Carniceria: A Real Meat Market

The meat counter went on for miles.  That was my first impression. Well, maybe the second, there was some lovely colorful produce that hit me up as I first walked through the door of Carniceria Union Gap, which was pretty great as well.  But that meat case—it was something to make any decent omnivore a bit misty-eyed.  Across from the Ahtanum Youth Park in Union Gap, this little gem of a market has been one of Shelley’s favorites for years.  We decided to give it a proper rooted visit this week to better describe the delights therein.

For anyone out there not in the know, a carniceria is a Hispanic meat market, as carne means meat in Spanish.  What makes them different from your average grocery store chain meat department is the tremendous amount of variety and type of cuts that are available.  Like I said, meat counter for miles.  In addition to what you’d expect with the usual chicken, pork, and beef offerings, they boast house-made fresh and dry chorizos, a host of offal, tongue, and feet, and even mutton, rabbit and frog legs for that matter.  From tip to toe, the exotic and mundane are represented with everything in between. If you’d like the meat already seasoned, they do that too.  But there’s more going on than just the meat.  Seafood and cheeses are also handy, with snacks, salsas and sundries of all kinds around every corner, and of course that beautiful produce that greets you at the front door.

We had the opportunity to talk to owner Juan Salazar, and he let us know that the carniceria is just the tip of the iceberg.  Los Juanes Quality Meats and Foods Distribution, which shares the space and the signage, is a wholesale distributor that provides goods for businesses locally and around the state.  Chances are, one of your favorite Mexican restaurants or taco trucks around town gets their meat and produce from Los Juanes.  He takes us out back to the wholesale storage area and it’s impressive.

Juan has been working here for the last 30 years.  When he began it was simply a side job where he would come help with the butchering after he finished his shift at Washington Beef.  He says back then it was a small shop and there was always deer, elk, and cows hanging in the back room.  He stuck with it through various roles, and eight years ago, he had the opportunity to buy the business and he took it.  While they don’t do the actual butchering any longer, they can carve it up well.  If you have a specific request on type or cut, they can accommodate you.

Juan tells us that in the summer, they can barely keep up.  A true mom-and-pop style market, he has been tweaking their offerings ever since he became owner to better serve his customers.

We love it.  Buying a load of meats, pico de gallo, and produce to take home for dinner, our families were thankful, as were we.  No dilemma for these omnivores.