The first week we arrived in Noe Valley, we spent almost all of our time moving, unpacking boxes, and putting together several items of Ikea furniture. One night, we found ourselves very, very, hungry, and had nothing in our fridge. We set off to find some food. Fortunately, Cecilia, the incredibly kind woman who works behind the counter at Drewes Bros. Meats, opened the doors for us an hour after closing, and after learning our names and our situation, gave us some really fantastic steak with a special discount. “Welcome to the neighborhood!” she waved enthusiastically as she locked up behind us. There was no doubt that we had moved to the right place.
We live two blocks away from Drewes Bros. Meats. Drewes has been opened since 1889, which is a fairly fantastic legacy, one of the oldest meat shops in California. When it almost tragically closed ten years ago, it was bought by two young brothers, Josh and Isaac Epple who had been working in the store since they were teenagers, and couldn’t bear to see it go.
There is no doubt why Drewes is an integral part of the neighborhood. Every time we are in there, people stroll in excitedly to purchase their evening meal. If it’s busy, you take a number from the old school deli counter reel. Everyone is in a good mood at Drewes; sometimes a game is broadcast on the little mounted television, often something is cooking on their mini grill in the back, and everyone chatters about what they want for dinner (with the helpful staff ever offering suggestions).
You can get all types of meats and fish, including rabbits, venison, and dungeness crab- and if they don’t have it in stock, they will find it for you. The only flaw is that Drewes doesn’t actually butcher on site. I learned this last week when I went in asking if I could learn to butcher a pig (a skill that I have been wanting to learn for years), and I was apologetically informed that this wouldn’t be possible. Alas, I’ll have to continue my search, but I’ll still continue going to Drewes.
We frequent Drewes a lot, and the best thing there is their award winning meatloaf. They wrap it up for you with instructions, and you just have to go home and pop it in the oven for an hour. Tonight we had it with corn, green beans, and a mixed salad, but it has gone equally well with mashed potatoes and broccoli.
Drewes Bros. Meats – 1706 Church St (at 29th St.)- Tel: (415) 821-0515 – Hours vary. We find them open later most of the time.
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