Poor Man's Butcher

Today I took the beef butchering class at Jeffrey's Meat Market in the Lower East Side. It was a truly unique experience. The class was scheduled for three hours beginning at 10am. I was pleasantly surprised that class began with a tasting of three different delicious cheeses, an array of cured meats, smoked salmon and fresh baguettes. We then sliced, cooked, and devoured baby racks of lamb. We were offered beer to wash it all down- this was an extra perk and made my lingering hangover extra happy. All of this was fantastic but still no sign of beef. Jeffrey told us stories about the market and how it is the last tenament building left on the block. He is a 4th generation butcher with a heart of gold. Back in the day, families would order meats and write down what they owed Jeffrey. At the end of the month, the families would pay, or not. If they could not afford to pay, Jeffrey would throw away the amount written down and start fresh each month. No family ever had debt. Every time a mother comes in with a new baby he gives them a steak as a gift for the child. He explains that he is a poor man's butcher. The value in feeding a family means the world to him. He has a side job where he prepares dinners for women raising children that need extra help. "Eating is not a privilege, eating is a f*cking right," Jeffrey exclaimed. We talked and talked ate more food. It is September 11th and we remembered lives lost, one being Jeffrey's brother. We toasted to life and living and celebrating and enjoying the moment. Eventually at 1pm, when the class was scheduled to end, we were ready to dive into the actual butchering of the beef. Whoops. No more time. Jeffrey told us that we could all come back to another class of our choice free of charge. He doesn't care about money. He cares about people and making sure that they are happy and most importantly, well fed.