by Steven Doyle
Not too unlike the Death Star, The Blind Butcher is now fully operational. That means you may now enjoy food with your cocktails or beer. When Blind Butcher first opened the food aspect of the unique neighborhood tavern was not quite ready for the public, but the wait was very well worthwhile. For those familiar with the quality of Goodfriend (link has a fun Q&A with Tobin and Yingling) located further in East Dallas, this new hot spot is owned by the same folks. Matt Tobin and Josh Yingling truly know how to entertain their guests, and that is simply to offer the best of everything in a uber unpretentious environment. The Blind Butcher definitely qualifies in that respect.
Executive chef Oliver Sitrin has created a menu that will change often, depending on what is in season and available, and use as many local ingredients as possible. Sitrin says, “I have an old-school view on things. The flavors in my dishes are not to be confused, and I don’t believe in waste. I try to not over think or over do it. I grew up eating these things and playing around with their ingredients – pate, hand-cranked sausages and charcuterie. It’s fun and creative food that pairs well with our cocktails, beer and wine.”
Sitrin ‘s menu is a combination of almost every cuisine he has experienced in his lifetime and he calls it “worldly-local”. He cures all his meats and grinds and hand cranks the sausages in-house. Sitrin makes mustard, potato chips, some of the cheeses, flavors the goat cheese as well as vinegar and ferments vegetables in-house.
duck and foie sausage
pastrami eggrolls
crispy pig ears
Menu starters, “SNACKS”, include dishes such as beef tartare with quail egg and capers, fried cheese curds with garden marinara or pickle ranch and seared broccolini with black truffle fondue. Sitrin has a “HAND-CRANKED SAUSAGES” section that includes duck and foie gras served with chutney, the English banger with mashed potatoes and onion gravy, the bacon bratwurst with sauerkraut and house-made mustard; as a vegan option, he is offering the vegan “hot dog” made with tofu bacon and pickled mustard seeds.
A section all on its own for “POUTINE” (a traditional Canadian snack consisting of French fries, brown gravy and cheese curds) has three varieties: mushroom, pork belly and duck fries. The duck is simply amazing with its supple egg masting the dish.
The “BOARDS FOR SHARING” includes house-made cheese, pates, terrine, chutney and the Big Meat – a large board sampling of all daily specials. “THINGS ON THE SIDE” include duck fat fries, savory bread pudding and more. “GREEN THINGS” offers local greens, beet salad, elbow salad and spinach salad. Entrees will be written on the metal boards hanging on the wall and promise to change as often as several times per week.
duck poutine with foie supplement
mushroom poutine
broccolini with black truffle fondue
This is definitely a meat-centric menu, and all the sausages and charcuterie are recommended. We especially enjoyed the duck and foie sausage, a combination just waiting to devour. The crispy thin strips of pig’s ear is the perfect bar snack, and pairs extremely well with a pint or two. However you will definitely want to add the broccolini to your order to break up the sausage party.
The Blind Butcher definitely has grown popular since it opened, and can be difficult to maneuver on a warm weekend night. Sunday service is extremely brisk, but we were able to grab a table for small group with little wait. This is a place for friends to share some terrific bites packed with flavors that you will be chatting about for days.
The Blind Butcher is located at 1919 Greenville Avenue.
Went over the weekend, and the food was tasty but the charcuterie was stupid SMALL
I can’t wait to go!