Cameron Falls with some of the offerings at his Beauregard’s Fine Meats and Butchery in Boca Raton. Photo provided
By Jan Norris
A choice between moving from Monterey, California, to Seattle or South Florida came down to weather and cost of living for Cameron Falls. He, his spouse and two kids decided on South Florida, and as a result, Boca Raton is home to Falls’ first butcher shop.
Beauregard’s Fine Meats and Butchery opened in mid-April on Northeast 20th Street at Federal Highway. It’s the result of a culinary student-turned-chef’s journey into butchery.
A graduate of New York’s Culinary Institute of America, Falls had a successful career in fine dining restaurants in New York City.
“We had the best animals from area farms, and they came in whole to the restaurants, so I was used to working with whole animals. I fell in love with butchery,” he said.
He had a knack for it, too, and after moving to California and getting experience in a butcher shop when restaurants closed during the coronavirus pandemic, he was encouraged by customers to open his own place.
“The hours were better for a family life and kids,” he said.
He packed up his family to be with his in-laws in South Florida, and decided to open a butcher shop in Boca Raton.
Falls had help with the interior design from his wife, Gillian Generoso, a primary care physician, making the shop a family affair.
Meat in Florida is “wonderful,” Falls said, contrary to some perceptions.
“There’s a plethora of beautiful, pasture-raised cattle here,” Falls said. “Heritage, grain-finished beef we get from Quincey Cattle Co. in Chiefland. It’s some of the best anywhere.
Fort McCoy cattle is grass-fed and grain-finished as well. There are many great Florida cattle farms, and I’m proud to carry their beef.”
It’s poultry that’s impossible for him to get in Florida from the farmers.
“The small farms aren’t allowed to sell to me for retail, yet they are able to sell direct to the consumer, to farmers’ markets and to restaurants,” Falls said. “It’s a very strange code they have for selling to retailers.”
The Florida Department of Agriculture has a law governing small poultry farmers. The farmers are offered a limited license to sell processed chickens to consumers, farmers’ markets and restaurants, but not to retail outlets. The chickens are not USDA inspected, so they must be able to be traced from the farmer to the consumer.
Falls can buy chickens and other birds such as pheasant and duck, but they must be cooked to sell as a retail product. For that reason, rotisserie chickens from Florida may be in the shop.
To buy from a small poultry farmer, Falls has gone to South Carolina, where he’s found chickens he likes at a farm selling heritage breeds that taste like chicken should.
He’ll source from Florida whenever possible, but knows some things are best outside the state. “I want to get in the best meats,” Falls said. “I’ll be getting in wagyu, lamb and other top meats. ...
“It’s the pork I’m most proud of. We get pork from heritage hogs from a farm in the Panhandle. I couldn’t find a good pork chop down here anywhere. These are the best chops I’ve ever had.”
He’ll cure and smoke his own products as well.
“We have very good bacon. It’s cured for seven days then smoked, then sliced to order,” Falls said.
He reverts to his chef days in producing charcuterie: pork rillette, duck confit, patés, sausages and specialties such as coppa di testa, or head cheese.
House-made pastrami is coming soon, using old recipes.
“I’m going to use brisket and navel plate. It’s the traditional meat used for pastrami. Hardly anyone uses it anymore,” Falls said. “Also, house-made ham. We cure a whole leg for one week, then smoke it eight to 10 hours. It’s delicious.”
The shop will be stocked with specialty products such as Spanish anchovies and sardines, a selection of olive oils, condiments and artisan breads. The bread will come from Sullivan Street Bakery in New York.
“I tried to get Zak the Baker in but it hasn’t worked out so far. Maybe later,” Falls said. Zak is a premier baker in Miami.
Falls will offer sandwiches cut to order for lunch, and prepared foods in a grab-and-go case. Eventually, he’ll add things such as meatballs, Bolognese sauce and stocks to the cases.
Working as a butcher and a chef, Falls says, is “the best of both worlds.”
