GoodEats: ‘Parts’ sliced, diced and cooked over the open flame

By: Taylor Seidel, Columnist

Woodberry Kitchen’s Spike and Amy Gjerde have struck gold again with their whole animal butchery shop Parts & Labor. Keeping with their locally sustained philosophy, Parts & Labor sources whole animals to break down in their in-house butchery. The restaurant’s menu changes daily depending on what meats are available. 

COURTESYTaylorSeidel
Courtesy of Taylor Seidel

The restaurant itself was very cozy and intimate. Huge communal tables fill the majority of the restaurant, allowing guests to sit together and enjoy one another’s company. The only downfall of an open communal style restaurant is the noise, as the restaurant got loud during parts of the dinner. One side of the restaurant has booths and the other side includes a beautiful bar and my favorite part, the open kitchen. The kitchen isn’t what you would imagine. At Parts & Labor the majority of the cooking is done on an open flame. The grilling of the meats, the sautéing of vegetables and preparation of side dishes are also done on the open flame. The cooking method made the food and experience that much better.

The menu itself was broken down into “snacks” or appetizers, salads, dry-aged butcher’s cuts, varieties, sausages and sides. The menu was extensive to say the least. With a binge meat-eating mentality we got started with the house made charcuterie (hand smoked and cured meats). Featured that night were several different cuts of beef, pork and wild boar.

The hardest part came when choosing what cut of meat to get for my main course. With all the different types of meats, it was hard narrowing down my decision. Among my top choices were the 6oz Skirt Steak ($19) cooked to medium, Cast Iron Chicken ($18) with boneless breast and chicken thigh and Sour Beef Short Ribs ($26). The short ribs are what I ultimately went with and was extremely impressed. The entrée was served with Spätzle (a German pasta side dish) and root vegetables.

Our party, staying with the communal theme, decided to split most dishes. We also ordered the house spicy sausage ($9) served with strong grainy mustard, grilled pork belly served with house coleslaw. The food was amazing, both flavorful and filling. By far my favorite selection was the sausage which was perfectly cooked and extremely flavorful.

The food, drinks and ambiance of Parts & Labor made for a fun and enjoyable night out. I was thoroughly impressed. For those of you who are looking for a great piece of meat look no further.

I highly recommend making a reservation; Parts & Labor is not even a year old.

Hope you enjoy.

Until next time. I wish you GoodEats!

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