Where to get Bangers in New Jersey
In Sergeantsville in Hunterdon County, NJ, there is a little butcher shop called Maresca & Sons, started in 1943, and still run by two very old brothers (78 and 80 years old). This place is small but famous, and have been reviewed in New York Times (twice) and in American food magazines several times.
"Workdays find them together in a kind of bachelors' mess, where, in the detritus of old cookbooks and random wall hangings, the brothers fashion artisanal sausages, pâté and house-smoked meats to sell to neighbors and the culinarily forward who read Saveur magazine and make the pilgrimage." (link)
Bangers is of course sausages, but you knew that, right? Here they make their own sausages.
"Joe Maresca, 71, and his brother, Emil, 69, would like to retire. But they don't think they can. ''If we did, where would our customers get good meat?'' Joe asked." (link)
I can't even remember what we bought, but I know we used up all our cash, because they don't take credit cards or checks. I hade 10 cents left in my wallet when we left. I think we had lamb chops and sausages.
The glass counter is filled with meat of many kinds and from local farms - lamb, bacon, hot dry sausages, sweet Italian sausages, beef, pork chops, liverwurst and so on. Behind the counter is an old scale, and a band saw which is used to cut up meat while you are waiting. People are served slow, but you get excellent service. I just wonder what will happen when the two brothers get too old to run the store, I am sure it will be closed then. And it is already the last of its kind in this area of New Jersey. Visit before it is too late, and buy some great meat.
Of course there is no website, but the address is:
RR 523 Ste 763, Sergeantsville, NJ 08557, Phone: (609) 397-3543.
4 comments:
This place is just great. In my lifetime I have seen the last few places like this go away. Brooklyn and Hoboken had some great places, now gone. I have tried to patronize places like this my whole life. Thankfully there is a New Generation of people taking up the trade. I have never been to this one but I have it on good authority they are great, just no where near us. We have some great places to get good meat, but none(other than the subject of this post of course) that has the "atmosphere" of a traditional butcher shop. Maybe one day we will.
While doing some research for this, it seems like Bangers is a British term for sausages and not used much in the US. Is that true? If so, why do they have it on their sign in rural New Jersey? I didn't know what bangers were until PP told me.
Bangers (in the US) are a very specific kind of pork sausage -- but you have to e blessed with great butchers to get them! :)
Thanks for the comment LauraF! So, what is special about American bangers? Are they locally made pork hot dogs?
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