Despite a name that makes you think of eyeballs, meat, and contact lenses — always an appetizing trio, yes? — MeatCrafters was a promising partnership between one of the best charcuterie makers and one of the most successful distributors in the D.C. area.

The partnership is no more.

Y&H contacted Jamie Stachowski yesterday evening who confirmed that he and Mitch Berliner have parted company — at least as partners in the charcuterie business. Stachowski's name has already been scrubbed from the MeatCrafters' Web site, but he will still have a role in the company. Berliner is still selling and distributing some of Stachowski's sausages.

"I'm trying to pursue a full line of charcuterie, and he is focusing on the [farmers] markets," Stachowski tells Y&H. "Who knows? We might come together again at some point."

Stachowski paints the falling out as a disagreement over markets — the chef wanting to target the chef-driven restaurant scene and the distributor wanting to target the area's farmers markets. But Stachowski also hints that there may have been other issues, which he wouldn't discuss for the record.

"I'm not sour," he adds.

Instead, Stachowski continues to focus on his own charcuterie, which he now won't have to market under a name that sounds like a mall storefront.  At present, Stachowski says, his charcuterie can be found at Enology Wine Bar on Wisconsin Avenue NW, Willow in Arlington, Thirsty Bernie Sports Bar & Grill (where the chef once worked until his surprising departure last year), Ristorante Posto near Logan Circle, Veritas Wine Bar near Dupont Circle, the Willard Room downtown, Bar Pilar on 14th Street NW, Red, White & Bleu in Falls Church, and Napolean in Adams Morgan.

Photo by Darrow Montgomery

After his unceremonious departure last month at Thirsty Bernie Sports Bar & Grill, Jamie Stachowski has been working to launch his own name-brand charcuterie company. Well, maybe not a name-brand company. It seems the chef's partner in this venture, Mitch Berliner, is afraid nobody can pronounce Stachowski.

Stachowski's not buying that argument. To him, a number of commercial makers of cured meats and pates, companies like D'Artagnan's to Les Trois Petits Cochons (which incidentally just means "three little pigs," folks), have "difficult names that are hard to pronounce."

Whatever the final name, Stachowski and Berliner, owner of Berliner Specialty Distributors, are currently searching for a USDA-approved processing-and-packaging facility. Berliner, the man who essentially introduced D.C. to gourmet ice cream, is the bringing the marketing muscle to this partnership, Stachowski says.

Stachowski could sells his meats to local chefs and specialty shops, he says, but Berliner can sell them to major grocery chains, like Whole Foods. "He knows the people," Stachowski says. "He knows the contacts."

The chef hopes to launch the company early next year.

The Washingtonian is reporting that Jamie Stachowski, the mad genius of meat, is out at Thirsty Bernie Sports Bar & Grill.

The Washington Post is reporting that Andrew Kitko "parted ways" with Redwood in Bethesda.

I personally think Thirsty Bernie will suffer greatly without Stachowski. With him, it was the most unique sports bar in the area; without him, it'll just be another place to eat grease and watch the game.

As far as Redwood, well, I have to say the move would seem smart. I had my first meal there this weekend and was singularly underwhelmed. My companion's pulled chicken salad with buttermilk dressing was mush on mush—soft, lifeless bird pieces with cubes of squishy avocado on top of romaine leaves that had lost much of their crunch. It was like paying $13 for leftovers.

Photo by Darrow Montgomery