There are many contenders for the best sausage title in Orange County, but few have been at the game longer than Gem Meats, an old-timey butcher shop that looks as though it might have been the model for Sam the Butcher's store in The Brady Bunch. A giant walk-in meat locker like the one Peter and Greg got trapped in? Check. Refrigerated meat cases filled with immaculately trimmed cuts of beef, pork and poultry? Yup. The overhead steel rail that was used to convey quartered steers from the truck to the walk-in serve as a reminder that butcher shops such as this existed in every American neighborhood through the 1960s. Remaining true to this model of American butchery, Gem grinds a small but focused selection of pork sausages that recall those days. A classic Bratwurst. A mildly spicy Italian. A garlicky Polish. About the most gourmet thing here is spicy Cajun—it doesn't need to offer a rotating selection of several dozen varieties to grab your attention because these timelessly classic sausage flavors are fine just the way they've always been.
