At her meat counter in Cleveland Park’s Brookeville Market, Pam the Butcher expertly hacks a quarter of a sheep into a far more appetizing leg of lamb.

Pam Ginsberg’s tough-sounding nickname might lead her first-time customers to think that she’s either the mysterious subject of one of Mike Myers’ beat poems or a long-lost descendant of a Gangs of New York turf warrior. But Ginsberg’s regular customers know that she earned her nickname because she’s, well, an amazing butcher. When her father, an Eastern Market butcher, died when she was 14, Pam stepped in to help out the family business. And she never left.

“We watch her cut everything,” says Suzanne, a long-time customer who’d ordered the leg of lamb. “She handles things properly. We especially like her super thick-cut chops and steaks.”