David Samiljan "The Baron of Meat"

David's first exposure to the meat business dates back to his early childhood. His great grandfather ran the family butcher store in Brooklyn: Baron's Meat & Poultry. David grew up wanting to become either on artist or a chef, but graduated from High School unsure as to how to become either. David tried his hand at amateur radio, experimental films, and even joined the Big Apple Circus. At the circus he met Shirin, his future wife.

David eventually applied to and graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. He worked for a period of time at Commander's Palace, in New Orleans, and at Rowes Wharf Hotel (a four star hotel) in Boston, MA.

In 1994, David and Shirin married and moved to San Francisco where David worked in many facets of the restaurant industry. David came to realize his fascination with meat and sausage production. He began working at various retail butcher shops, studied Kosher methods, and eventually took a job at Niman Ranch Meats, considered the gold standard of beef, pork, and lamb production. At Niman, David worked as a butcher, a packer, a salesman, a quality control manager, and he continued to learn about charcuterie and sausage production.

In 2005, David opened his grandfather's Baron's Meat & Poultry in the Alameda Marketplace and in 2006 at the Star Grocery in Berkeley. David not only provides the highest quality cuts of meat for his customers, he also prepares sausages (Cheese and Parsley from his days in Brooklyn, Merguese for Shirin's Middle Eastern palate, Andouille from New Orleans), marinades and recipes. Customers can even watch the sausage making process from the front counter.

Baron's Meat & Poultry offers a full line of high-quality, all-natural meats: beef, veal, pork, lamb, rabbit, buffalo, chicken, turkey, goose, and duck. In addition, David provides hams, bacon, hot dogs and his exclusive sausages. Baron's Meat & Poultry's Black Dragon Marinated Tri-tip is popular with David's customers, as is the Sesame Marinated Pork Loin. Because David is a trained chef, customers are able to ask detailed questions about selecting and preparing meat, sharing recipes, and even wine pairing.

Two products stand out in the Baron's Meat & Poultry case: the "Cowboy Steak" and dry-aged beef. The Cowboy Steak is a fully 2" thick all-natural Niman Ranch ribeye steak, weighing up to two pounds, which grills up marvelously. Three steaks feed a crowd with little preparation. Dry-aged meat is becoming increasingly difficult to find, as most modern butchers rely upon vacuum packaging to store their meat. Dry aging helps mellow the flavors and makes the meat much more tender.