86 replies to this topic

[emsny]

Note that Oppenheimer - much spoken of up-thread - is now closed.

[Pan]

Note that Oppenheimer - much spoken of up-thread - is now closed.

Yeah. I was surprised to see that. My family patronized them since I was a little boy, if not before. Do you know what happened? Just too much of a rent hike?

[emsny]

Sorry, no idea what happened with Oppenheimer. We don't live in that neighborhood but happened to be walking up there a weekend or two ago and saw the place shuttered.

[slkinsey]

Michael guessed it: Ridiculous rent hike. This is something that I have been seeing quite a bit on the 90th-to-110th Street stretch of Broadway. Businesses of long standing forced to vacate by greedy landlords, or buildings knocked down and replaced with new construction, which storefronts stand vacant for months or years due to a lack of tenants willing to pay the landlord's rate. I note that the old Oppenheimer space has been vacant for some six months...

[mikeycook]

Preet Baba made the statement on the "Omaha Steaks" thread in "General" that Lobel's is in a class by itself when it comes to butchers. He was specifically referring to steaks.<p>Anybody got a potential challenger to Lobel's in the steak arena? What about for other butchering needs? What's your favorite?

Had my first Lobel's over Christmas, a 10lb standing rib roast (USDA Prime). Hands down the best. If only I can afford to keep shopping there.

[weinoo]

Another reason why many like Jeffrey's Meat Market in the Essex St. Market is his compassion for his customers.

Due to the hardships facing many of his customers, Jeffrey has decided to go a bit further than perhaps Lobel, Oppenheimer or Ottomanelli have ever dreamed of.

Ruhalter persuaded other food providers to join him in donating gourmet eats to give 115 struggling couples a near-free, sumptuous meal.

Called Jeffrey's Recession Dinner, the meals - complete with a New York strip steak, grilled vegetables, gourmet cheese and decadent cupcakes - will be served to about half the couples at the Essex restaurant on March 31 and at Thor Restaurant on April 1 to the other half.

The full story, from the NY Daily News, may be read by clicking here.

[NY_Amateur]

Another reason why many like Jeffrey's Meat Market in the Essex St. Market is his compassion for his customers.

Due to the hardships facing many of his customers, Jeffrey has decided to go a bit further than perhaps Lobel, Oppenheimer or Ottomanelli have ever dreamed of.

Ruhalter persuaded other food providers to join him in donating gourmet eats to give 115 struggling couples a near-free, sumptuous meal.

Called Jeffrey's Recession Dinner, the meals - complete with a New York strip steak, grilled vegetables, gourmet cheese and decadent cupcakes - will be served to about half the couples at the Essex restaurant on March 31 and at Thor Restaurant on April 1 to the other half.

The full story, from the NY Daily News, may be read by clicking here.

wow that's pretty over the top, good for him. one more reason I am so glad to live in the LES.

[weinoo]

Well, Jeffrey does it again. Today, a really nice piece in the NY Times about Jeffrey, the philosophising butcher.

Epistemology had Socrates, and religion had Aquinas, but the great philosopher of the meat purveying business may be Mr. Ruhalter, an advocate for decency in eating and a fourth-generation butcher who construes his occupation in almost Platonic terms.

Full article here.

[David A. Goldfarb]

On the way home from the Union Square Greenmarket I visited Japan Premium Beef, the new washugyu beef source on 57 Great Jones St. about two or three blocks east of Broadway today. The NYT had a short writeup on the shop and what they sell--

http://www.nytimes.c...ng/10Jbeef.html

--which is wet aged wagyu/Angus beef from a ranch in Oregon, sold from a pristine white modern storefront by butchers who present themselves more like waiters in an upscale restaurant or maybe retail jewelers than butchers. They don't have to do much butchering, since they are working mainly with sub-primals that have been prepared and cryovac packed for them, so unusual cuts may not be available.

I got an 18 ounce New York strip steak, or a shell steak as New Yorkers call it, for my wife and myself--



Every order comes with a small wrapped cube of fat for melting in a pan or for oiling the grill. The steak I got wasn't as extraordinarily marbled as some wagyu I've seen, but the beef is well marbled and incredibly soft--



I only needed a bit of fat to oil the cast iron grill pan, which I took from the steak itself, so I rendered the extra fat cube in another cast iron pan and used it to coat some "La Ratte" fingerling potatoes and nugget carrots from Paffenroth Farms for roasting in a 425F oven for about 40 minutes--



I didn't even use salt on the roasted vegetables, and they were very tasty.

