Entering Meat Maniac feels like coming home. If my home was filled with meat. Okay so it's more of my ideal home that I wish I could live in, but hey close enough.
I found Meat Maniac while driving up Plano Road for a meeting. If I had more time I would have stopped in that second, but responsibility got the better of me so I held off on visiting for a day. Usually I have some sense of an idea of what I'm getting into before visiting a business, but in this case I really wasn't prepared.
Before entering Meat Maniac, all I knew about it was the title. I assumed that the owner was a radically excited purveyor of meat products, but I've been wrong in my assumptions before. What if it ended up being a sting operations center for PETA and as soon as I opened the door a net would fall on my head and I would hear a voice over a speaker saying "We caught another one of those meat eaters! Put him in a cell where he can only eat tofu for the rest of his life!"
Thankfully, I was right in my first assumption. Meat Maniac is perfectly defined by its name. Part meat, part crazy, all fun. They've got every kind of beef, antelope, kangaroo, camel, Turkey, chicken, alligator, possum, etc etc etc Jerky you could ever want. A full third of the store is taken up by Jerky products.
Another third of the store is full of bacon themed treats, gifts, popcorn, ketchup, rubs, spices, soda, and yes, even bacon deodorant. If you like bacon in any sense of the word, then you will find something for you here at Meat Maniac.
The final third of the store is where the Maniac side really comes out. It's like going into the Beyond department at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. There's all sorts of knick knacks, paddy whacks, and other fun toys in this section - all of them meat themed! Except for the edible insects. Those aren't really meat.
After spending 15 minutes talking to Rhett (I think that was his name? Hard to recall right now, my bad), I picked out some bacon salt, bacon ketchup, and Kangaroo Jerky. They were all excellent decisions, with the bacon ketchup being my favorite.
After thinking about my visit while writing this review, I gotta say that I will definitely be back, if only to buy more bacon ketchup. With all of its jerkies, spices, and yes, even edible insects, Meat Maniac fills a void that has been sorely lacking in DFW.
So where do they go from here? I realize this would be a huge undertaking, but I would love to see them expand into selling game meats for grilling. I would be by a couple times per month if I could get Kangaroo, gator, camel, and other exotic meats to make into burgers.
For now though, Meat Maniac is fulfilling it's name very well, and I hope to see it continue to grow. From one Meat Maniac to another, you need to visit this place. read more