Demise of the butcher

[Undertow]

We have two "local" grocery stores in Des Moines, and by local I mean they're more or less contained in Iowa and relatively non-existent outside (although both have a few stores in other states).

The best IMO is Fareway; their meat is second to none, cut fresh and always tasty. It's within reasonable prices and they have a good variety. They also have the "old" style counter where you walk up, select your meat and a person either cuts it for you or, if it's already cut, wraps it right there. They don't have anything prepackaged.

If I'm in a pinch for time, there are Hy-Vee or Dahl's who basically compete with one another in the state. Either one has a butcher who cuts for you but they offer prepackaged meat. They can be pricey, not by much, but they are far superior to Wal-Mart goo.

I won't buy meat from Wal-Mart unless it's hotdogs or bologna.

 

[Starius]

We have two "local" grocery stores in Des Moines, and by local I mean they're more or less contained in Iowa and relatively non-existent outside (although both have a few stores in other states).

The best IMO is Fareway; their meat is second to none, cut fresh and always tasty. It's within reasonable prices and they have a good variety. They also have the "old" style counter where you walk up, select your meat and a person either cuts it for you or, if it's already cut, wraps it right there. They don't have anything prepackaged.

If I'm in a pinch for time, there are Hy-Vee or Dahl's who basically compete with one another in the state. Either one has a butcher who cuts for you but they offer prepackaged meat. They can be pricey, not by much, but they are far superior to Wal-Mart goo.

I won't buy meat from Wal-Mart unless it's hotdogs or bologna.

Yeah, the Fareway up in Spencer sounds the same. There are always about 5 or 6 guys back there working behind the meat counter. They must have a pretty decent training program now that I think about it cause young or old, they seem to know their stuff well.

 

[griffer]

My local butcher went out of business, now my best bet is to drive all the way in to Philly to the Italian Market.

I am on the prowl for a good beef butcher in the Hunterdon/Bucks county area....


On a related note, I sure know I have gotten old when I skim a discussion about how great Mexican coke is and how hard it is to find in the U.S., and I know immediately that it is a beverage and not some other import from south america.

 

[jake_fink]

I raise or buy my meet on the hoof and take it to a butcher. he kills it and dresses it and packages it and calls me when it's ready for me to pick up. Great eats.
I butcher my own chickens, rabbits and deer. We rarely buy meat from the grocer.

That's how to do it. Or buy local only. (That is locally produced not locally purchased0>

But what do I know. I don't even eat meat.

 

[LizzieMaine]

What's really frustrating to me is the growing idea that unadulterated food -- meat, vegetables, whatever -- should be sold as luxury boutique items for premium prices while the rest of us poor proles are expected to make do with the leavings. We have a new "upscale grocery" downtown that sells all the guaranteed certified pure products anyone could want, but they're priced way out of reach of the likes of me.

There's the big difference, right there. In the old days of the friendly neighborhood butcher, he was selling his product to the masses, not just the classes -- and that's the attitude we need to get back to. Good, honest food should be the rule, not the exception.

 

[Undertow]

What's really frustrating to me is the growing idea that unadulterated food -- meat, vegetables, whatever -- should be sold as luxury boutique items for premium prices while the rest of us poor proles are expected to make do with the leavings. We have a new "upscale grocery" downtown that sells all the guaranteed certified pure products anyone could want, but they're priced way out of reach of the likes of me.

There's the big difference, right there. In the old days of the friendly neighborhood butcher, he was selling his product to the masses, not just the classes -- and that's the attitude we need to get back to. Good, honest food should be the rule, not the exception.

I think this sentiment spans all things in the US. I believe serving classes over masses is part of the reason we are all on this forum; we all have an appreciation for well-made things, honest services and an overall "classic" society. I don't mean to sound political, but I feel like our country has lost quite a bit of its dignity so as to feed greed.

 

[dhermann1]

I'm getting to the opinion that spending twice as much for a given cut of meat of a really high quality, and only eating half as much, is the way to go. There are places to buy high quality Angus beef, or wild game (4 times as much, but really tasty and healthy) if you look around. The health benefits of grass fed are starting to be known. The grain fed cows we're used to are not all that healthy. Grass is what nature intended cattle to eat.
Americans eat about twice as much meat as is good for them, so this is another motivation. I would imagine that "artesan" meat (I'm getting tired of "foody" nomenclature, but it's appropriate) is also treated in life and slaughtered in a more humane manner.
The trend to this kind of production starts with being a "boutique" item, but as the market grows the unit costs go down, and it becomes more available to the general public. The danger is that as this happens, quality tends to get compromised. This has happened in the "organic" produce area. But it's still a good trend.