34 replies to this topic

[ngatti]

Someone asked me this weekend if there were any good butcher shops in northeast Bergen County.  She expressed dissatisfaction with T&A (local butcher shop in the Englewood Tenafly area).  I don't know T&A and am not qualified to post pro or con.

Evidently what I could gather was that she wanted 'restaurant quality type beef, lamb and veal.  She lamented the fact that many butcher shops were no better than the local Kings supermarket meat department (not too shabby IMO) and was looking for a shop that could do a 6-bone rack of Plume de Veau type of thing or steaks of a certain weight cut from a prime dry-aged strip or lamb loin chops of a certain trim level.

Anyhoo.  I know a fair amount about meat but my knowledge is woefully inadequate about where to buy it at retail.  Any tips or suggestions that I could pass on would be greatly appreciated.

Nick

[Rosie]

The Market Basket is an upscale food market in Franklin Lakes.

[tommy]

The Market Basket is an upscale food market in Franklin Lakes.

i second that emotion.  although, i haven't noticed much "one-on-one" btwn customer and butcher.  their smaller store, which is in, ummm, i'm not sure, provides a more personal touch, but probably isn't as well stocked.

[Courtzzz]

I haven't been there in a while but we have had some good meat from the fairway Market in Ft.Lee

[TheBoatMan]

I haven't been there in a while but we have had some good meat from the fairway Market in Ft.Lee

I haven’t been to the fairway market in over a year, but they used to sell aged strip steaks, which were fantastic.  Don't confuse them with the regular strip steaks they sell.  I found the butchers to be very friendly and if you called ahead they would french racks of lamb, veal or pork at no additional charge.  Your friend may want to give the Fairway Market a try.

I used to buy my meat from Kings quite religiously but in recent years have found the quality of their meat to be sinking and their prices rising.  In my opinion it’s not worth the premium.

In my quest for a great retail steak I got spoiled and now buy meat in the city from either the Homestead or on real special occasions from Lobels.  I know this is a NJ forum but if she wants the absolute best tell her to check out Lobels in NYC.  It’s on Madison Ave. in the 50’s and you can get there and back to NJ quite fast.  They have a website at http://www.lobels.com

I also have been disappointed with the quality of retail meat available in NJ.  I hope some other member’s post some places to try that I have missed.

[Rachel Perlow]

I've been to T&A and concur. It's OK, but not great. What about Jerry's in Englewood? I'm not sure, I know they have salumeria, do they have a butcher?

[shugga]

I don't think Jerry's has a butcher shop.
I have not been to Fairway in a while, but it used to be excellent.
I purchase my turkey at Thanksgiving from a small butcher shop in New Milford.  It is on the corner of The Blvd. and I don't remember the other street, but it is in the little strip mall with Big Jim's Pizza.  Across the street from the 7-11.

[ngatti]

I purchase my turkey at Thanksgiving from a small butcher shop in New Milford.  It is on the corner of The Blvd. and I don't remember the other street, but it is in the little strip mall with Big Jim's Pizza.  Across the street from the 7-11.

Thanks shugga.  That's United Meat.  I sent her there as it was the first thing that came to mind.  I must pass it several times a week, though I've never been inside.

I haven’t been to the fairway market in over a year, but they used to sell aged strip steaks, which were fantastic.  Don't confuse them with the regular strip steaks they sell.  I found the butchers to be very friendly and if you called ahead they would french racks of lamb, veal or pork at no additional charge.  Your friend may want to give the Fairway Market a try.

Courtzzz and TheBoatMan,
This sounds promising.  I'll certainly make that recommendation. Twenty years in the food business in Bergen County and I've never been inside Fairway.  For shame Nick.

TheBoatMan,
I spoke to my meat guy in Passaic and he also recommended Lobels.  I'll make the suggesstion, but I don't think she wants to travel to NYC.

Tommy and Rosie,
Thanks for the suggestion.  Though I wouldn't have any problem with Market Basket, I think Franklin Lakes is prolly too far for this lady to travel.  But I'll tell her.  It sounds worthwhile.

