Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Butcher opens in old Quarterdeck space
High-end Fort Lauderdale butcher A Cut Above opens in old Quarterdeck space
“It comes with a birth certificate. I know the cow’s name. I know when it was taken. I know what it weighed.”
Flanked by thick slabs of ultra-premium A5 wagyu beef and icy piles of straight-fromMaine Moondancer oysters, Mark Small’s larger-than-life approach is on full display at A Cut Above Butcher & Provisions in Fort Lauderdale.
With the recent opening of the upscale food purveyor near downtown, Small is a new Falstaffian figure on the South Florida food stage, distinguished by an easy wit, the arms and broad shoulders of a man who spent 40 years in the construction industry and the girth of a globe-trotting gourmand.
“You don’t get this in the gym,” Small says with a boisterous laugh, rubbing a belt-challenging midsection. “I love to eat. I love to eat. Food is a passion. I’ve studied it. I ate a lot.”
The Cleveland native opened A Cut Above in the longtime Quarterdeck space on Cordova Road the day after New Year’s to fill a void in the local supply of high-end beef he first discovered after moving to Fort Lauderdale a dozen years ago.
The idea developed as Small, who retired in 2018, grew weary of making twice-monthly drives to Jimmy P’s Butcher Shop and Deli in Naples. He knew other locals were making that same trek for fresh cuts of Carrara wagyu from Australia or Japan’s exclusive Kobe beef, now available at A Cut Above.
Other premium meat purveyors in South Florida may come to mind, from Sunshine Provisions in Hallandale Beach (a home-delivery service) to the Butcher and the Bar
Mark Small, owner of A Cut Above Butcher & Provisions
in Boynton Beach (featuring Florida-raised meat). But Small says that for quality, freshness, variety, price and convenience, his store stands alone.
He points out that his top-rated Kobe (A5 is the highest level on the quality scale) — which typically retails for $120-$130 per pound and can be found frozen at Costco for $99 a pound — is going for $85 per pound, fresh, as an introductory offer at A Cut Above.
“We cut it right here. It’s never been frozen. It comes with a birth certificate. I know the cow’s name. I know when it was taken. I know what it weighed. I’m not bull——ing,” Small says, laughing.
Quarterdeck no more
An airy atmosphere of gleaming white walls and glass, A Cut Above retains no reminders of the building’s previous life as the dimly lit Quarterdeck, an iconic Fort Lauderdale restaurant and watering hole that relocated nearby with a beautiful modern look. The top floor of the old building now houses the Rio Vista Lofts.
As the name implies, there is more to A Cut Above Butcher & Provisions than tomahawk chops and swordfish steaks (on Friday he hopes to have an entire locally caught swordfish filling an 8-foot display case to accommodate watch parties for the college football championship game with his beloved Ohio State Buckeyes).
You’ll also find a daily menu of prepared dinners; grab-and-go sandwiches and soups; a wide variety of charcuterie; housemade baked goods, pies and cakes; and hard-to-find packaged delicacies from around the world.
Thanks to connections made during a decade of travel in Colombia, Small says A Cut Above is the only place outside the South American country where you can buy Café Cereza coffee, which sits in bags ($14.95 a pound) near the bakery counter.
“These are the best coffee beans in the world. It’s the best coffee you’ve ever had,” Small says.
Prime staff
Perhaps not surprisingly, Small’s emphasis on quality extends to his staff of 20, which includes Executive Chef Jeff Sternshein Sr., who spent a decade at Fort Lauderdale’s Tower Club; Executive Chef Randy Luedders, once of the luxurious Albany resort in the Bahamas; Executive Pastry Chef Anna Young, who left a similar role at the Sofitel Chicago Magnificent Mile to help open the Conrad Fort Lauderdale Beach; and Becky Dewald, savory chef, who worked at the Conrad and the Dalmar, Fort Lauderdale.
“Our steaks here are better than any restaurant in town,” Luedders says, standing in front of a sizzling grill. “I’ve always worked in high-end operations, and working with quality products is what creates the best meal, at the end of the day. You can come in here and get everything you need for dinner, and it’s still less expensive than actually going out to dinner.”
Outside A Cut Above, on the Cordova side of the building, is a patio with several spots to relax in the shade; inside, the busiest seats may be found at the Chef’s Table, where customers can consult with a chef and plan everything from an intimate dinner party (Small has a fleet of four delivery vehicles) to provisioning of a superyacht for an extended cruise.
Small acknowledges this may feel like a curious time to open A Cut Above, with COVID putting a chill on large parties and yacht gatherings. But he believes locals are still looking for ways to pamper themselves.
“People are eating at home more than they typically would, and they don’t want to have the normal.
They’ll spend more on bringing home what they really want, and higher quality, because they want to treat themselves,” he says. “Frankly, right now, we need a little treat.”
If he needs a reminder of post-pandemic optimism ahead, Small need only look across the street, where the 1,750-ton steel frame of the massive F3 Marina is rising. The high-tech, fully automated building, which can accommodate 240 boats up to 46 feet long and 17 feet high, is described as the Ritz-Carlton of dry-dock marinas.
“The town’s alive. It has youth, it has vigor, it has arts, it has water, it has sun, it has warmth, it has no state taxes, it has lots of things. Fort Lauderdale is just the right balance for me,” Small says.
A Cut Above Butcher & Provisions is located at 1541 Cordova Road, Fort Lauderdale. Hours are 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday. Call 954-500-2333 or visit ACutAboveButcher.com.
“People are eating at home more than they typically would ... They’ll spend more on bringing home what they really want, and higher quality, because they want to treat themselves.”
Mark Small, owner of A Cut Above Butcher & Provisions