Heywood’s Provision Company
By Tom Maicon at August 9, 2011 | 9:33 am | Print
If you don’t get a culinary hard-on walking into Heywood’s Provision Company (2145 Roswell Road, Marietta, Tel: 404.410.7997) then you obviously don’t care about food, or you are vegetarian. It’s a chef-owned and run butcher shop offering house-made salumi and bologna out of locally raised meats. The glass windows are filled with USDA prime beef, house-made bacon from Riverview Farm, smoked meats (mostly local), and USDA approved uncured sausages.
Yes, I did say uncured. Heywood’s is the only facility in Georgia that is USDA certified to prepare and sell nitrate-free sausages and salumi.
Some believe that synthetic nitrates and nitrites—when added in an effort to cure meats—combines with amines to create a potentially harmful substance called nitrosamines, which may be linked to cancer. Many disagree and proclaim these products to be safe, but after much research I am very weary of cured meats and tend to limit my intake.
Health risks aside, a small but growing group of artisan meat crafters feel strongly about adding synthetic nitrates and/or nitrites to meats when curing, and would rather not compromise the integrity of well-sourced organic meat. They instead add a safe natural culture that allows naturally occurring nitrates to convert to nitrites on their own. And, most importantly, they don’t use phosphates at all, mainly because they retain water and can put meat at risk. The result is a clean label natural product—the way it was meant to be, before the food world became overly industrialized.
This natural curing or fermentation process is practically unheard of here in the states, though it is being utilized at small levels in Italy and other parts of Europe and the world.
That being said, owner Patrick and his newly opened Heywood’s Provision Company is the single most important restaurant or market to open in our city in quite some time, possibly ever.
I’ve yet to try everything in the store but here’s a brief rundown of what I have tried so far:
Beef Jerky: At just six dollars for a quarter pound, this stuff is like cheap crack. The chipotle is especially spicy, but the teriyaki is a more complex sweet and spicy bite. Sometimes it’s even made from local White Oak Pastures beef.
Lebanon Bologna: All beef, fermented and smoked. The flavor is remarkably tangy and much drier texture.
Beef Cotto Salami: Well-seasoned faintly peppery flavored beef salami. The one I tried was made with White Oak Pastures beef.
Spicy Sopressata: Nicely spicy bite to this weirdly wide in diameter meat. Pleasantly not too dry to the bite like all products on the shelf at this meat haus.
Italian Sausage: This spicy Italian sausage is second to none. Quite possibly the best I’ve ever eaten.
What impresses me most about this little Marietta meatery is the quality of product. Besides Riverview Farm, you’ll find plenty of local White Oak Pastures beef on the shelf along with their newly released poultry. Will Harris’ White Oak Pastures grass-fed beef is my personal favorite, and has been for a very long time. For the first time ever, I can actually say with confidence that someone is actually doing his beef the justice it so deserves.
Run, don’t walk to this one!
Robert, 9 months ago
Thanks for the easy to understand explanation of natural curing, Tom. I love this place too! I had sworn off bologna forever, but after trying Heywood’s Lebanon Bologna made from White Oak Pastures beef, I have issued a personal retraction. Upon your recommendation, I will try the Italian Sausage next. Amen to your statement about finding someone that is doing White Oak’s product the “justice it so deserves.”
Tom Maicon, 9 months ago
I swore off bologna forever as a kid, but that Lebanon bologna with the White Oak Pastures beef has forced me to issue a personal retraction as well. I love so much about this place!
H Lamar Thomas, 9 months ago
Next time I am in the area with any kind of free time….this looks good.
Steven Bondell, 9 months ago
I’m sure the meats are great and I can’t wait to try them, but is the safety reasoning sound? Too often we fear “synthetic” versus “natural”. There are thousands of “natural” toxins and poisons and carcinogens. In the case of a chemical compound such as nitrite there is no difference as to how it is made. Nitrite is nitrite. There must be enough nitrite produced to render the product safe from bacterial growth and hence USDA approved. It may be that this is still much less then when nitrite is added as a cure and hence the finished product may have less nitrite to form nitrosamines. Perhaps other compunds are produced by this “fermentation” process that help protect the meat, but then we don’t really know what those products are and their long term effect.
Tom Maicon, 9 months ago
Yes, in this case, the cultures used help the nitrates to create nitrites that of course help protect the meat and garner USDA approval.
I’ve heard both sides of the “natural” vs. “synthetic” nitrate argument and see both sides. And, yes, I do understand that nitrates are in veggies as well. I certainly grow enough veggies to understand that. What I think is most important here (and I said this in the article) is that they don’t add phosphates.
In other cured meats elsewhere with those who are adding nitrates, phosphates and all sorts of salt, I have trouble with the meat itself. It turns my stomach after only eating small amounts. Could be the salt, I don’t know. Didn’t have that issue here — and I pigged out on the stuff for 5 straight days.
John Rabson, 9 months ago
The corned beef and pastrami are the best I have had since leaving New York City 20 years ago . The rock shrimp tasted like mini lobsters. It’s a great place and the guys behind the counter are very helpful .can’t wait to get back so I can try the Italian sausage!
Chris Reid, 8 months ago
Run, walk drive but only if you love amazing MEAT! I am a Jersey boy and this is the best meat-deli in GA ever…
Edd Shotts, 4 months ago
I live near-by and had no idea your store was there. I am looking forward to visiting you. The article in the AJC today put me on to you. I usually cook my meats on my Green Egg at low temp. Anyway I’ll be by.