Foodies, Rejoice! Village Prime Meats is Now Open in Hastings
Foodies, Rejoice! Village Prime Meats is Now Open in Hastings
The new gourmet market features prime meats, fish, produce and more
by Sunny Harris
Hastings-on-Hudson — John Rubio runs his businesses with a single-minded devotion to selling and serving the highest quality meats, fish, and produce he can procure for his customers. His passion is serving people who understand and appreciate the fine foods he sources for his two Westchester markets—Village Prime Meats in Armonk and now, Village Prime Meats in Hastings.
Rubio, who left El Salvador as a child, spent 20 years working at Village Prime Meats in Armonk. There he learned professional butchering as well as every aspect of preparing foods and running a business, from making salads to sourcing top food brands.
After buying out his former employer and mentor five years ago, the Armonk location continued to thrive. Its reputation attracted locals from all over Westchester as well as financiers from Wall Street, and shoppers from Long Island and as far away as Boston.
Guided by his business and food acumen, Rubio decided it was time to expand to other locations. Having spent part of his youth in Peekskill, he knew the Rivertowns and took advantage of an opportunity to set up shop at 537 Warburton, the site of the former Four Seasons Market.
Rubio knew Hastings would be the perfect location because of the appreciative food culture that has exploded in the Rivertowns. And this is why Hastings now has a new food purveyor that resembles a gourmet food shop in Italy.
“What’s important for people to know,” said Rubio, “is that everything we sell is homemade. All the hot prepared foods, salads and frozen dinner items are made in our kitchen. We make our own broth from the bones of the animals we butcher. Our coleslaw doesn’t come from plastic tubs. We make it right here, fresh daily. In fact, after shredding the cabbage, we bathe it in white wine for a couple of hours before mixing it with the other ingredients. That step improves the flavor and adds to the crunch.”
Also made daily are balls of fresh mozzarella, all the salads, and a rotating menu of hot items.
Rubio has added tables, chairs and WiFi, hoping that Village Prime Meats will be a place where members of the community can gather while enjoying homemade food in a welcoming atmosphere.
While the name of the market is Village Prime Meats, shoppers can easily find all the ingredients to prepare a full meal from the market’s shelves and food cases. And meat doesn’t have to be the main course. Beginning soon, Village Prime Meats will also offer prime fish, sourced from a supplier selling only the highest quality fish.
The market also stocks every shape and variety of dried Italian pasta made by Sclafani as well as several top-end sauces including Rao’s. You’ll find premier olive oils from California and imported from several countries. The freezer case is stocked with frozen homemade broths, lasagna and ravioli, homemade marinades and several kinds of burgers — including vegetarian ones.
Rubio sources the best quality in every type of food he sells. All meats are U.S.-grown and 100% prime quality. He uses Bell & Evans chicken and buys his lamb from Colorado. Beef comes from Nebraska and pork comes from specially selected domestic farms.
Reporting for this assignment required that I test some of the market’s offerings. With pleasure, I tasted an exceptional slice of fresh mozzarella served with a tomato slice and topped with a balsamic glaze.
Rubio was especially excited to have me try the pounded fried chicken breasts used for sandwiches. The inside was juicy and tender. The outside was crispy with no hint of grease. “That’s because we use only olive oil for everything we make,” he said. “The breadcrumbs are from our own day-old bread. Everything is made by hand.”
Rubio employs a professional chef at each location who conducts scrupulous quality control over everything purchased and served. They are the chief food inspectors and tasters. When the team prepares blueberries for use in their dishes, someone picks through the berries to remove any that are damaged or not yet ripe.
Some of Village Prime Meats’ initial customers have already shared favorable reviews on Facebook, one declaring that the prepared pork chop was delicious and another calling the egg salad the best in the Rivertowns.
Someone gushed over the filet mignon: “Just cooked one of the finest filet mignons, bought at the new Hastings Prime Meats. Please give this establishment your business. We need more quality choices in this village.” That comment was seconded with a simple “Thank God.”
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