Yesterday was circled on the calendar, because it was the day for the Stonington Farmers’ Market. As soon as we arrived, I made my customary beeline to the Sunset Acres Farm tent, because experience has taught me a happy lesson: Sunset Acres produces exceptionally good meat products (and their eggs and cheeses are pretty good, too). Every one of those orange tubs is full to the rim with the the succulent protein goodness–bacon, pork chops, hanger steaks, ribs, hot dogs, breakfast sausage–that is a meat lover’s dream. Yesterday I picked up two mouth-watering thick cut ribeye steaks, some hot sausage, and a few chicken breasts. They’ll all be going on the grill over the next few days, to be enjoyed when we are dining al fresco on our deck.
It’s not easy to find a good meat guy, the kind of guy who delivers fresh, dependable, high-quality offerings without cutting corners. And if the prices are reasonable, as they are with the Sunset Acres Farm products, so much the better! Once you find a good meat guy, you stick with him, savor the quality that he delivers, and don’t take a chance going anywhere else. I imagine vegans feel the same way about an organic farm that can be counted on to deliver a particularly strong crop of broccolini.
The Sunset Acres Farm van is a mainstay of the Stonington Farmers’ Market, which has expanded this year and drawn increasingly large crowds. We’ve seen new stands with produce, baked goods, and artisanal products–but the meat guy is the sun around which the other stands revolve, lit by his reflected glory.
Webner House 