Marlow & Daughters

I swung into this quaint butcher shop last Saturday because I was inspired by an online article littered with beautiful step-​by-​step images on making a gumbo. Long story short, the gumbo I made turned out horribly. I was on my 3^rd attempt at a dark brown roux, and I didn’t realize I needed to stir the pot consistently so I burned the bottom of my stew and I sort of realize I actually dislike the consistency of gumbo so I ended up ordering pizza for my guests.
That all aside, as I walked into this shop in South Williamsburg I was greeted by two friendly employees (and a skinless sheep’s head behind the glass display) who walked me through spending $ 39 on quality ingredients. I was looking for smoked pork jowls which they didn’t have and suggested I try replacing it with smoked ham hocks. One gentleman even took me into the meat rack/​fridge/​metal contraption to see if I wanted the unsmoked hocks. They didn’t have andouille, so I picked up their summer sausage, about a pound of it (of which, maybe only ¾ths actually made it into my stew because it was so good I just kept eating it from the cutting board). I also picked up a few chicken legs, of which they went ahead and separated them from the drums from the thighs for me. Maybe in the future I’ll try to actually debone a chicken a la Jacques Pépin on my own, but for now I’ll have someone else take care of most of the work for me.
Having just come back from spending time with my mother back in Portland who cooked me a bevy of heritage dishes from Vietnam, I was also on the search for a place where I could pick up beef knuckles, beef bones, and oxtail to make some broth. They didn’t have any that day, but I learned I could call in and order them so when they arrived they would be held for me.
I learned this place is tasked foremost with providing meat to it’s sisters restaurants, and so they have dibs on cuts of meat unless customers request specific things first, and that they try to practice more sustainable methods which is why all parts of the animals are used, and they won’t always have everything fully stocked – dependent on what they get in.
TL;DR: Gumbo is too difficult of a dish. Roux is a pain. Summer sausage is great. Texan butcher who showed me his ham hocks is cute.

Although somewhat pricey, and not the place you’d go for all your grocery needs, I’ve always received excellent assistance, cooking advice, and goods at this shop.
I live in the neighborhood and have been in when it is slow and when it is busy. Always worth the wait. Once, they gave everyone a holiday shot of whisky while they waited to calm the crowd. It was appreciated.

This place is amazing. I’ve never purchased anything from there that was not absolutely delicious. I take food very seriously. M&D consistently has better than restaurant quality produce and meat. My wife and I actually go out to dinner less and cook more because of this place. It is a little expensive but not much more than Whole Foods and the quality is far superior. I have also never had anything but a great experience with the staff. I have found them to be super helpful and knowledgeable. Just remember to bring your own bag because they charge you 10 cents for a paper one. Apparently, this makes some people mad but we all should be using reusable bags anyway.
Some must buys are:
1) The breakfast sausages (addicting, you have been warned)
2) The chicken (amazing)
3) The Bolognese (sometimes I just eat right out of the container)
4) The dry aged meatballs (OMG)
5) Home made hot sauce
6) Grassfed butter
7) Any of their seasonal veggies
8) Homemade cheeses
My wife and I spend about $ 50 to $ 60 dollars in this place at a time and have enough food to last us for a few days. It’s totally worth it. The only other market I’ve seen with this level of quality good was in Paris. It’s really that good.

I just spent half an hour waiting in line while their system crashed. Finally gave up. Maybe it’s time to upgrade

Maybe they’re heirs and heiresses — Duponts and Gettys, forced by the trust funds’ stipulations to hold a real job for a year. Maybe they’re geniuses — Simone de Beauvoirs and Egon Schieles of Williamsburg, forced to work for a daily wage. Maybe they were the best looking people at their high school in whatever Maryland suburb or Maine town. Do you have any other explanation for the most average boys and girls in the world to have such superior attitudes towards the customers of what is basically a retail store? IS IT PERFORMANCE ART?

I took a chance and walked into Marlow & Daughters a whopping 3 minutes past closing time to grab a bread. The lights were on, the door wide open and a whole shelf of breads probably destined for the trash.
Instead of the perfectly understandable response of «sorry our register is closed» the female staff member yelled at me «IT’S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN». Her attitude was atrocious and I’m guessing this place doesn’t do much staff training.
I have never bought anything from this shop and now I never will.

Amazing place. I don’t eat that much meat but this is where I get my chickens. They’re the best I’ve found and actually more reasonably priced than at the supermarket (for organic free range).
I’ve gotten some wildly good artisanal veggies too. Highlights being blue potatoes, little organic carrots, garlic, and onions.
It’s also a nice place to go if you like beanies.
Staff super helpful and knowledgable, especially that time I made a pot roast.

I don’t want to write a mega bash piece, but this is my second experience with a hipster butcher. If you want meat go to a Butcher, not a failed screenwriter masquerading as a Butcher. $ 33 a pound for Coppa? sorry nice looking store, but that warranted an immediate walkout. I recommend a true hidden gem in College Point, it’s called Empire Market. Small mom and pop selling high quality Canadian meat from Montréal.

Their meats may not be as fresh looking as the meats available at The Meat Hook. Maybe some of their meats are air dried, thus giving them a «dryer» and «darker» appearance. Not an expert there. Sorry.
What I do know, which I recently found out — Marlow & Daughters charges you 10 cents if you opt to take a paper bag with your purchase — and they don’t tell you about it.
So. When I was checking out, the cashier would ask — would you like a paper bag for all that? And I say, yes, please. No mention of me being charged for getting a paper bag. I learned only very recently, when I took a closer look at my itemized receipt.
I know, I know, it is only 10 cents.
Still. You’d think that the cashier would point that out to you, so that you can make a better-​informed decision. Or, am I asking for too much?