Thanks all.  You've given me plenty to work with.  You'll all get credit, but I'm keeping the grat  


Thanx
Nick

[lorib]

We've always been able to get terrific meat/poultry at Wegman's (one of the best turkeys I ever ate actually)
It's probably too far for anyone in Bergen, but if you are down this way, it's definately worth it!

[coif]

Kocher's on Bergen Blvd in Ridgefield is the best butcher shop I have ever seen. coif

[kelly]

I purchase my turkey at Thanksgiving from a small butcher shop in New Milford.  It is on the corner of The Blvd. and I don't remember the other street, but it is in the little strip mall with Big Jim's Pizza.  Across the street from the 7-11.

That's the corner of Boulevard and Main Street in New Milford. The butchers are nice and will special order items.
They are also advertising home made breakfast sausage, I 'm planning to try that out.

United Meat Market
285 Main Street
New MIlford (next to Haworth,dumont and oradell)
201 265-6530
I think they deliver.

[tommy]

the Market Basket is selling prime dry-aged t-bone/porterhouse for something silly like 13.99/lb. i cooked some up last weekend (when they were 15.99/lb) and they were delicious.

the man tells me they're dry aging these things for 4 to 6 weeks. i really don't understand the aging process all that much, but i know that 21-28 days seems to be standard. regardless, if they get darker as they get older, you can pick out a slightly less-aged piece by looking at them in the case. i went for the darkest steaks, and they were intense.

Edited by tommy, 28 February 2004 - 02:40 PM.

[jtphjl]

The Swiss Pork Store in the Radburn Section of Fair Lawn - Fair Lawn Avenue.
Beautiful selections beef and pork - old time service, fair prices.

There has been a lot of talk about the German butcher from the former Tices Farm coming to Ridgewood, but nothing beats the service and attention to detail at the Swiss Pork Store.

[zeman]

The Ridgewood Butcher on Godwin ave. is a pretty good spot and they're open on Sunday.

[Tracy K.]

I heartily recommend Tony's Quality Meats in Wyckoff (637 Wyckoff Avenue)...well worth the trip up 208

[tommy]

the market basket is doing prime boneless sirloin for 6.99/lb this week.

dry-aged t-bone/porterhouse at 16.99/lb.

[Hank]

Tommy, that must be a typo either on their part or yours. Even $16.99 for prime boneless sirloin is a huge bargain. Spent 38 years in that business before retiring and still follow it very closely.
For my money, in this area Kocher's on Bergen Blvd. in Ridgefield has the finest of prime meats and meat products. Has been there for many years and has never waivered from selling only the best beef they could buy and that also goes for their veal, lamb and pork. Ofcourse it all comes at a price but if you can afford the best then go for it.

[tommy]

no typo, hank.

i'm not sure it's the top-of-the-line prime sirloin, but at 7 bucks a pound you can bet your ass i'm going to find out tonight.

i called the MB and asked the butcher how much they were selling prime boneless sirloin steaks for. he said "6.99/lb". i said "really, you're *giving* it away". he didn't hesitate and said "always...you know the market basket."

and there you have it.

Edited by tommy, 31 August 2004 - 12:34 PM.

[Hank]

Tommy, you're old enough to know that if it is too good to be true it isn't. I just made a quick call to my friend and the wholesale price for this "TRUE" cut is better than $12.00. Add on delivery charges, shrinkage, labor and etc. and this store is losing almost $20.00 a lb. No way Jose. Maybe they are selling choice boneless top butt, and even that is a bargain. So, have your teeth sharpened before you dig in. I only wish that I could see a picture of the cut they are selling you. I will lay 38 successful years on the line that it is not real sirloin steak.

[tommy]

Tommy, you're old enough to know that if it is too good to be true it isn't. I just made a quick call to my friend and the wholesale price for this "TRUE" cut is better than $12.00. Add on delivery charges, shrinkage, labor and etc. and this store is losing almost $20.00 a lb. No way Jose. Maybe they are selling choice boneless top butt, and even that is a bargain. So, have your teeth sharpened before you dig in. I only wish that I could see a picture of the cut they are selling you. I will lay 38 successful years on the line that it is not real sirloin steak.

i'll post a picture and a full report.

