Foodie Road Trip #2: Meat Alley

What? You’ve never heard of “Meat Alley?” I guess that’s because it’s something we coined in our house. We use this term to refer to four butchers and farms which stretch from Route 611 north of Doylestown all the way west along Route 113. You know, Meat Alley.

Suffice to say, this is not a post for my vegetarian friends. Y’all can skip it right now (if you haven’t already). But, for the carnivores out there, this is a great way to spend a beautiful fall Saturday and fill up your freezer for the winter ahead. The scenery is Bucks County at its prettiest—open fields, grazing cattle, and small villages.

Stop #1: Haring Brothers

The day begins at Haring Brothers in Danboro, just north of Doylestown on Route 611. Step inside and the smell will bring you back to your childhood. It’s a real butcher shop. Ask for a couple of strip steaks, and they will place a large piece of meat in front of you and ask how thick you want the steaks.

They carry beef, pork, chicken, turkey and almost any other kind of meat, or meat product, you could think of. They also do such a big business in deer processing that they close the retail side for a week after buck hunting season starts.

Our favorites: steaks, country-style ribs, sausage and anything else that beckons. Haring Brothers is at 5484 Haring Road, Doylestown, PA 18902, open Monday through Saturday (website).

Stop #2: Blooming Glen Pork & Catering

Next, make your way over to Swamp Road/Route 313 going west (towards Quakertown). Stay on 313 through Dublin to Route 113. Hang a left onto 113 and in a few miles, you will come to Blooming Glen. First stop, on the right, is Blooming Glen Pork and Catering.

Blooming Glen Pork & Catering has been in business since 1856 and is still family-run by Bob Moyer (5th generation) and his daughter, Pene Bryant (6th generation). They butcher and make their own pork products, including bacon, hams, sausages, pork roll, kielbasa, bratwurst, scrapple, and more. They make no less six different kinds of bacon.

All the smoking is done naturally in wood burning smokehouses with no artificial smoke flavor ever added. They also have a thriving catering business, including pig roasts, and a BBQ tent every Saturday from April to November.

Our favorites: the pork tenderloin, stuffed with sausage (sweet or hot Italian), and wrapped in bacon, the chops, ham, and any of the sausages. The retail store is open Wednesday through Saturday. See their website for hours.

To learn more, read our post, Blooming Glen Pork: The pride of generations.

Stop #3: Tussock Sedge Farm

Right across the street from Blooming Glen Pork, is Tussock Sedge Farm, where you can stop by on Saturdays (10 am to 2 pm) to buy beef from Charlotte and Henry Rosenberger.

The cattle are completely grass-fed, eating dry hay and haylage throughout the winter months. Although the farm is not USDA certified organic, they use no herbicides or pesticides. In fact, after 5 years of not using the pesticide Round-Up, the tree frogs have returned to their 500+ acre farm. Oh, and the meat is delicious!

You can buy sample packs in different sizes and pick them up on Saturdays. Our favorite and a good place to start is the Sampler box, which includes a 12-13 lbs. assortment of cuts including 3 assorted steaks, 1 roast, 1 lb. of cube/stew meat, 5 lbs. ground beef and 1 lb. chipped steak, all for only $120, which averages out to $9-10/lb. It’s great to have all the variety in the freezer for those winter afternoons when you don’t want to go out. Go to their website to order.

Learn more about the Rosenbergers and Tussock Sedge Farm in our post: Meet Your Farmer: Tussock Sedge Farm.

Stop #4: Bolton’s

If you still have room in the cooler, keep heading west on Route 113 to Bolton’s in the small village of Silverdale, a little more than a mile from Blooming Glen.

Torrie Bolton, with her brother, Todd, runs this third generation family farm. “We’re raising turkeys the same way our grandfather did,” says Torrie, “No antibiotics, no hormones.”

Torrie runs the retail market that sits at the front of the property. Glance behind the market, up the hill and you’ll see the farm where the Boltons raise their turkeys (year-round), chickens and beef.

While Bolton’s is most known for their own special breed of double-breasted turkeys (order early for Thanksgiving), their beef is excellent too. Our favorites: any of the turkey cuts, turkey sausage, and turkey pot pies.

Learn more about Bolton’s in our post, Let’s talk more than turkey.

Stop #5: Hershberger Heritage Farm

The newest addition to our Meat Alley tour is Hershberger Heritage Farm, begun by the Layton Family in 2014 because, well, they couldn’t find the kind of healthy, pasture-raised meat and eggs that they wanted to eat (See our post: Meet Your Farmer: Hershberger Heritage Farm, to learn more).

The Laytons raise all their livestock — beef, pork, chicken, lamb, and turkey — on certified organic grass fields in Sellersville. The animals are moved to fresh pasture daily and weekly to ensure they get to forage and eat a true diet they were designed for on a field of open air.

The farm store is open Monday – Saturday from 9 am – 6 pm. 

NOTE: There’s plenty more meat in Bucks County besides this little road trip.

See our post, Where’s the beef? And pork, and lamb, and chicken… for a full listing of butchers, markets and farms in Bucks County.