Dittmer’s Gourmet Meats
I always take a big, deep, breath as I walk in the front door of Dittmer’s Gourmet Meats. The smell is amazing! The fragrance of smoked meats and all different kinds of sausage fills the air and makes your mouth water.
Dittmer’s is an old-fashioned butcher shop, meat market, and German delicatessen with a wide selection of items to go along with your meat purchases. They make many different styles of smoked meats like ham, bacon, smoked pork chops, duck and leg of lamb. The fresh meats selection includes a full selection of USDA Choice and Prime Midwestern beef, pork, veal, California lamb. They even have specialty meats like venison, elk, and buffalo.
I’ve been shopping at Dittmer’s for many years and their staff is very knowledgeable. If something in the meat case looks particularly good, but unfamiliar to me, I’ll buy it even if I don’t know how to cook it. Between their staff and Google, I’m bound to figure out what to do with it. Sometimes I’ll even hear customers asking other customers how to cook items and what they serve as a side dish. I love that friendly sense-of-community and the fact that bacon brought us all together.
One time I asked the people in line next to me where they lived because they seemed like they were really stocking up on sausages. They told me that they had driven from Santa Rosa just to shop at Dittmer’s. They had an ice chest that they were filling with meat. I felt so happy that Dittmer’s was right here in my own neighborhood and that I could go anytime I had the sudden urge for some freshly made pepperoni or peppered bacon.
Be sure to take a look at the items on the shelves that face the meat counter. You’ll find Kartoffel and Semel Knödels (potato or bread dumplings) with cooking directions in English. And be sure to buy German mustard to go with your German food, or you will be persuaded to do so if the person behind the counter notices your mistake. Trust me, I have been corrected before. “What are you doing with this French mustard? Put this back and get the mustard in the jar shaped like a little German beer mug!” the owner told me. He was right. It’s the only mustard I purchase now.
Dittmer’s is just another reason to love Mountain View.
They have great sandwiches and salads at their
deli section. Great place for a relaxing lunch at the tables outside.
Lena, Yes, the Hanover wurst is out-of-this-world. When I went there this week to take photos for this blog story I bought some Hanover and we had it for dinner last night.
The Hanover Wurst is amazing. Slice it length wise and brown in a pan German style. Ask them to recommend a German mustard to go with it.