Kensington Quarters: More than meats the eye

A butcher shop, a meat classrooom, a restaurant and a bar - under one roof?

That's the deal at Kensington Quarters, opening this fall at 1310 Frankford Ave. in Fishtown.

It's a partnership of Michael and Jeniphur Pasquarello, who own Cafe Lift, Prohibition Taproom and Bufad in the Loft District, and butcher Bryan Mayer.

The setup will have that see-it-now/gee-whiz food craftsmanship vibe you'll also find at La Colombe's new cafe, distillery and bakery across the street.

The stars aligned here. Early last year, Mike Pasquarello wanted to theme his next restaurant around whole-animal butchering. He secured the location, and even had a name: B Side Social Club. When he phoned the noted butcher Fleisher's Meats in the Hudson Valley for information about classes, it was Mayer who answered the phone. One call led to a meeting, which led to Mayer's relocation to the area. Ergo: a butcher shop inside a restaurant.

The men - and executive chef Damon Menapace - have been working with local farmers to secure animals raised free of chemicals, antibiotics, hormones and GMO feed.

Menapace will cook using the open flames of wood-burning grills and brick ovens. His house-cured charcuterie, including salami and terrines, will be aged on-site in a glass chamber visible to guests. Small plates as well as starches, grains and greens will range in price from $10 to $14. Entrees will range in price from $20 to $30.

Kensington Quarters will have a 20-tap system for 12 beers and eight organic and biodynamic wines. A bottle list of 20 to 25 selections as well as a reserve list of cellared wines and beers will also be available. Cocktails, made using non-GMO-based cordials, will be priced from $10 to $15.

Kensington Quarters will serve dinner nightly, and the butcher shop will be open Tuesday through Sunday. the schedule for its classroom - to be held on the second floor where two farmhouse-style communal dining tables and a 15-seat bar wil be set up - will be announced shortly after opening.

Interior photos are not available yet, but KQ's reps describe the layout as open and airy: "As guests enter through the main doors, they will see the butcher shop to the right and the 15-seat bar and open kitchen to the left," they wrote.

"Beneath custom-built cedar beams, the spaces will be tied together by white subway tiling with black grout, as well as soapstone, which will accent the bar tops and kitchen windows. Dinner guests may continue back past the kitchen to the 80-seat dining area to enjoy a meal at figured, spalted wood tables that come together for communal dining and pull apart for smaller parties. Along the dining room wall local artist Mike Ski will create a large mural depicting a handshake, a gesture representing the guiding principle of Kensington Quarters."

Much of the building, such as whitewashed exposed brick, wooden beams and vaulted ceilings, is being preserved. Carpenter Ben McBrien of Farmhaus will add custom cabinetry, tables and cedar and soapstone accents. Skylights and full-length glass doors, both at the entrance and leading out to the back patio, will bring in natural light. In warmer months, glass accordion doors will open onto a back patio where guests will be able to enjoy dining at picnic tables by a shipping container topped with a planted herb garden.