Convivial butcher Jake Elmets, most recently at Somerville’s M.F. Dulock, has opened Ipswich Custom in the South End (1 Appleton St. at Tremont Street). The meat-focused restaurant replaces Merrill & Co.
Elmets has an impressive pedigree: Before Dulock, he worked at California’s Chez Panisse (“It’s the most relevant restaurant in the world,” he says), Nashville’s Husk (a stint that was cut short after a butchering injury), and at Brooklyn’s Reynard at the Wythe Hotel.
A recent menu showcased boudin blanc, tuna belly, and butchered-to-order lamb collar, plus a medley of fermented vegetables and cheeses. The restaurant’s name is in homage to Ipswich, Mass., home of Appleton Farms, one of the country’s oldest.
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“We practice slow techniques such as butchery as it would have been practiced at the advent of hand tools and traditional fermentation methods,” Elmets writes in a release.
The 150-seat restaurant is open for dinner Tuesday through Saturday, and Elmets has high hopes for longer hours soon.
“I want this to be a breakfast, lunch, and dinner spot,” he said. “I want it to be that neighborhood place in the South End where everyone has a seat at the table. I don’t care how much money you make or don’t make. I want kids and businessmen.”