Empire Market

Profile

Three generations of the Lepine family have toiled in the building since 1921, and today, owner Mike Lepine and his sons John and Michael stoke the family flame. Among the abundant variety of house-cured meats are dry-aged beef hung for weeks in the oak-lined drying room, and bacon, hams, and franks out of the two-story smoker. Savory Hungarian salami leaves a clean finish, pepperoni blooms with a spicy kick, and baloney falls from the slicer like sheets of pale blush ribbon. The store's wood-paneled walls showcase racks of knives, mallets, bone saws and cleavers, but the real work takes place out of sight, where Mike's sons prep their own well-spiced charcuterie. Strictly a retail outlet, the busy store has cancelled its restaurant supply side to provide local and far-flung consumers from New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Connecticut with its old-school delicacies. — Helen Zelon

Holiday-season house-smoked hams, basted for hours with a honey-brandy glaze, and organic turkeys should be ordered a month ahead of time.