Suckling Pigs in California, perferably Bay Area?

[zinfamous]

So my boss wants to procure a wee piglet, presumably for roasting purposes a fortnight hence.

Anyone know of a farm, or means of obtaining a suckling pig in regions near the Bay Area? Whole pigs in various iterations are easy to come by, but nabbing a suckling pig appears to be rather uncommon in the states.

I know there's a few farmers around here that may be able to help....

Thanks in advance!

 

[AreaCode707]

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/453482

http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=2168

Thanks to the diversity of the Bay Area, there are many ethnic butchers from
whom you can request a whole pig. It may still need to be special ordered.

Some suggestions are:

Ranch 99 Market
http://www.bayarea99ranch.com/
They have locations throughout the Bay Area.

Andronico’s
http://www.andronicos.com/about_andronicos/about_andronicos2a.html
This local chain is a high-end grocery store. The just started to carry Niman
Pork products. You can probably special order a whole pig or suckling pig.
This is also a fantastic place to find all those fancy spices the recipes call
for.

Some local butchers in San Francisco Bay Area.
These may or may not be able to provide a whole pig.
http://www.infousa.com/fs/business.htm
Search for ”meats” and put in a local city. I was able to find several in San
Francisco and Oakland.

City Search
http://bayarea.citysearch.com/search?
miles=25&miles_multiplier=1&type=bridge&query=meats

 

[MikeMike]

I was out ther for 6 weeks, and never met anyone

areacode, are you from Slownoma? I spent a LOT of time up there

 

[AreaCode707]

I was out ther for 6 weeks, and never met anyone

areacode, are you from Slownoma? I spent a LOT of time up there

Mendocino.

 

[MikeMike]

Mendocino.

ah, i was going to take a drive up there one day, but never really got the time, did bay 2 breakers, Tahoe, the beach, Yosemite, and of course worked... just wondered because the phone i used while out there was a 707 area code actually... lol

 

[AreaCode707]

ah, i was going to take a drive up there one day, but never really got the time, did bay 2 breakers, Tahoe, the beach, Yosemite, and of course worked... just wondered because the phone i used while out there was a 707 area code actually... lol

It's worth the visit. Mendo is less yuppie and more wild than Sonoma. I love it. Living up in Washington now but making plans to move back in the next few years.

 

[MikeMike]

It's worth the visit. Mendo is less yuppie and more wild than Sonoma. I love it. Living up in Washington now but making plans to move back in the next few years.

yea, im not out there now... Sonoma was fun, went to the Jazz fest, rode bikes around, etc... MUCH easier to get around on a bike drunk via bike paths than driving...

 

[zinfamous]

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/453482

http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=2168

awesome. My first thought was actually Ranch 99. I've known a few people that got their whole pigs from Chinese butchers and local restaurants.

I was actually going to PM this thread to you, cause I knew you had an inside track on local farmers.

thanks!

 

[zinfamous]

I was out ther for 6 weeks, and never met anyone

areacode, are you from Slownoma? I spent a LOT of time up there

what, you're still not out here? the bike shop didn't work out?

 

[MikeMike]

what, you're still not out here? the bike shop didn't work out?

it was a 6 week internship, the bike place is going, but slowly, there is no way in hell i could have supported myself out there at the $ amount i was making, if i had to get my own place and pay for it... I'm trying to get out there as soon as i finish up school however

 

[zinfamous]

It's worth the visit. Mendo is less yuppie and more wild than Sonoma. I love it. Living up in Washington now but making plans to move back in the next few years.

damn, I need to check out Mendocino. I love Sonoma and Napa, but the Yuppie vibe is rather distasteful.

There's actually some off-the-track, long-running wineries down here in East Bay & Peninsula that the locals swear by. I need to check those out....

 

[zinfamous]

it was a 6 week internship, the bike place is going, but slowly, there is no way in hell i could have supported myself out there at the $ amount i was making, if i had to get my own place and pay for it... I'm trying to get out there as soon as i finish up school however

There's always San Mateo.


....or Richmond.
:hmm:

 

[MikeMike]

damn, I need to check out Mendocino. I love Sonoma and Napa, but the Yuppie vibe is rather distasteful.

There's actually some off-the-track, long-running wineries down here in East Bay & Peninsula that the locals swear by. I need to check those out....

i hit quite a few wineries in Sonoma, and discovered my fav. place to eat there was The girl & the fig... Swiss hotel was pretty damn nice too... if you are in Sonoma, Juanita Juanita is a VERY good mexican place, on the corner of i believe arnold dr. and something else.