I cooked the steak with some sea salt and black pepper to about 110F internal temperature, a bit rarer than I normally would, about 4-5 minutes on a side, and let it rest for ten minutes before slicing and served it with a little garlic confit and chopped parsley--



I also made a small salad with local tomatoes and Boston lettuce, and from the Greenmarket I picked up a bottle of the 2007 Martini-Reinhart Selection Cabernet Franc from Anthony Road Wines in Penn Yan, New York, which is one of the better Finger Lakes wines I've sampled.

Going extra rare was a good move with this beef. It had an earthy flavor, more like grass-fed beef, but not lean and chewy as grass-fed beef can often be. I tried the standard USDA Prime porterhouse from Lobel's about a year ago, which is about the same price, similarly soft, a bit more marbled, and I preferred the flavor of the washugyu.

Edited by David A. Goldfarb, 22 August 2009 - 09:47 PM.

[weinoo]

Going extra rare was a good move with this beef.  It had an earthy flavor, more like grass-fed beef, but not lean and chewy as grass-fed beef can often be.  I tried the standard USDA Prime porterhouse from Lobel's about a year ago, which is about the same price, similarly soft, a bit more marbled, and I preferred the flavor of the washugyu.

Have you ever tried a "regular" aged steak from Jeffrey at about 1/2 of the price?

[David A. Goldfarb]

Have you ever tried a "regular" aged steak from Jeffrey at about 1/2 of the price?

Not yet, but I've been meaning to. The reason I tried Lobel's actually was that my father had ordered a gift certificate for my birthday. Lobel's isn't in a neighborhood that I pass through often, so it sat on my desk for about a year before I finally made it over there. Jeffrey's is an easy subway ride from where I live now in Queens, but I'm usually rushing to transfer between the M and the F trains at Essex & Delancey.

[paulraphael]

Jeffrey's regular aged beef in completely off the hook. If he had the reputation and could handle the volume I think he'd steal all of Lobels' customers.

For grass fed beef, he's going to be the only distributor in the region for Hearst Ranch, in Southern California.

Here's something to consider with grass fed beef from northern climes: much of the year there is no green grass. In some cases the cattle get fed grass silage in the off season, but mostly they get hay. Hay gives neither the marbling of grain nor the flavor of grass ... in a sense it's the worst of both worlds. This is why there's so much expensive but mediocre beef in places like the farmers' markets in NYC.

I've had a sample of the Hearst beef. It's excellent. Being a marbling guy, I was skeptical, but both the texture and flavor were nice. An interesting alternative to the grain finished meat.

[Aloha Steve]

Note that Oppenheimer - much spoken of up-thread - is now closed.

Their website is still up. Are you sure ?

[Pan]

Note that Oppenheimer - much spoken of up-thread - is now closed.

Their website is still up. Are you sure ?

Yes. I've walked past their closed store many times.

[Aloha Steve]

Note that Oppenheimer - much spoken of up-thread - is now closed.

Their website is still up. Are you sure ?

I emailed the address given on the website, here is a copy:
Subject: Inquiery
Date: August 27, 2009 8:50:49 AM HST
To: bob@oppenheimermeats.com

Hello, are you folks re=opened now ?

thanks,

steve

The reply I received is:

"We are looking for space now."

[Aloha Steve]

I may not be able to afford to heat my oven, but my freezer is well stocked as I have taken the plunge and ordered a pretty fair share of meat from Lobel's.
The two different cuts I've tried so far, were absolutely top shelve in the taste department. I have a whole leg of lamb getting ready to be roasted this weekend (am searching for a recipe to do that bad boy justice)

Customer service is excellent. Ordered Tuesday night HI time and was in my hands Thursday at 10:30 AM.
One of the cuts received, I felt was not as advertised. I wrote customer service, I was responded to within 24 hours......was asked a few questions and for the photos I had (I had taken a few of my concern)......long story shortened, Evan Lobel, personally called me (lesson to self) result... a very happy ending

I can only say that I hope my customers feel as good about doing business with my company as I do with Lobel's.
I am looking forward to putting my next order in.

Edited by Aloha Steve, 11 September 2009 - 12:43 AM.

