I think we've all heard it a thousand times but for posterity's sake, we'll say it again: you are whatchya eat-- and don't you forget it! Although, I think we're all beginning to realize that really, we are what we eat, eats. And no, it's not thanks to that stupid Perdue commercial where the cartoon farmer tells us he only feeds his chickens the "healthiest corn and marigolds". We all know that's a lie. It's thanks to pioneers like Erika Nakamura and Amelia Posada, the two badass chicks who own and operate the West Hollywood meat mecca, Lindy & Grundy. Local, honest and responsible, Lindy & Grundy has one goal: to bring sustainable, clean and delicious cuts of meat to the tables of LA. 

A+A: Butchering seems like it has become somewhat of a lost art this day in age and, at the very least, is certainly an interesting field to get into! Can you tell us about how you both arrived here?

  E: I hit the culinary scene at a young age, starting as a dishwasher and moving my way through the kitchen to a line cook. I always kind of hated it. It just beat you down. To me, it always felt slightly demoralizing because it was so much pressure. I got a lot of wonderful skill from it, but eventually I just felt like I needed to find something that fit into the quality of  life I was looking for. Butchering had always been a part of the kitchen that really intrigued me. I often found myself flocking over to the butchering station and hovering. I just loved it so much. When I first started learning how to butcher small animals, I would have these dreams about butchering! I would wake Amelia up in the middle of the night and tell her “I want to butcher!”--

  A: And this is real. This literally happened! I thought it was so weird. I'd never even been to a butcher shop, let alone thought about butchers… I didn’t even eat meat at the time! I had been a vegetarian for 14 years! So when [Erika], who is this 5 foot tall, tiny person, was telling me she wanted to butcher, I just thought “Can you?” I really didn’t get it at first.

  E: It became this fire that just took over. I quit my job as a line cook and started working at the neighborhood butcher shop in NYC. I wanted to learn more and more but it's very difficult to find people who want to teach you. Everyone is so competitive and weird about what they know. Eventually, I apprenticed at a butcher shop in upstate New York. It was during the winter so, of course, I dragged Amelia along with me cause there's nothing to do in upstate New York in the middle of the winter. About 2-3 weeks into it, I came home and said “So. Let's talk about this butcher shop that we want to open up,” and Amelia was like, “Um.. this what?”

  A: At the time, I was a floral designer on the upper east side. I was spending my days at the St. Regis Hotel doing the flowers there and was a part of that whole upper east side scene. Total pretty princess land. Total high powered event designer world. So when she came to me, I said, “You want to open a butcher shop? Sure. What do I have to do?” And she said, “Well, you have to learn how to butcher with me”. So I said “okay” and we did it. It was the craziest experience of my life.

 E: She cried when she took her nail polish off.

 A: I did. I took my nail polish off and could never wear nail polish on my nails again.

A+A: Well it seems like it was worth it!

A: Oh definitely.

   A+A: Now, because of fast food restaurants and all the disheartening information we hear about the rising obesity epidemic, GMOs, and the quality of ‘food’ our meat sources are being fed, it feels like meat has really been villianized, to the point where vegetarianism and veganism are looking like much safer, healthier ways of life. Do you have any insight on how one can continue to enjoy meat and get around these struggles?

  A: First of all, I think “everything in moderation”. I don’t believe that anybody should be eating large amounts of meat, everyday. You don’t need to eat a rib eye every day. I personally eat meat a few days a week, but everybody’s body type is different.

  E: It's also essential for your body to have a certain level of protein, so as a vegetarian, if you want to figure out how to combine your foods in order to get that, that’s fine. But of course, as omnivores, it's important to really have everything. But I think what we’re really talking about here is the difference between grain fed meat and grass fed meat. At Lindy & Grundy, we completely focus on pasture raised animals who are never fed any grains. Some people may not have a taste for it, as it does taste a little different than the 'commodity meat' (for lack of a better term) that’s out there. It's something you have to get used to. Commodity meat is way fattier. Moreover, the kind of fats that exist in that kind of protein are saturated fats, which are difficult for the body to break down. It’s the number one cause of high cholesterol and heart disease in this country. I can see how if you take that information and spin it a certain way, of course it makes meat look bad. But the fact of the matter is, grass fed beef like this is actually quite healthy. You are what you eat, and you’re essentially what the animal is eating as well. So, when you're getting unsaturated fats as a result of the grass fed nature of the animals, it's much better for you. You're actually getting a lot of anti-oxidants, phosphates and omega-3s.

  A: We have so many customers that tell us their doctors specifically tell them to come here to buy meat. Doctors, acupunctureist, homeopaths, traditonals doctors-- they all recommend their patients come in to get raw liver and cuts high in iron. We have a lot of support from the health community.

  A+A: That’s so great to hear! We were both raised by very health conscious families so we completely understand and support the benefits of being an educated consumer. It really does make a difference.

  A: I always tell people there's really only one way you should consume meat and that is directly from the farmer. Either buy directly from a farm, go to a farmers market or come to our shop. We’re the only butcher shop in all of Southern California that actually buys directly from our tiny, family farms and butchers all our meat here, on site. Nothing comes in a box. We don’t buy from big distributors. We are close family friends with all of our famers. It's raised the old fashioned way and it's just better.

A+A: Can you tell us what kinds of meats are the healthiest? As consumers what should we look for when buying meat, in general?

