Pam the Butcher, Cheese Doyenne
Pam the Butcher has dropped the moniker for the moment. After a lifetime of working with meat, Pam Ginsberg has laid down her cleaver to set up camp as cheese maven at Bowers' Fancy Dairy Products in Eastern Market. Despite a bumpy transition, Ginsberg is content in her new residency across from her father's former butcher’s stall in South Hall.
Pam's status as one of Northwest's best butchers was established long before press accolades in DCist and the Washington Post Magazine. "She walks down Connecticut Avenue and she's like a rock star," said one resident. Yet the Post's profile, in particular, upset Brookville owner Mike Shirgia, since it did not mention the market beyond the headline. "I'm so mad at you for being in the Post Magazine," paraphrased Pam of her boss' response. Shirgia requested that she stay home from work for awhile, or at least long enough to "calm down" after feeling slighted.
"I couldn't wait," Ginsberg said, about the unwelcome vacation. "I needed to get paid." In the meantime, customers and friends called to congratulate her on the profile, the Bowers among them. "They were friends with my parents," she said. "And I was straight up with them about being fired from Brookville." Next thing she knew, the Bowers were asking her to work for them. The following day, Ginsberg packed up her cards, letters, and carving accoutrements and relocated to her new haunt on the Hill.
Though she misses meat, working with cheese isn't far out of Pam's realm. Her unofficial status as a gourmet extraordinaire -- as noted on her business card -- has led Ginsberg to acquire expertise in anything from tri-tip roasts to truffles to Taleggio. And others are open to her suggestions, “Everyone is willing to try something new when it comes to cheese. Right now, it’s a nice cave aged gruyere and a naked goat cheese from Spain."
There are other facets of her new gig that she appreciates, as well. "I have a life," Ginsberg said of her shorter work day at Bowers. "It's interesting how things work," she mused. "Sometimes, to start something new, you have to go back to your roots." With her food expertise and her knack for pleasing customers, Eastern Market will surely welcome her home.