Tiberio Custom Meats To Offer 'Butcher's Table' Dinners Starting March 21

Since quietly opening last summer on Rivington Street in Manhattan's Lower East Side, butcher Adam Tiberio and partner Erik Hassert's Tiberio Custom Meats, which is connected to Frank Prisinzano's restaurant Sauce, has developed a reputation as one of the city's unique butcher shops. They know their meat all the way down to the breeder, and source it from some of the region's finest farms, including Vermont Heritage Grazers and Argyle Angus. But just selling the meat wasn't enough for Tiberio and Haskert, and they've decided to launch a nightly "Butcher's Table" dinner in order to showcase the cream of their crop, right there in the butcher shop.

"In our shop, there's a real emphasis on personalization," Tiberio told The Daily Meal. "We don't just put out a bunch of strips and rib-eyes; we have a conversation with each customer. 'How many people are you looking to serve? How much time do you have?' From there we'll help them decide on the right cut to buy, talk a little bit about the cut itself, and give some advice on the best way to cook it."

That philosophy will roll over into their Butcher's Table dinners, which have been in "soft open" mode for the past few weeks but will be rolled out to the general public March 21. As of right now reservations are only being taken for parties of 10 (that's all they can accommodate), and will only be offered Thursday nights for $100/head, but once they get rolling they'll accept reservations for smaller groups, will host them more frequently, and will up the price to $125/head.

"I don't want to sound snobby, but we're going to be getting into as much of the educational aspect of the meat as the diners are interested in," said Tiberio. "We're not chefs, we're butchers — that's why it's not called a chef's table — and we put a lot of emphasis on the best way to cook the meat. We understand the function of these muscles on the animal, and that makes a big difference in how they behave in the kitchen."

The multicourse bill of fare will change nightly, but it will always include an amuse (house-made roast beef, mortadella, or sausage sandwich, for example), a "carne crudo" course (a carpaccio, tartare, or both), a soup (for example, 12-hour pig stock with market greens and shredded pork shank), a game bird course (a seared/braised duo of usually duck, quail, or squab), a pork tasting (also a seared/braised duo; grilled pork collar and bone-in pork belly are examples), and a seared/braised beef duo as well, showcasing an item like 3-inch thick bistecca Fiorentina). Vegetables will get plenty of attention as well;  they'll be bought from the Union Square Greenmarket, and they'll eventually use vegetables that they grow themselves on an upstate plot of land.

Reservations for groups of 10 are already being taken, and our guess is that spots will fill up fast. You can find out how to book the table through their website.