***note to my readers, this post is not for the faint of heart.  in this post there will be animals becoming dinner.  but please, friend, i encourage you to see this.  it’s a part of the process.  (and i did censor.)***

i think it’s incredibly important to know where our food comes from.  that’s why i was so excited to hear that goose was taking us to gunthorp farms to see where we get our chicken, pork and duck.   not only did we tour the spacious, well kept farm, but we got to take part in the slaughter.  i’ve never killed an animal (except for that one time i ran over i squirrel… sorry little guy), so i wasn’t sure how i’d take it.  i was surprised at how clean and efficient the process was.

i really appreciate how much they let us take part.  i didn’t kill anything, but did help take out the insides of the chickens and de-feather the ducks.  those were easy tasks, nothing compared to killing the pigs.  that’s the part that got to me: the smell of burning hair and flesh, the heat and humidity of that room, the blood pouring from the hanging pig.  it was intense.  i had to leave after a few pigs.  and even though it was unpleasant to be in the room, i cannot say enough how respectful and intentional the entire process was.  they explained each step to us, including the reasoning behind the hows and whys.

those are the suckling pigs after being killed and mostly cleaned.  what a job, huh?

that is one pregnant momma!

we stopped by a couple other farms as well and were able to see some bison and cattle before the sun set.  again, it was impacting and powerful to see this part of the food chain.  do you know where your food comes from?

i never imagined that i’d be photographing meat.  i didn’t even eat meat for a long time.  but then i started working at goose the market and now names like delaware fireball, chorizo, saucisson rouge, and duck prosciutto make sense to me.  those are just a few of the delicious products that i photographed today.  now my camera smells like smoked sausage.

the ball and biscuit is a fantastic speakeasy style restaurant on mass ave that opened this year.  the vibe is uber hip- simultaneously vintage and modern; the drinks are delicious and mixed perfectly.  you couldn’t really pick a better way to spend your friday night, or any night for that matter.  here’s a peek at my afternoon rendezvous with zach and the great folks at b&b.

love the old microphones, and below is the original “ball and biscuit”

above is the willett rye old fashion (yes i did get to sample, and you should order this)