[wfnugent]

Tommy is just fishing for compliments about his meat.

My wife stopped at MB yesterday - the steaks were 6.99 per and they were delicious.

(T - Seeing KP for lunch tomorrow BTW)

[roverinexile]

Given that we seem to have some meat experts on here, does anyone know anywhere in the north NJ area that I could buy a loin of pork with the skin on (the way us British cook it!) or for that matter strips of belly pork? I keep coming up blank and the only place I've found to date is by mail order (www.britishbacon.com). Also, what about getting bones for making beef stock?

Any advice would be much appreciated.

[tommy]

good question rover. i'd be interested in some pork with a thick skin on it as well.

anyway, i got the Market Basket steak. i'll say that it wasn't pretty. however, it was 6.99/lb.

i don't have the inclination to resize them, so links will have to suffice: (maximize your browser to enlarge the pics if desired)
pic 1
pic 2
pic 3
pic 4
pic 5
pic 6

as you can see in pic 5, there was a bit of connective tissue running through the meat. pic 6 shows the larger part of the cut, which seemed a bit better.

flavor-wise, the steak had good flavor. the fact that it was almost 2 inches thick made cooking a breeze. it got a nice char, which is obvious in those pics.

the piece was 2 lbs, so that was 12 dollars. if i were on a budget, i'd certainly consider this cut for grilling. however, it was a *little* too chewy at points for me, so i'll probably skip it next time. perhaps it would be worth grinding or braising or something else.

now i'm going to cook the 12.99/lb shell steaks that i picked up just in case this sucked.

Edited by tommy, 31 August 2004 - 04:56 PM.

[adegiulio]

now i'm going to cook the 12.99/lb shell steaks that i picked up just in case this sucked.

Dude, were we separated at birth or something? That is exactly the type of thing i would do.

[tommy]

now i'm going to cook the 12.99/lb shell steaks that i picked up just in case this sucked. 

Dude, were we separated at birth or something? That is exactly the type of thing i would do.

i think in total i spent 70 dollars on steak tonight. for one meal. i can really sniff out a deal.

[adegiulio]

For 70 bucks, you could almost buy 1 16oz Wagyu strip from this Allen Brothers catalog I got in the mail today. 4-16oz strips are $339.95. Ouch. I like wasting money on food, but that is crazy.

So, who is up for a Wagyu-Whole Foods strip steak-Omaha steak comparo? Actually, it might be a fun idea...

A

[Hank]

Hi Tommy, Just got home from a late dinner. Thanks for the pictures. You got exactly what I told you earlier. Retail they call this cut top sirloin while in the trade we called it top butt. It is actually a boneless hip. It is used mainly for a cheaper roast beef. Sliced real thin on a slicing machine it can be just okay but it is really a terrible cut for steak and should not be sold for that. Also, it does not look like prime meat to me though it is not fair of me to make that judgement from a photo. When I looked back at their ad I did notice that they said sirloin steak and not sirloin strip which makes a big difference. Again my friend, you get what you pay for. For your information the cheapest PRIME sirloin strip steaks I have seen lately was $21.00 at Fairway on 125th St. Anything less has to be choice or lower.

[tommy]

thanks for that info, hank.

as soon as i saw them i knew it wasn't a "sirlion steak" as i'm used to seeing them. i figured it came from a funny part of the animal, but in a way that it could be called "sirloin".

i'm sure they played games with the naming, as the convention is so butchered (ha ha) to begin with. i doubt, however, that they'd sell choice as prime. it might be low-grade prime, but i have to think it was prime.

regardless, the prime shell steaks were very good. and the choice t-bone from Stop and Shop (4.99/lb) wasn't that bad at all either.

[tommy]

So, who is up for a Wagyu-Whole Foods strip steak-Omaha steak comparo? Actually, it might be a fun idea...

supply a source of heat and i'm in.

[adegiulio]

Well, I have Mr. Weber kettle and a sack of hardwood charcoal on my deck...the only downside is you would have to eat at my place