Hi FTCers,
I live by the Wild Fork that recently opened next to the Costco near Marina Del Rey. Some pricing seems too good to be true so naturally question quality.
Do they sell fresh or frozen products?
How is their selection for walk-in/ pick up?
Any product reccos welcomed! Merci!
I’ve heard really good things about them but have never been myself. I think they’ve been around longer in the OC
I have only been to the one in Costa Mesa. Mostly blast frozen then vacuum-sealed in the packages. Quality is high and the walk-in selection is broad.
The prime Picanha is pretty good if you’re a fan of that cut.
Agree about the Picanha. Cooked it rare under broiler and came out ruby red and so juicy.
They also carry hard to find sweetbreads.
Oh, wow sweetbreads! That’s pretty cool
I live in LA and haven’t been to a Wild Fork brick-and-mortar but regularly order online. Pretty much all the raw meats I’ve ordered have been very good quality. The only issues I’ve had are with pre-seasoned products and also often the weight of what you order can be like 20-40% different than the described weight. Good news for you is that the latter doesn’t affect you if you go in store!
Went to the MDR location and bought a pheasant, some osso buco, an unpeeled skirt (usda choice), and some duck legs. Everything was labeled as product of usa with the fossil farms pheasant going so far as to say “hatched, raised and harvested in the usa”.
Whole order came to about $70 with the most expensive item being the pheasant for $33 for a 2.8 lb’er.
Will report back!
Holy cow!
It’s wierd that skirt is so hard to find it used to be once a week growing up picked up from Ralph’s. Still one of my favorite cuts. Luckily Vicente Foods carries it.
Duck legs were good not great. A little too much moisture in the package and not very meaty legs. That said, they’re nice to have in the freezer to roast with some vegetable or use as a cassoulet topper so may buy again.
The pheasant was as good as any I’ve had. Very flavorful and tender.
Made faisan a la normande, pureed the cooking liquid of cider, creme fraiche, shallot and green apples for sauce. Served with pate on toast.
Nice!
I’ve been ordering almost all of our protein from WF for a little over a year (delivery in LA) and have generally been very happy. Great selection, great seafood and the last few Mary’s pasture chickens have been summer if the best I’ve ever made. If anyone is interested I would definitely recommend giving it a try 
The osso buco was pretty good, especially given the price of $11.98/lb. I think I’ve made only ‘poor man’s osso buco’ with beef shanks for the last decade as I don’t encounter veal much and generally don’t think to seek it out.
The shanks we’re on the smaller side (2 at 1.25lbs total) so I cooked them a little shorter than I would have. Could have given them another half hour in the oven. The marrow was rich with decent texture for being frozen. As soon as the shanks started to brown it was clear veal has a very different character than beef. Nice to get re-acquainted.
Served with risotto milanese and gremolata. Will plan to keep these around in the freezer through Feb. Great meal for holidays and playoff football.
Final report on the entrana cut skirt steak “unpeeled” with silverskin, choice grade. I think there were better cuts available but I like to blast these at high heat and the skin’s sort of a shield. Did it on an open fire topped with coals in Death Valley. Undercooked it even by my caveman standards but the thin end was medium rare at least and it made for good primitive eating out in the dust.
If I’m doing argentine bbq at home I’ll probably still hit up Rincon Argentino in Glendale or finally try out Catalina’s in Hollywood.
Went back to Wild Fork today and bought a rabbit, veal chops and beef sweetbreads. Bought the fancier rib chops but the loin chops were nicely priced.
Could use some tips for mollejas.
Will report back.
Discovered the Long Beach store by accident. Was curious, of course, so went in and browsed. Pretty big selection of everything meat, poultry, and more.
Bought some Berkshire (heritage) thick pork chops and they were very good. I didn’t brine them like I usually do with regular pork chops and they were better, juicier, and tastier than ordinary brined chops.
Also bought some American loin lamb chops. American lamb is supposed to be superior to New Zealand lamb but often harder to find. They were somewhat better than NZ lamb, a little lambier tasting in a good way, overall better I thought.
Checked out their web site and saw some other selections I’d like to try and will go back this weekend. Looks promising.