[Wayne K]

A lot of the talk seems to be about beef in Manhattan, I was wondering if anybody had a good spot to get pork in Brooklyn? I just got Chang's Momofuku book for the holidays, and it looks like I'm going to be needing a lot of belly the next few months.

Also was wondering, in a pretty related note, if anybody has been to The Meat Hook yet?

Thanks.

[weinoo]

City Room in today's NY Times is about my favorite butcher, Jeffrey's Meat Market in the Essex Street Market. Jeffrey's is the only original tenant left in the Market. He's had a tough couple of years, suffering along with everyone else in the down economy, but it reads like he's bouncing back a bit.

Guaranteed you won't find a friendlier or more helpful butcher anywhere. Or a better value on some good quality meat and poultry. Click here for the whole article.

[David A. Goldfarb]

A lot of the talk seems to be about beef in Manhattan, I was wondering if anybody had a good spot to get pork in Brooklyn? I just got Chang's Momofuku book for the holidays, and it looks like I'm going to be needing a lot of belly the next few months.

Also was wondering, in a pretty related note, if anybody has been to The Meat Hook yet?

Thanks.

You've probably found your belly sometime in the past year, but since no one has responded, The Meat Hook is an excellent place. They have a great selection of heritage and naturally raised meats, and they know what they're doing. It's not cheap, but if you ask for a belly for pancetta, say, Tom Mylan will cut it, so that it rolls up perfectly, and it's not cheap, but you won't pay for the trimmings, which will probably find their way into their house made sausages.

[juuceman]

Los Paisanos, on Smith Street in downtown Brooklyn, sells a ton of pork. Great guys, the have a pretty wide delivery zone as well.

[patrickamory]

Florence and Ottomanelli (on Bleecker St. - no relation to the uptown branches) are both excellent. Superb in fact. I find myself at Ottomanelli more frequently - they're bigger and the guys are just about the sweetest, most knowledgeable butchers in the city.

I only went to Lobel's once and got a very unremarkable ribeye for about three times the price of the downtown butchers. I'd have no problem paying that much if it were even twice as good - but it had little marbling, mustiness or character - a completely ordinary piece of meat.

Ottomanelli for the win!

[paulraphael]

Please help Jeffrey. He's possibly the best, definitely the most awesome. He's got big financial troubles and if you don't spread the word and shop from him he may be gone for good.

[patrickamory]

Wow, I wasn't aware of him. But I definitely support Essex Market and have signed the petition to stop the city from moving it. I intend to stop by Jeffrey's tomorrow.

[paulraphael]

Wow, I wasn't aware of him. But I definitely support Essex Market and have signed the petition to stop the city from moving it. I intend to stop by Jeffrey's tomorrow.

Thanks for the heads up about the petition. If anyone else wants to sign, it's here.

[weinoo]

Even with some community help, it appears as if Jeffrey's has had to close, at least temporarily. This is a big loss for the community, for the market, and for selfishly, me.

Click here for Jeffrey's letter to the community at large.

[Rafa]

Reviving an old thread. I haven't shopped around enough to know 'best,' but I've been making burgers for a while know with Ottomanelli's 1/2 pound steak patties, and they're absurdly good, some of the best I've eaten in the city, almost entirely because of the meat. I live in Woodside, Queens so I have an Ottomanelli's nearby, but they've got a few locations in Manhattan and based on the quality of the Woodside one I highly recommend them.

[patrickamory]

Rafa, I don't think the multiple locations are related anymore (they're people from the same family, but they are completely separate businesses, sourced differently, etc.) If I'm wrong, someone please correct me.

 

I love the Ottomanelli's on Bleecker, as posted up-thread - they are a proper old-school butcher with very reasonable prices, fantastic meat, and they'll do just about anything for you.

 

Recently, I've also been buying from the meat counter at Eataly, which is superb. Prices are much higher of course, but some items like the aged bone-in shell are just fantastic ($26.80/lb). We've also had goat ribs from there, and it's our usual source of pork belly ($8/lb). The ground beef and ground pork are excellent, though it was not ground to order as it would be at Ottomanelli or East Village Meat Market - they might do it for you if you asked.

 

They have amazing looking ground lamb which I might try in a bit. (I don't have a meat grinder at home, though I do use the food processor freeze/pulse method sometimes - it's good but different).