THE BEST: NYC Butcher

[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 September 11, 2009 by Aloha Steve (log)

[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).

[paulraphael]

Checking in after a few years. Jeffrey's is indeed gone. End of an era.

 

Mr. Silva, his #2 butcher, is working at Heritage Foods market, which opened up in Jeffreys' space at Essex St.. Their meat is very good, with an emphasis on meat of known provenance, especially Piedmontese. To my palate, the meat is similar qualitiy to Jeffrey's (unknown) meat, although they seem to do a more consistent job with the dry aging. Prices are higher than J's but still pretty good.

 

Silva tells me Jeffrey is working at a butcher shop somewhere in Brooklyn. I haven't been able to track him down. The outgoing message on his phone says "Do NOT leave a message."

 

Any other great finds in NYC meat?

[weinoo]

Heritage is my go-to in the neighborhood, Paul.  Otherwise, I'll schlep over to Bleecker St., where I still have the choice of Ottomanelli's (the original, I think) and Florence Meat Market right around the corner.

 

Fairway often runs specials on prime and/or aged cuts at outrageous prices.  And Whole Foods has good quality beef - just don't expect any "butchering."

[paulraphael]

Thanks Mitch. Those Bleecker butchers were my faves before discovering Jeffrey.

 

I'm going to snoop around and see what's available in Brooklyn. Food culture out here is in high gear, and there are a lot of artisinal butcheries. They lean in the direction of local beef, which has not made me real happy yet. I don't think New York State is great cow country.

Edited March 25, 2014 by paulraphael (log)

[paulraphael]

How about a reasonable source for veal knuckle bones and trimmings? Jefferey used get this for $1.50 something a pound. Now it seems like most shops price like a boutique item.

Edited May 4, 2014 by paulraphael (log)

[weinoo]

I stopped at Union Market last week.  They didn't have veal knuckle or bones, but they had beef marrow bones for about $3 a pound.

[paulraphael]

Ok, I have a new contender: Delapietra's Gourmet Meats, on Atlantic Ave. in Brooklyn Heights/downtown Brooklyn.

 

I called several shops, including Heritage Meats, Otomanelli & Sons, and Florence about dry aging a chuck roll for me. Everyone hemmed and hawed about it ... either they couldn't get the cut in the quality I wanted, or they had reasons (dubious) why it was a bad idea. Rob Delapietra said no problem, that they have prime chuck subprimals in all the time, and that they'd dry age any portion that I wanted for as long as I wanted. And when he found out my plan (steaks, sous-vided for 48 hours) he said "that's gonna be freakin' amazing."

 

I went in and discussed the options and the yield and everything else, and he cut for me while I watched. No charge for the aging (I payed up front for fresh weight) and he gave me a very friendly discount for buying a big piece.

 

The meat itself looked excellent ... not insanely well marbled but well above average. And the aging cabinet looks like a very clean, custom installation. Not just an improvised corner of the walk-in, which you see in a lot of shops.

 

They're about a 5 minute walk from the borough hall station, where quite a few trains stop. Definitely not the most convenient location for me, but reasonable for special purchases. I can't wait to try these steaks at the end of June.

[ED Rails-Steakhouse]

Thanks for the helpful information guys.  

[afoodaday]

Not a butcher but Grazin Angus Acres stanbd at the Union Square greenmarket has the best quality grass-fed beef and pasture-raised pork. The also have all kinds of cuts, bones as well as offal. I buy my meat there every weekend.

[weinoo]

For Eater, this is a good piece:

 

NYC - 8 Old Fashioned Butchers

[KennethT]

I think it's ridiculous that they didn't mention Ottomanelli (on Bleecker).

[weinoo]

Nor Florence, around the corner.

[weinoo]

I'm bringing this topic up, specifically so I can see what @paulraphael, or anyone else, has to say...

 

So - have you ever meat-shopped at a Union Market?  I stopped in to the store on Houston St. and Avenue A yesterday, to pick up some dried pasta - they carry a nice selection of pasta brands that are kinda hard to find anywhere else.  And when I passed the meat/butcher department, it didn't look bad; as a matter of fact, I made a  mental note to myself to maybe buy some beef or lamb here, to check it out. Reasonable prices,  some nice stuff.

 

Thoughts?

 

 

[paulraphael]

On 3/11/2018 at 9:42 AM, weinoo said:

I'm bringing this topic up, specifically so I can see what @paulraphael, or anyone else, has to say...

 

So - have you ever meat-shopped at a Union Market?  I stopped in to the store on Houston St. and Avenue A yesterday, to pick up some dried pasta - they carry a nice selection of pasta brands that are kinda hard to find anywhere else.  And when I passed the meat/butcher department, it didn't look bad; as a matter of fact, I made a  mental note to myself to maybe buy some beef or lamb here, to check it out. Reasonable prices,  some nice stuff.

 

Thoughts?

 

 

 

Nope, I don't even know the market. Please report back when you've tried it.