  E: In terms of healthiest, that’s an interesting question because, of course, most people are pretty fat-phobic. The type of fat that is in grass fed animals though, is actually fairly good for you. If fat is the concern, I would say the leaner proteins are a good choice. Examples of those cuts would be: a London Broil, which is super lean, and Hanger Steaks, which are really great because they connect to the kidney, meaning there are a lot more nutrients in that particular muscle. For people who are anemic who don’t want to eat liver, I usually suggest Hanger Steaks.

  A+A: What do you find are your most popular meat orders?

A: Ground beef is by far the number one seller. There just so much you can do with ground beef- bugers, meatloaf, Bolognese—

E: And it also stretches a really long way. Some customers who come in get a little jolted by the prices, but when you start thinking about it, of course you shouldn’t be eating expensive rib eyes all the time. These are high end cuts. With ground beef, you’re spending $7.99 and you might be able to feed five people.  We actually help people design a menu according to what their budget is.

  A+A: What are some of the interesting and unique cuts of meat that you have here that you might not be able to find other places?

E: A lot, actually! What's pretty amazing about getting the whole carcass is that we get the chance to isolate these really wonderful muscles that usually just get ground up. The primary reason for that is because Americans love hamburgers, and I get that, but the beef industry is really driven by it. Some of the things that we offer are: a Faux Tender, sometimes called a Shoulder Tender or Mock Tender, which is literally about as tender as a filet; a Blade Steak, which is a sub-scapulus, a muscle that sits in the inside of the shoulder blade and holds the chuck roast to the shoulder blade, but it's super tender. It’s actually being patented right now as the ‘Las Vegas Strip’, which actually makes me want to die a little bit. We also have something called the Oyster Steak. It's something that we do tenderize, but its also known as a Butter Steak because of its buttery qualities. We have the Velvet Steak, which is cut from the back of the hamstring and even though it comes from a really hard working area of the body, it’s a totally tender muscle and also very lean so its great for people who are health conscious.

  A: My favorite cut is the Faux Hanger Steak. It’s the sirloin flap also known as the Bavette steak.

  A+A: We’ve already hit on some really incredible things that make Lindy & Grundy such a unique and wonderful place, is there anything else we haven’t covered that adds to your stand out services?

  A: We only support local, small farms that raise their animals sustainably, organically, and humanely. We also only get whole animals in. We don’t get anything in a box and we butcher and utilize the whole animal. From soups and stocks, to patés and terrines, to smoking our own bacon and sausages made from scratch. Everything is hand cut and cut to order. We are very community driven here as well. We don’t give out numbers because otherwise, how am I going to get to know you? I like to know your name and your kids' names. I like getting to know your family and your eating habits so I know your palate and can suggest new things for you to branch out and try.

  A+A: Can you tell us some of the restaurants and chefs you supply to here in LA?

  E: More recently we’ve started supplying to Salt’s Cure which is really exciting. They get their pork from us and they actually use the same beef purveyor so that’s really awesome. We also sell to Eveleigh, Animal, Tavern, Wood & Vine, and The Luggage Room which a pizzeria across town. Sqirl is also a new one we supply to. The Chateau Marmont as well.

    A+A: You mentioned that you both were on the east coast prior to Lindy & Grundy. What made you want to leave and start this amazing business in Los Angeles?

  A: I’m born and raised in LA, actually, so for me, it was coming home. Also, the New York market was completely saturated and honestly, I just didn’t want to live the rest of my life in New York.

  E: When I first met her, she told me she hated New York and I was shocked! I wasn’t sure we could date! I love New York. I tried really hard to get her to like New York but after a while, she said that if we were going to get married, we'd have to move out west. So, of course I said ‘okay, I can do that’. And here we are.

  A+A: Well it was definitely a good move! You two are really pioneers of the butchering world out here and have created a niche. It sounds like you would have just been one of many in New York.

E: Yeah, its really great to be able to set the standard... and then continue to push the standard.

A+A: Can you tell us some of your favorite restaurants in LA?

A: Animal is definitely my favorite restaurant. Also, The Hart and the Hunter. Son of a Gun is great and Cooks County is also a favorite. They are super farm to table. Jessica is doing a great job a Sqirl. Gjelina is amazing as well.

  A+A: Whats the one thing that’s always stocked in your fridge at home?

A: Sriracha

E: Kewpie Mayo! It’s a Japanese mayo. I grew up on it in Tokyo.

A: Together, they’re a perfect pair!

    A+A: Where do you hope to be on your 85th birthday?

E: Easy. I will be where I am every year for my birthday, my happy place, in Kauai.

A: And I will be right there next to her, with our Tecates and our sagging tattoos.

A+A: What are your hopes and dreams for the future of Lindy & Grundy?

A: We plan to open several more Lindy & Grundy locations here in Los Angeles. We definitely want to have our own USDA processing facility and our own slaughterhouse.

E: We got into this business so that we could change the way people eat in this country. It's a huge undertaking, but we’re activists and we’re really concerned with the grassroots movement of things. We’d like to think that we can make some sort of an impact in that area. I think we do it on a microscopic level everyday, but we always want to be louder and have our voices heard more. More locations would be great. Identifying issues in the slaughter system is something that happened early on for us and that’s why we want our own system. Eventually, being able to supply the cleanest, most honest and responsible meat possible, to as many people as possible.