Sonoma likes to describe the difference between them and Napa like this..
Napa takes their wine, and themselves seriously.
Sonoma only takes their wine seriously

 

[MikeMike]

ygpm zf

 

[AreaCode707]

damn, I need to check out Mendocino. I love Sonoma and Napa, but the Yuppie vibe is rather distasteful.

There's actually some off-the-track, long-running wineries down here in East Bay & Peninsula that the locals swear by. I need to check those out....

Check out McNab Ridge Winery. Winemaker is Rich Parducci and he makes STELLAR stuff. He sold off Parducci Winery and this is his next project. They have a tasting room in Hopland and there's a wine shop called SIP! there, and several other tasting rooms. Graziano isn't half bad either on some of their stuff. The locals all eat at the Blue Bird Cafe in Hopland but I've never cared for it. The restaurant in the same building as the McNab tasting room is good, owned by a guy who has a bison ranch up on Highway 20.

Mendo grows fabulous grapes and there are some very very good winemakers but, being a younger wine county, there are some pretty bad winemakers too. If you head out 128 to Booneville check out Navarro, possibly the best price-to-quality ratio I've ever seen on any wine, and while Goldeneye makes insanely-priced Pinot Noir you can get yummy stuff down the road from Handley at a quarter of the price.

If you go into Ukiah eat at Schat's Bakery - best deli sandwiches ever! You will not at all regret stopping. Try the sheepherder's bread. Breakfast at Ellie's Mutt Hutt is delicious too.

 

[MikeMike]

Mendocino isnt part of the Carneros region, is it?

I'm not a HUGE wine guy, that's more my uncle's area, and I have had some DAMN good wine from him... also learned the rule, dont drink a cab until atleast 10 years after its date...

 

[AreaCode707]

Mendocino isnt part of the Carneros region, is it?

I'm not a HUGE wine guy, that's more my uncle's area, and I have had some DAMN good wine from him... also learned the rule, dont drink a cab until atleast 10 years after its date...

Carneros is south Sonoma.

That's only a good rule if you're buying $30+ cab. A lot of cheaper caps aren't intended for cellaring that long and won't be especially good at that age, especially if you're not storing them with temp and humidity control. ESPECIALLY in wine country where it's getting over 100F in the summer and frying the wine you've got tucked into a corner somewhere.

 

[MikeMike]

Carneros is south Sonoma.

That's only a good rule if you're buying $30+ cab. A lot of cheaper caps aren't intended for cellaring that long and won't be especially good at that age, especially if you're not storing them with temp and humidity control. ESPECIALLY in wine country where it's getting over 100F in the summer and frying the wine you've got tucked into a corner somewhere.

who tucks it into a corner, and not in the crawl space under their house?

 

[AreaCode707]

who tucks it into a corner, and not in the crawl space under their house?

People on the west coast who don't have crawl spaces for tornadoes. Is your crawl space climate-controlled?

 

[MikeMike]

People on the west coast who don't have crawl spaces for tornadoes. Is your crawl space climate-controlled?

even the house in Sonoma i was at had a small "crawl space" under the house...

once you get more than like 10' below ground (not that most crawl spaces are that low) temps don't vary more than like 5 degrees all year... normally in the 40-50F range...

I do know a guy here in Ohio who bought up a restaurants wine supply (they went bankrupt) and got like 300 bottles for $900... he has a temp and humidity controlled room though, lol

 

[OulOat]

If you really want to impress your boss, get roast suckling pig from Botin. If they been doing it for close to 300 years, you know they must be doing something right.

 

[zinfamous]

If you really want to impress your boss, get roast suckling pig from Botin. If they been doing it for close to 300 years, you know they must be doing something right.

:hmm: That looks like a bit of a drive from the Bay Area. but thanks for semi-trying.

Anyone else? I'm going to wander by Andronico's later today. Any advice on roasting the piglet would be appreciated, as well.

 

[Kaieye]

I believe that you can buy a small already cooked roast pig(delicious)Chinese style at Koi Palace restaurant in Daly City. Maybe you can call them to see where they get theirs from if you want to cook it yourself.

 

[BoberFett]

Tell her not to start celebrating just yet. She might choke on the pork when she finds out how much that server is going to cost.

 

[Imported]

I believe that you can buy a small already cooked roast pig(delicious)Chinese style at Koi Palace restaurant in Daly City. Maybe you can call them to see where they get theirs from if you want to cook it yourself.

Was gonna mention Koi Palace as well.. only place that comes to mind right now. I'm there are others in the city though.