Beauregard’s Fine Meats and Butchery, 497 NE 20th St., Boca Raton. Open Tuesday-Saturday, 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Phone 561-409-4783; online at beauregardsfinemeats.com.
Where’s the beef?
Looking for other choices for picking up meats for a Memorial Day picnic or a special occasion meal? Here are some in the area.
The Butcher Shop at The Butcher and the Bar (510 E. Ocean Ave., 101 Suite B, Boynton Beach; butcherandbar.com): The shop sources “clean meats and produce” from Florida farms. The butcher cuts of beef, pork and lamb, as well as chicken, smoked meats, sausages and condiments, are produced on-site.
Chef Dan Ramos cooks meatballs, bone broth, side dishes and ready-to-cook takeout foods and makes craft sandwiches. Vegetarian options are available. For lunch and dinner, a small dining area and bar are open, as well as an outdoor patio.
Nicholson Muir (480 E Ocean Ave., Boynton Beach; nicholsonmuir.com): A modern steakhouse which grew out of a gourmet meat market. Chef/owner James Muir named the place after his grandfather from Argentina, where grilling steaks is a tradition. A range of prime Angus, American wagyu and Japanese wagyu cuts are cooked on a Japanese konro grill. The shop sells high-end retail items to accompany the steaks — prepared foods, salads, grab-and-go spices, and wine. Meats are cut to the customers’ preferences and come with cooking instructions.
The Meating Place (277 E. Palmetto Park Road, Boca Raton; facebook.com/meatingplaceboca): This is a family-owned butcher shop combined with a specialty grocery store. It specializes in prime grade meats, wagyu and Australian lamb. The shop is filled with specialty items to complement the meats, and it sells a variety of prepared foods.
The Meat Dealer Market (106 NE Second St., Boca Raton; themeatdealershop.com): This is both high-end butcher and international market. The family-owned boutique butcher carries Japanese Hokkaido and Miyazaki A5 beef, Australian wagyu, wild caught salmon, heritage poultry and more. Groceries, too.
Sugar Factory replaces Lionfish on Atlantic Avenue
Lionfish’s closing on Atlantic Avenue last month was big news to locals, but bigger news may be the chain brasserie replacing it. Sugar Factory, a popular themed restaurant centered on sweets, has established branches in Miami Beach, Tampa and Orlando.
Craig Menin, owner and landlord at Menin Development, sold the lease that Lionfish Delray held to the owners of Sugar Factory in mid-April in a deal that came as a surprise to diners, but had been in the works for months.
In a statement, Menin said Lionfish was the first new restaurant to open in Delray Beach during COVID, adding, “Lionfish has led the way for the introduction of the latest group of restaurants now open and opening in Delray Beach from across the country.”
The owners of Sugar Factory chose Delray Beach as the chain’s fourth outlet for strategic reasons and for the energy of Atlantic Avenue, which blends “local flavor and tourist buzz,” company spokeswoman Bonnie Taylor said.
Sugar Factory is a social hot spot in its other locations. The bold colors and candy-themed decor are created especially for social media clicks. Special backdrops for selfies are positioned in key areas.
The menu starts at brunch with a waffle-burger, and heads through dinner and afterward with salads, sandwiches, more burgers and desserts.
Sugar Factory is famous for Rainbow Sliders, over-the-top milkshakes and oversize Goblets drink creations.
A retail area has more than 100 varieties of candies and party accessories. The indoor-outdoor restaurant has become a destination spot for celebrations.
In brief
A new concept by celebrity chef Todd English is rumored to be opening in the former Mexican restaurant at 717 Lake Avenue in Lake Worth Beach. The Bostonian’s most recent eatery in the county was at EmKo in West Palm Beach; the pandemic hit at its opening and it never made a full recovery. English is known for modern American cuisine that’s earned him four James Beard awards. ...Delray Beach is becoming a magnet for French bakeries. The latest is Paris Baguette at 1911 S. Federal Highway. Pastries, breads and signature cakes, including by the slice, are on the menu. ... Closed: Fish Depot, in downtown Boynton Beach. No word on whether it will reopen elsewhere.
Comments