or monosodium glutamate (or any other unpronounceable substance) as an ingredient in any condiment we sell! You won’t find anything in my store that is factually bad for your health. You’ll only find real food and real meat. I’d go as far as to say that The Ventura Meat Company (TVMC) is really a health food store.”
Poseidon Cooks! has no affiliation or connection with TVMC but I know we’ll become regular customers. We’ve already cooked several meals with TVMC meat and we’re sold! If you’re as enthusiastic about high quality ingredients as we are, I urge you to find your local equivalent of our Ventura Meat Company!
