We stopped by Ryan and Cesalee Farr’s 4505 Meats newly opened Butcher Shop in the Mission to pick up some items and grab a quick bite to eat. Well known for their market stands at the Ferry Plaza and various other Farmer’s Market, they provide updated (and messy) takes on hot dogs, burgers and sandwiches. The good news is that they also serve some of the cooked sausage items at their new permanent storefront.
When you enter the 4505 Meats Butcher Shop, you are immediately greeted with 2 cold refrigeration units. The left one showcases sustainable meats butchered onsite where the selection (including offal parts) can vary on a day-to-day basis:
Then you venture to the right and check out the case that features all of their house-made sausages, salumi, hams, and pâté en croute sliced to order:
At the cash register is where you can order their excellent sausages or hot dogs. The day we shopped, the chalkboard featured a choice of Beer Chicken Sausage, Cheddar Bratwursts and Bacon-Studded Hot Dogs. They also offered 3 different styles to prepare the choice of sausage: Classic (house-made sauerkraut, onion and house-made mustard), The Cole (chorizo con queso, pickled onions, Frito Lay corn chips) and their famous Zilla Style (Namu Kimchee, scallions, house sauce, chicharrónes).
We chose the Cheddar Brat made Classic Style:
They were out of the Bacon-Studded hot dogs that day which didn’t really matter since we had Cheddar Brats on mind anyway. What better way could there be to eat the cheesy sausage than to add more cheese sauce on top? So The Cole Style was the way to go. Ryan told us that it was named after one of the employees who came up with the queso topping. Since they were temporarily out of Fritos, we asked for the addictively excellent chicharrón topping instead. This is one messy great dog to eat:
Speaking of chicharrónes, 4505’s version is the best we have ever had. They have some secret process to make these even lighter and airier than most pork rinds available. They literally crackle and pop in your mouth and stick to your teeth. We haven’t tried the duck sticks yet, but we have had our share of the pig skins (luckily for us, they make family size bags):
They do provide a condiment station to add more mustard or onions to the sausages along with plenty of napkins (required to eat these dogs). There is no real place to sit down to eat the dogs but there is plenty of standing room.
They will continue their stands at all the various Farmer’s Markets along with this permanent storefront open from Wednesdays – Sundays. A couple of other refrigeration units contain drinks and other items like pre-ground packaged meats, whole porchetta rolls and housemade stocks. It’s just a great place to shop for all of your meaty needs, especially if you are in the Mission. Specific item orders can also be placed by calling ahead or via their website.
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