WILMINGTON — After only a six-week turnaround, True Blue Butcher and Table is now open in the Forum.
Bobby Zimmerman, owner and chef, said he hopes to bring back the romance between food and people.
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A chef his entire career, Zimmerman has put a lifetime of taste and trial to the table with True Blue’s full-service butcher counter and full menu.
“It’s an ambitious endeavor when you’re doing three meal periods seven days a week,” Zimmerman said. “There’s a lot there and everything we make is from scratch.”
He hopes to incorporate a European standard of food and culture with True Blue, through and its offerings and ambiance.
While the demands of the world may wait outside, Zimmerman wants customers to step in and slow down.
“I’m here when you want to slow down and take a minute and taste these olive oils, or the most amazing olives that taste like chicken bouillon,” he said. “We’ll go from case to case and taste and smell and tell stories and learn.”
Ham and sausage from Lady Edison Pork, a North Carolina local, ethical farmhouse, makes an appearance on each of True Blue’s daily menus. Hand cut steaks, artisanal cheese, charcuterie and potato chips from Spain can all be picked up at the butcher table.
In a typical supermarket or restaurant, Zimmerman says owners may not always have the oversight to ensure its beef is properly aged to perfection. All beef served in True Blue will have been aged a minimum of 28 days and will aim for after the 30-day mark when it starts to hit its sweetest spot, according to Zimmerman.
“All of these products have stories that I was fortunate enough to learn,” Zimmerman said.
To be Wilmington’s neighborhood chef and butcher may be an earnest quest, but its one Zimmerman has worked his whole life for.
“It’s not transactional that I have this to sell and you want to buy something, lean on me,” he said. “That’s what True Blue is all about, someone to count on, the real thing.”
“I want people to really recognize that I’m there for them, without question.”
True Blue Butcher and Table is open Monday through Tuesday 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Wednesday through Sunday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m, at The Forum, 1125-A Military Cutoff Road.
Johanna Ferebee can be reached at johanna@localvoicemedia.com or @j__ferebee on Twitter