From the circus, to asbestos, to fine dining, it's been a winding road for the owner of Baron's Quality Meats & Seafood.
It’s been a winding path for David Samiljan to get to where he is today. Not many butchers used to be vegans, and even fewer started out in the circus.
“My biggest claim to fame is I grew up near Willowbrook Park, which was right next to Willowbrook State development mental institution,” he joked. “A stereotypical butcher is, you know, a hungover guy who needs to shave and has bloodstains on his smock,” he said. “But one of the things that always surprised me about being a butcher is how much I enjoyed the customer service.”
Harry Kosofsky, Pauline Kosofsky, David Baron, Joel Kosofsky, and Esta Samiljan née Kosofsky at Joel’s bar mitzvah.By this time, Samiljan’s grandfather, Harry Kosofsky, was the owner and operator of the store. Kosofsky, affectionately known as “Papa Harry,” was not a big man, according to Samiljan. He was perhaps around 5 feet, 9 inches tall and weighed only 170 pounds.
“It was in a hotel, but the food was spectacular,” Samiljan said. “I had done fine dining in cooking school and at Commander’s Palace, but this was real haute cuisine. It was real distillation cooking, with lots of dots on the plate and things like that.”
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
North Bay firefighters warn of potential mudslides near burn scars ahead of Bay Area stormPreparations are underway ahead of Thursday's storm, as firefighters say there's an increased risk of mudslides and debris flow in areas around the 2020 Glass Fire burn scars.
Read more »
Timeline: Level 2 storm to bring wet weather, gusty winds to the Bay Area ThursdayA storm arriving Thursday morning has been upgraded to a Level 2 on the ABC7 Storm Impact Scale. Here's what to know as a messy commute, and flooded roads are expected.
Read more »
I'm sorry New York, the Bay Area bagel hype is realDoes Boichik make a worthy bagel, or is there a … hole … in their argument?
Read more »
Bay Area arts: 10 shows & concerts to catch this weekendOn tap: SF Opera Adler Fellows perform; world premiere Mahalia Jackson musical; Berkeley Holocaust stage drama; more.
Read more »
Michelin adds 3 new Bay Area restaurants to Bib Gourmand listThe complete Bib Gourmand winners will be revealed next month.
Read more »
Bay Area naturopath who sold fake COVID-19 vaccine cards gets nearly 3 yearsThe case is the first federal criminal fraud prosecution related to fraudulent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention vaccination cards for COVID-19
Read more »