Bolyard's Meat & Provisions - Good Food St. Louis

This Patty Melt is one of several versions of the smashburger served at Bolyard’s.

A Smashing Hit

This week Cyndy, my cohort in the culinary crime of food blogging, found the only loose nail on Hwy. 40. Yes, she punctured a tire that also put a hole in our lunch plans. By the time I picked her up at the tire shop in Maplewood, we needed sustenance. I mean some serious comfort food.

There are times when kale salad doesn’t come to the rescue. We needed something more burger-ish. Not just any ol’ burger. We decided that a smashburger seemed to befit the day.

Bolyard, Here We Come

We weren’t far from Bolyard’s Meat & Provisions, the much acclaimed meat market and restaurant. Neither of us had been there since 2019 BC (Before the COVID era).

The mother of all smashburgers, of course, can be found at Carl’s Drive-In, but there are variations on the original Hwy. 66 fare. You can find such at Bolyard’s. This is a haven for the discriminating carnivore. A place that can rightfully brag about its hand-cut, pasture-raised, locally sourced meats, charcuteries, and provisions.

Boylard’s opened in 2014. It’s said to be the only whole animal butchery in the area. Classes are offered and some seats allow for a full view of the cutting room.

Bountiful Provisions

The word “Provisions” seems like it should be painted on a board along the Oregon Trail. that sold supplies to wagon trains headed West. But today the word “Provisions” has gone upscale.

In Bolyard’s cold case were a number of offerings: bread and butter pickles, pimento cheese, red cabbage slaw, fermented cauliflower, sauerkraut, kimchi, fermented curry spicy green bean, bone broth, sweet and spicy barbecue sauce, fermented lemon, pork stew and more.

A cold case of house made sauces, vegetables and salads.

A menu for all occasions and appetites.

Where to Begin

We decided on their hearty salads. And, as we often do, we split a sandwich, this time the Patty Melt, described as two 3-ounce smash patties, caramelized onions, Swiss and colby jack, and thousand island sauce.

Bolyard’s put their own spin on the classic, which was quite tasty. For those who shy away from a burger with more bun than beef, this one played down the bread. Insead of the puffy bun there were simply two sliced of butter-toasted bread. The kind you’d make at home when you have sliced bread, but no buns.

The Pear Salad

The Winter Salad

Colorful Salads with Tasty Ingredients

Each of our salads was humongous.

I went with the Winter Salad of smoked pickled beets, baked apples, roasted sweet potatoes, candied pecans, blue cheese, dried cranberries, kale mix, and miso buttermilk dressing. I felt like I was at a health food store instead of a butchery.

Cyndy chose the Pear Salad featuring roasted and fermented pears, port wine grapes, bresaola greens, port wine vinegar, goat cheese, and pistachios. She allowed me one of the grapes . . . oooh! Was that ever tasty!

After lunch I indulged further. I bought some “Provisions” in case I had a chance to wagon train across the state anytime soon. I bought the potato salad (always a temptation for me) and the pimento cheese (a delicacy I enjoy from eating Southern fare all my life).

The sauerkraut looked enticing, but I demurred, giving me an excuse to try more of their house made items another day.