Ottomanelli & Sons Meat Market Review

Here’s my  Yelp review of Ottomanelli & Sons Meat Market on Bleecker and 7th in the West Village. 

‘Manellis is all world. Stopped in here for the first time last Saturday morning, after hearing great things from the Paleo peoples about their delicious grass-fed beef.

I was fortunate to be helped by the living legend - Frank Ottomanelli. He could tell I was a naive, Trader Joe’s bred meat buyer, and he gave me a good rundown on what type of ground beef to buy. Choices were ground round or ground chuck. Chuck, coming from the shoulder and neck area of the cow, is the more popular and fattier of the two, typically, used for juicy hamburgers or a good winter pot roast.

Round, on the other hand, is much leaner and comes from the RUMP of the cow. You rumping, Franky? Good for tacos, meatloaf, sloppy joes and just any chopped meat recipe. After chewing on the toughest decision of my weekend, I went with two pounds of the ground round. This week, I’ve used it for delicious hamburgers, taco salad and sloppy joes. You can find chuck anywhere, so, I’m glad I went with the round.

Just when I thought the ground round was enough, I decided to ask about the London Broil. “Do you want the top round or tri-tip?” Frank asked. Huh? Another subtle difference in the location on the cow, but makes a world of difference in taste. London Broil, apparently, is top round steak, whereas tri-tip is the point end, or bottom, sirloin of the cut. In terms of price, LB is cheaper, but tri-tip is more flavorful and tender. For a few extra bucks, I went with a pound of the tri-tip, which is apparently great for roasting.

And, roasting it was on Sunday night after marinating it up with a nice mix of herbs and spices. Topped it off with sauteed brussel sprouts and saved the leftover for my omelet in the AM. The cut was so juicy and mouth-watering and, best of all, it left my apartment smelling delicious for the next 24-48 hours.

2 lbs. ground beef + 1 lb. of tri-tip = $25

I shall be back this weekend and I’d expect that you would, too.