The Butcher Shop

[chefboy2160]

I remember as a young chef going to the butcher shop and actualy seeing the operation and having a good relationship with the people who supplied my meat . Today , for the biz I am in I can only buy from my approved vendors . Its an order guide and buy what we have type of relationship now ( Sysco ) which is not to bad mouth them or the company I work for but I think a lot has been lost in the large high volume food industry ! Fortunatly we have a couple old time butcher shops in town and I mostly buy my home meat from them . I do miss the rapore from the local meat purveyers and the banter , the deals and the rip offs they occasionily tried to pull to move some less than good product .
So , do you use the big guys like I must now or are you still able to buy what you want from the locals ? I know in larger areas there are still established meat markets that have been operated for many generations . So , what do you do when you buy the meat for your biz and what do you buy for home ?
Doug..............

[cape chef]

Doug,

When I was a child growing up in Ct there were a few things that people held dear to there hearts. A local bakery and a local butcher house. My Grandfather was a baker and his friend (later my parents best friends) had the local buthcer shop "Berlin Brothers"When I was young, me and my brothers would go to Pops bakery for cookies, then go up the street and hang out at Walters place "Mr Berlin"Walter was a very nice man, hard as nails though. If we cleaned his cutting board Walter gave us a chunck of salami for my mom to cook with.

These places are all but gone, except for the rare, but fine places.

Support the local guy/gal who is trying to keep the tradition alive.

Your post also makes me wonder how many know how to butcher meats in the old way.

[dano1]

These places are fading fast. People don't know-or don't want to know-where their food comes from. Support them now while the doors are still open.
FWIW i grew up and spent 20 years in another line of business that has very similar overtones to the foodservice industry. The mom & pops were were forced out by a natl chain or 2 depending on 1 or 2 wholesalers for product. Chains merged, mfgrs merged, wholesalers merged and everyones payin a lot more for less. Take a look at your pricing on non-food items from Sysco, US Foods, etc..not to mention reps who have no clue-this is what everyone else is using....and so on.
Enough of a rant, yes i do seek out regional suppliers who will work with me and give me fair pricing and SERVICE. I trust these folks not to screw me, if i got a wild hair for chanterelles at 3am my produce guy is there. I may ask a lot but they get my business and respect. Support your local guys, produce to meats to dry goods etc...or they won't be there for long.
danny

[coolJ]

We don't particularly have so called butcher shops here in town, there's one store that specializes in fresh meats and seafoods, and then there's the european deli and sausage place, other than that we just ( for home shopping ) buy our meat from the grocery store, my neighborhood grocery store has a really good meat dept. The staff have all been there for lik 25 years or something, and they'll take custom orders etc.. and they don't overcharge.