Pick of the Crop – Meat on the Street

Image from the Meat on the Street Facebook Page

Henry Reidy is the guy flipping those awesome burgers in that cool little cart at the market.  He can be found at the Saturday market, First Fridays and of course our beloved Souther of the James Market, 3:00 to 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday evenings. The idea sort of came as a prong off of the wife’s biz, the famous Belmont Butchery, owned by Tanya Cauthen. Tanya sports a very healthy, humane view on the labor of getting meat to the table.  Henry takes the good meat out on the street.

He is available for catering gigs for breakfast, lunch, dinner, any size catering up to full on pig roasts.  What will get you is the aroma.  His menu at the market includes burgers, which are from grass-fed beef.  It is clean, hormone free. They are topped with caramelized onions, micro greens, and a blue cheese dressing if you want it and a Flour Garden sandwich hugs it all together. He can do BLT’s and a veggie scramble with eggs for the non-carnivores in his kitchen on wheels.

The cart was previously used by a couple who also peddled organic, natural foods.  Henry now braves the heat with the propane fired flat grill.  He is no stranger to hospitality. For 12 years he owned the Strawberry Street Vineyard wine store. Previous to that he was a wholesale food distributor. Suffice it to say that the knows the biz in and out. Chatting with him inside the cart made me appreciate the heated conditions in which he has to work. Labor love….or at least those 6 ounce burgers.

What is great about the Wednesday market is that people can take a table in front of his cart and enjoy the juicy burgers in leisure. It is a very laid back, non- hustle, bustle environment. Henry is always available for a chat when he is not flipping. All this and he is a newlywed too. Saturdays are a bit more challenging with the preparation of at least 150 sandwiches with only one helper.

Use your nose to find him and pull up a chair while he makes your burger. Go get a nice Grayhaven glass of wine and some veggies for the weekend and enjoy.

See you Wednesday!!

Souther of the James runs on Wednesdays 3 PM – 8 PM at 4910 Forest Hill Ave (23225). Your list of vendors.

Previous Picks of the Crop

Pick of the Crop is written by Trish Morrison.
Originally from Illinois where she was pioneering with Food Co-ops and Farmer’s Markets in the Chicago suburbs, Trish now lives in the neighborhood near Westover Hills Elementary School. A city dweller by week, weekends she travels to Lunenburg County working on an agricultural venture with her son. She enjoys the blend of art, agriculture, music and muse, you can find at a Farmers’ Market and hopes it comes through in her interview style of writing.