Meat on the street

My friend Martha said to blog about this and since I always do what she (and others) tell me to do, I am.  I have  little initiative myself, as you all know, so am easily led.

A couple of weeks ago Cooper and I were walking through the 'hood, enjoying a lovely spring day, smelling the roses, admiring the irises and every other growing thing. I saw a couple of guys near a house, delivering something, and sort of ignored them.  A block or two later (we walk a circuitous route) I saw them again and they saw me.  Their panelled truck (small van)  had a meat market designation, and clearly they were making deliveries of pre-ordered beef.  But when they saw me the second time they shouted out a "Hello there!" greeting and I, foolishly, responded.

Next thing I knew they were trying to sell me meat out of the back of their van! I tried to shake them off but they just kept talking about how great this beef was, where it came from, why they had to sell it off cheap, the whole nine yards. They had people who had ordered but not paid and they couldn't leave it outside without payment so they had product to sell.  I wouldn't have listened but they were so nice and cute and engaging.  They offered me about 50 pieces of beef at a cut-rate deal, including T-bone steaks, fillets, ground sirloin, small tenderloins, big tenderloins, you name it. All frozen, vacuum packed, from the mid-west, all professionally packaged.  It looked good but I don't have the freezer space for much, so I kept saying "no."  But I had no reason to not believe them, they seemed earnest and honest.

Finally they made me an offer I couldn't refuse.  A box of 12 small tenderloins, probably about 4 or 6 ounces each, vacuum packed, looking quite lovely, for $60 bucks.  $5 each steak.  Seemed like an OK deal, not great but really crappy if the meat was sub par.  But, hey, I bit, shelled out my $60 and as I was walking down the street with a box of frozen beef steaks under my arm, I laughed to myself.  "Man, I must be a mark, they must have known I would cave in and buy, these steaks must be tough and tasteless."  But honestly, I didn't care, it was a lesson in life: be wary but be open.  You might score.

I ate one of those steaks that night and it was delicious.  Tender, flavorful, juicy.  I have had one since, same thing and I am having one tonight.  Nice size, not a huge amount of meat, just enough.  I gave two of them to Laurel who lives next to me.  Share the bounty.  Trust your instincts:  if you think it is good, it might be. 


.