Come here if you want to be «served» by snotty hipsters. And by snotty I don’t just mean stuck-​up (that too) but actual wipe-​their-​snot-​on-​their-​forearm before they handle your meat kinda snotty. I had to actually ask the guy if he was going to wear gloves. I mean… really? Then the guy doesn’t put on gloves and says another guy will give me my meat. Look over to that guy and he’s already occupied with other customers. And the prices they charge for this «experience» is ridiculous. Go to Paris and although the butchers there may not be super friendly they at least care enough about their métier to put some freaking gloves because they have enough respect for the hygiene of the meat and the health of their customers.

Fresh selections. Try their unique jam spreads. Great selections of cheese/​meat/​bread. Friendly and knowledgeable staff.

Yes people used to be rude in this place arrogant and cold, but hey! I love their meats and produce, is the best so every time I go I turn my switch to I don’t give a dam whether you have a smile or not.
I am grateful to have a store that has local products and that’s it. Now that I found an online version of this I am even happier.
Btw new brunette girl working there is nice.

Great local produce and things like olive oil and capers. The meat selection isn’t excellent and honestly I’m not sure it’s so great. The people that work there are a bit strange too I seem to always feel awkward there. It’s one of those places that you want to come in and feel neighborhoody and welcome and instead I just feel like I’m treading on their territory. But like a said nice local produce and dairy and what not. Oh and they make killer ice cream!

The products are terrific. But the service is consistently rude. It used to be tolerable. Now it seems like they are looking for a reason to turn you away, which is bizarre. There are other places to go where you don’t feel like they are doing you a big favor. And it’s very expensive. I’m done.

Marlow & Daughters is not cheap, but everything about it screams quality you want to pay for. They do have some staple items (fresh veggies, grassfed/​pastured dairy) but the prices will be a bit higher than in the supermarket as the are generally of very good quality and fresh off the farm. They are more well know for their meat and cheese selection, with everything from steaks to house-​made rabbit pâté to a great selection of domestic (and some international) cheeses. I also love shopping their curated selection of pantry items, like portuguese sardines and nice olive oil. It’s definitely a fun place to look around if you like fancy food; pricey but worth it.

It’s nice to meet such passionate butchers.
If you care about where your meats and poultry are coming from, this place is fantastic.
I like to buy a whole chicken. It’s not a bad deal for around 13 bucks. They’ll butcher it for you any way you please, and let you keep the bits and pieces for making stock.

Went to Marlow & Daughters for the first time last weekend and it was terrific. What a great little butcher and import/​local goods store.
The butcher I met there was super friends and knowledgable and was talking me up about a german inspired cheese stuffed sausage he was going to be making in the next few weeks and it sounded so good I talked with him about shipping me some (I live in DC) when he ends up making it!
I met a woman who was more on the cheese side of things and she was super knowledgable and very very friendly. Sometimes I feel when I’m in NYC or Brooklyn that I’m being judged, like am I cool or in-​the-​know enough to be there, there was none of that here, just friendly staff and great product.
There are also some beautiful looking fresh breads, both local dairy products and vegetables as well as classic imports from Italy (pastas, sauces, etc.) and the like.
I bought a pickled egg, an amazing fennel pollen heavy salami, duck rilette & some amazing fresh red shallots. A little pricey but worth the price so I’d happily pay it.
Keep up the good work!

When we are in the South Burg we love to come here. Marlow & Daughters is probably the closest thing you’ll get to an old-​school market where specific people do specific tasks and they will recognize you if you pop by enough. Sometimes you wanna shop where everybody knows your name (I hope you sang that part to the Cheers theme).
As for the products themselves their produce and animal products are stellar. A lot of shops nearby sell similar/​the same pastas, canned goods, and candy so I don’t spend the top dollar on those when I’m there. The eggs, cheeses, and meats are picturesque– I imagine if we did a cooking segment in the ‘hood I’d come here for ingredients. I’m going to keep shopping here until I’m given a reason to be frugal.

I really hope the owner of Marlow reads this. I would think it very important to a hardworking business owner to know that all the things being done right, and with care, are all for nothing if your staff are rude people. (It appears as though I am certainly not the only one who feels this way) .
The products are for the most part pretty nice. The meat is top notch. The selected cheeses are excellent. They have some nice produce most of the time. They don’t carry a good ice cream which is strange. Most of the condiments are very good and their pastas are good too.
What sucks, is that the staff are SO CONSISTENTLY RUDE, that I won’t go there anymore. I am a customer lost. Simply can’t take the attitude. And I’ve tried. Of course it would be great to support a business that buys food that is produced and raised with integrity and quality. Instead the attitude of the employees there, is so over the top bad, that I won’t support them any longer.
There are 2 women that are just awful, ALL the time.
A couple of the guys butchering one day were being so snide and arrogant and uppity in their conversation, I couldn’t believe they were being serious… and they were.
Sorry Marlow & Daughters. You inspire me to dread the human race.

Tuesday, 10.55am. I enter the store determined to plunk down four dollar on a quarter loaf of bread (bread ingredients: water, flour, salt — but unfortunately they
have the only edible sourdough bread in the neighborhood).
The little store exudes the flair of a mom and pop store in Vermont. Except the prices are more Upper West Side than Vermont.
I am reminded that I am actually on the South Side of Williamsburg, Brooklyn when a Hipster chick with a nose ring steps into my way.
«Sorry we are not open»
I look around. Produce outside. Door open. Sure looks open to me.
«So when do you open’ ?
Hipster chick who is visibly annoyed that I am messing with the rules.
«At eleven. Why don’t you go to Marlow and Sons (their parent company), have a coffee and come back ?»
I say a polite «thank you» and go my way. I think I am going to have some salad for lunch instead. From my corner deli. Korean dude is running a business there and actually has some sense…