
Hammering rock music blasts from the back of The Meat Hook butcher shop. Behind a deli counter, three men in their 30s are calmly taking apart sides of meat at a large, communal table. Here, a razor-sharp fillet knife traces through a rack of ribs. There, a band saw whirs through a leg of pork. This is not a scene for the faint of heart—or the vegetarian of stomach.

