I was walking through San Francisco's Chinatown at lunch yesterday and found a couple poultry shops on Stockton St. I was drawn into San Francisco Poultry because I could see the chickens behind the counter. The place was like a cross between a sushi bar and a hospital - it was SO clean. They are a USDA inspected operation, and have been in business since 1956.
The chickens behind the counter were mostly smaller looking than supermarket chickens, yet they were dressed to look like supermarket chickens. You could see through a window behind the counter to where they were doing some processing in the back; the back room also looked very hospital-like.....
There was also a sign that said no pictures. The menu board was amazing, they had yellow chicken, brown chicken, black chicken, etc. and even Silkies available. There were at least a half dozen kinds of chicken and duck and quail as well. I wish I could have stayed to see more, but it was busy with the Lunar New Year approaching, I didn't want to be rude, just taking up space.
I stepped back out onto Stockton Street, and what do I see parked across the street? A chicken truck with it's back door open! The truck belonged to Ming's Poultry which is on the same block. The chickens were in cages stacked in the back of the truck. Some looked about 12 weeks old, and there was also a large cockerel. They looked to be red broilers. The chickens were calm and beautiful. I'll add a picture of the cockerel that I took with my phone. (Was trying to be low-pro, after the other shop had said "no pictures".)
I was probably talking to them too nicely considering they were meat birds, but it I figure it was a start, to be able to just "visit" some meat birds with no emotional commitment....
The chickens behind the counter were mostly smaller looking than supermarket chickens, yet they were dressed to look like supermarket chickens. You could see through a window behind the counter to where they were doing some processing in the back; the back room also looked very hospital-like.....
There was also a sign that said no pictures. The menu board was amazing, they had yellow chicken, brown chicken, black chicken, etc. and even Silkies available. There were at least a half dozen kinds of chicken and duck and quail as well. I wish I could have stayed to see more, but it was busy with the Lunar New Year approaching, I didn't want to be rude, just taking up space.
I stepped back out onto Stockton Street, and what do I see parked across the street? A chicken truck with it's back door open! The truck belonged to Ming's Poultry which is on the same block. The chickens were in cages stacked in the back of the truck. Some looked about 12 weeks old, and there was also a large cockerel. They looked to be red broilers. The chickens were calm and beautiful. I'll add a picture of the cockerel that I took with my phone. (Was trying to be low-pro, after the other shop had said "no pictures".)
I was probably talking to them too nicely considering they were meat birds, but it I figure it was a start, to be able to just "visit" some meat birds with no emotional commitment....
