Heart & Trotter makes the cut for L.A. Lakers

San Diego’s first and only whole animal butchery, Heart & Trotter, has yet to find a place to call home (they’ve been eyeing North Park for a few months now), but their sustainable, locally sourced, antibiotic- and hormone-free meat has found its way onto the plates of Los Angeles Lakers teammates Robert Sacre and Chris Kaman.

“I always have my eyes open for local butchers and farms that take care of their animals the right way and provide a pristine source of animal protein,” says Lakers strength and conditioning coach Tim DiFrancesco, who discovered Heart & Trotter via Twitter.

“One of the primary philosophies of my approach is that you can’t out-train a bad diet,” DiFrancesco says.

“The quality and nutrition profile of grass-fed and hormone-free meat makes such a tremendous difference, particularly in the improved amount of omega-3 fats that are in that type of animal. That’s something that we take very seriously.”

The Lakers' PR director John Black notes that the selection was a personal purchase made by Sacre, Kaman, and DiFrancesco.

Though the butchery is currently operating out of a temporary workshop, they continue to supply whole animal products — offal and all — via their Butcher’s Stash subscription program (james@theheartandtrotter.com for details).

In the meantime, you can see what Heart & Trotter is all about at Suzie's Farm’s Wellness Fair on Saturday, January 18 and at Toronado on Sunday, January 26 for a collaboration Butcher's Brunch with a beer pairing by Pizza Port.

The butchery debuted last August with a beef and beer pairing orchestrated by Societe Brewing Company and Alchemy restaurant in South Park.

For daily training and nutrition tips, you can follow Tim DiFrancesco on Twitter at: @tdathletesedge