Baron’s Meat & Poultry is an old-fashioned butcher shop selling the best quality meats from reputable names such as Niman Ranch, Western Grasslands, Creekstone Farms and Mary’s Free Range Poultry, sources that are committed to raising animals humanely with no hormones, no antibiotics and organic vegetarian feed. There really is a big difference in taste, not to mention the good health that comes from eating food raised healthily.

I’m not a knife expert, so another perk of having an old-fashioned butcher shop in the neighborhood is that I can request my meats cut any way I like. Cubed, sliced for a stir-fry, diced or ground, the staff at Baron’s Meat & Poultry do it better than I could, so when I get home to my kitchen, all I have to do is cook.

The Niman Ranch Ground Chuck is great for shaping into burger patties with minced onion, salt and pepper. I bake it at 350 degrees for 20 minutes well done, less if you want it rare. The chuck is fatty enough to grease the pan on its own. It’s a quick and easy meal for the whole family.

Baron’s Meat & Poultry is one of the only places in the San Francisco Bay Area you can get the onglet, which is a strip of beef that hangs between the last rib and the loin, very close to the beef’s kidney. The onglet is very tender and flavorful. I usually get it cut in half-inch strips and stir fry it with vegetables in a soy sauce and sesame oil base.

Baron’s also makes their own delicious specialty sausages in-house. The steaks and marinades are amazing, and come Thanksgiving, I will be pre-ordering my Mary’s Free Range Turkey right here at Baron’s Meat & Poultry.

Check out www.BaronsMeats.com for more information on Baron’s Meat & Poultry. Better yet, pay them a visit at the Alameda Marketplace on the corner of Park Street and Buena Vista.

Thomas the Train Railroad Play Area

Malaya trying out a Fisher Price bicycle at the Toy Safari store front