Publican Quality Meats - Marketplace | Chicago, IL

By now, you've probably heard of Publican Quality Meats, the butcher shop and market that opened across from The Publican last week.

But if you've yet to visit, go. Now.

Artfully arranged butcher cases are the focal point of the bright, white-tiled space. They hold abundant dinner inspiration, like herb-rubbed porchetta ($30 per pound), blood sausage ($9 per pound), dry-aged duck breast ($20 per pound), Mexican chorizo ($7 per pound) and marinated country ribs ($12 per pound), a Publican menu staple.

And for a carnivorous dare, there's Kahan's Belgian Blue Hatchet steak, a behemoth, Flintstones-like cut of meat ($50 per pound).

Don't get sucked solely into the meat vaccuum, though, as there's much more to P.Q.M.: racks of pantry items, including Pok Pok drinking vinegars, Bill Kim's sauces and La Boîte á Épice spices; grapefruits, satsumas and avocados from California's Mud Creek Ranch; and containers of poultry stock, pork-belly braising liquid, duck fat and schmaltz.

And then there are the breadbaskets, stocked with loaves–many organic–by a baker we've long revered, Ehsan Ganji. Try his bread with one of six sandwiches, like a poached albacore tuna muffuletta on tomato focaccia with tonnato sauce, olive salad, soft-boiled eggs and shaved Brussels sprouts. Then take home a whole slow-roasted tomato focaccia–which may be the unsung hero of the place.

Publican Quality Meats, 825 W. Fulton Market; 312-445-8977 or publicanqualitymeats.com