Tien NguyenBelcampo Meat Co. opened Downtown at Grand Central Market not too long ago, but if you haven't yet visited the pioneering meat company because you live on the Westside and waiting for its second location in Santa Monica to open this fall is mentally and physically easier than crossing the 405, you're in luck: from now until May 25th, you can swing by the Santa Monica location to preview some of its restaurant fare. Which means that for the next month or so, you can end a swell day at the beach with Belcampo's terrific cheeseburger and fries. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday.
For the uninitiated, Belcampo's meats are sustainably raised on the company's farms in Shasta Valley, slaughtered and processed in its own facilities (designed, incidentally, by Temple Grandin), then sold in its retail shops. This model of vertical integration means that each and every one of the company's meats is fully traceable, from farm to slaughter to fork.
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When it opens this fall, Belcampo's Santa Monica space will include a full-service butcher counter and restaurant; during these few preview weeks, the restaurant side of the operation will be up and running. Likely you'll want to start with that cheeseburger: made with a dry-aged patty, a thick slice of cheese, caramelized onions, lettuce and little else (read: no fried egg), this very well might be one of the best burgers in town. You can also try, say, nicely skewered beef hearts glossed in chimichurri. And starting May 1, bartenders from Honeycut and Petty Cash, among others, will be on hand to make drinks.
The monthlong preview runs Tuesdays through Saturdays from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. No reservations are required.
Belcampo Meat Co. in Santa Monica; Credit: Belcampo Meat Co.
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