Provisions on State

ON STATE

BY ERIK OFGANG, WINTER CAPLANSON PHOTOS

Maybe it’s the words in capital letters on the window, “GROCERY MEATS & FISH” that draw you in as you walk through New Haven’s East Rock neighborhood. Or perhaps you’re a fan of what Chef Emily Mingrone has done a few doors down at Tavern on State, and want a chance to use her favorite ingredients in your own cooking and see quite literally, the sausage gets made.

Regardless of what brings you there, once you step down a few steps from street level you’ll find yourself in a Willy Wonkaesque world of choice cuts of meat and high-end food products ranging from artisan condiments to locally produced cheese. A neon light in the shape of a pig behind the meat counter gives the one-room space a hipster vibe but there’s also a deeply throwback feel to the neighborhood spot that is a perfect addition to New Haven’s already great but-somehow-alwaysimproving East Rock neighborhood.

Welcome to Provisions on State, Emily Mingrone and Shane McGowan’s butcher shop and boutique grocery. An extension of their award winning restaurant, Tavern on State, it is one of those rare good things born of the COVID-19 crisis.

“During peak pandemic, we had some ideas on how to kind of maximize our potential as a business during that time when we couldn’t have indoor dining,” recalls Mingrone. “So on the Tavern menu, we ended up doing a little section that said ‘Provisions,’ and we were showing sliced meat, sliced cheeses, stuff that people might need that they didn’t want to go to the grocery store for. We even had toilet paper on there.”

The temporary program was a hit and when a nearby storefront became available, Mingrone and McGowan decided to serve customers “provisions” full time. It was a natural progression for Mingrone. In addition to working as a chef at celebrated Connecticut restaurants such as ZINC New Haven, Match in Norwalk, and former Jessup Hall in Westport, Mingrone had worked at Fleishers Craft Butchery in Westport for a time. While there, she had met Zach Pierce, who she enlisted as the head butcher at Provisions on State.

Now Pierce presides over an advanced meat program. Specialties include housemade sausages made either from beef, lamb, or pork. The pork sausages are the most popular. Pork in general is a focus at Provisions and is sourced from Walden Hill, a New England company which works with several Connecticut farms to produce heritage pigs raised on a sustainable diet of acorns.

In addition to showcasing Pierce’s skills as a butcher, the store serves as an immersive display of all the favorite foods Mingrone has accumulated on her culinary journey. “I handpick everything,” she says. “I try to make sure that the ingredients are interesting and high quality, but we’re also conscious of making sure that we keep it within a reasonable price point because we want to be a neighborhood market.”

Rancho Garden Heirloom Beans, Sfoglini pastas as well as local cheeses and coffees are among these favorites. There are also cocktail making tools and supplies and a small selection of books about food including works from Jeremy Fox and Anthony Bourdain. Seafood options include New Brunswick Oysters and salmon from the Faroe Islands as well as other fish from local and regional waters.

Provisions on State opened in the fall of 2020. Today, Provisions and the Tavern have a relationship that is symbiotic in all the right ways. “All of our ground beef and other meats or steaks come from Provisions,” Mingrone says. “So we have access to the freshest possible meats. And also, they get more interesting stuff than I’m able to get by the case from a distributor. So if he’s got a beef tongue or something like that, I can experiment.”

The beauty of this can be seen — and tasted — in a recent night out at Tavern on State in the form of a pork coppa steak, which is among the best pork dishes I’ve ever had. “That’s a custom cut, that’s typically only available from a butcher,” Mingrone says.

While many of us may not be capable of making dishes this good on our own, shopping at Provisions on State at least gives us access to ingredients of equal quality and the store can serve as an incubator of our cooking skills.

Mingrone’s advice to aspiring home chefs visiting the shop: “Form a relationship with the butchers.”

She adds, “If you’re not so sure what you’re walking into, the guys are always ready to help. You can just have an open conversation about what you’re looking to do, what you feel comfortable doing. The butchers might have some ideas that you might not even have thought that you were capable of.”

This true neighborhood aesthetic is what Provisions is all about.

“We want people to feel like we’re their friends, it’s like, ‘Okay, I gotta go see Zach down at the butcher,’” Mingrone says. “It’s that old school vibe of the butcher and the baker, and whatever else. Just being able to come down there and be like, ‘Hey, I want to cook something tonight, I’m in the mood for something on the grill. What do you got that’s good.’” This true neighborhood aesthetic is what Provisions is all about. ”