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If you've ever had a $26 burger from Minetta Tavern or a steak at Del Posto, you've experienced the wonder of Pat LaFrieda Meat Purveyors, the meat seller that supplies some 1,000 of New York City's best restaurants with chuck, t-bones and wild game.
Pat LaFrieda Jr., the current co-owner, inherited the operation from his father and great-grandfather, who started selling meat in Manhattan in 1922. Today, the company operates out of a brand new "green" facility in North Bergen, NJ, and works with hundreds of chefs to create new and unique meat blends for their menus.
We recently stopped by to check out the building and talk to LaFrieda about the latest trends in beef, the logistics of delivering as much as 300,000 pounds of meat daily, and his role on a new Food Network reality show called "Meat Men."