Robert Weidmaier's favorite pantry supplies are all on sale at his Butcher's Block in Alexandria. Even better, Weidmaier, owner and chef of Marcel's, Brasserie Beck and now Brabo and The Tasting Room next door to Butcher's Block, A Market, has filled his meat counter with a splendid selection, from an exceptional pork belly to veal cheeks and the more familiar cuts of beef.

Prices are not unreasonable. Call the butcher ahead and he'll get in pretty much whatever takes your fancy from his long list if he has already sold out. So if you want to be sure there's rabbit in stock, give him a ring. He's selling house-made sausages and duck confit. There's duck fat in the chill cabinet, along with Weidmaier's renowned fois gras parfait with apple gelée, sold in a ready-to-serve glass, red wine sauce, veal stock, herb butters. You want salami? Weidmaier stocks only his favorites - like Rosette de Lyons. Sandwiches similar to those at The Tasting Room are made to order.

Windy Knolls Farm in Pennsylvania supplies eggs so fresh they're only collected the day before they're shipped. As you find in Europe, egg boxes are marked with the date of collection, so you can keep track of their 45-day storage life.

Other treats are chocolate truffles, jars of beautiful coral-red mostarda that has been ground down to a paste, and heads of roasted garlic.

So far, the dried goods selection is a little limited. But it will grow. And already includes Maldon Salt, Himalayan salt, Santa Lucia Estate 100% Whole Roasted Beans and Weidmaier's personal pick of pastas, mustards, cornichons, canned goods and more. Wine, in large part, is priced under $15 a bottle.

Butcher's Block, a Market by Robert Weidmaier, 1600 King St, Alexandria, adjacent to the Lorien Hotel & Spa, 703 894 5253.

Related Information...

2 Comments

1. Lisa McCormack

   Is there an easy way to send a copy of this this article to other people? I'd like to share it with friends, especially those who live in Alexandria. You always have such great information, but the effort of copying and pasting the article using our personal email system takes us away from your site.

2. Julia

   The simplest thing to do is just highlight, copy and paste the URL (the http://www. address in the Address box at the top of your screen) onto the email you want to send to your friend. By going to the article you want to send and copying and pasting that link, you would give direct access to it. If you use the URL link on eatWashington's home page, then your friend can access the article themselves, along with all the others, with a click from the Home Page