Noshwellmenu

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Big Lou’s Butcher Shop, from the same guys behind Two Chefs and a Table, is a new venture inspired by old world butchery shops. It’s their attempt to bring fresh, local, seasonal meats, game and poultry to the city’s carnivores. But they’re not limited to just the meats and preserves that sits immaculately, waiting to be grilled and devoured. Big Lou’s has a sandwich counter which offers house made sandwiches that will give you a mouthful of tasty ideas of what you might be able to do with all that protein.

Housed in an old heritage storefront on the corner of Railtown, Big Lou’s is visibly inspired by the old school: plank style flooring, dark wood trimmings, and a beautifully restored old cash register (rigged to work new school). The sandwich counter menu is a simple affair.

(Clockwise: 1. Boylan Grape Soda. 2. Macaroni salad with a sprinkling of pork. 3. The Shooter, a seared steak sandwich.)

For Tre — Big Lou’s Chicago style sandwich: grilled, house made sausage with pickles, onions, mustard tomato mayonnaise, peppers, and celery salt. All crushed between a lightly toasted Parisian style baguette. The sandwich was fantastic. Lightly roasted peppers and the tomato mayo added a bit of sweetness and married well with the sausage. I tasted hints of garlic in the sausage which only made every bite that much more tasty.

For myself, The Shooter: seared medium rare steak, mushroom, shallots, pickles and hot mustard. Chunks of cold steak with a bit of fat left on was piled into a Parisian whole grain bread. It was delicious, but difficult to eat since it was almost the size of my head.

(Top to bottom: 1. Big Lou’s has some old school vibe going on here. 2. Big Lou’s Chicago style sausage sandwich.)

On the side, we ordered a crispy bacon macaroni salad and a grape soda. The macaroni salad was smothered in mayo with chunks of cold bacon, which initially sounds great, but ended up being nothing outstanding.

Our bill including taxes came to just under $25, a great deal considering our sandwiches were tasty and generous in size. Be prepared to give your jaws a workout, though. These are the hefty type of sandwiches you’d expect a butcher would make.

Perfect for: satisfying daily protein intake requirements in style.

The Details:

269 Powell Street, Vancouver
604.566.9229
biglousbutchershop.com

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