Chow Magazine Nov/Dec: Chicago Meat Markets

Recommended Chicago Meat Markets, page 76, Chow Magazine:

Paulina Market
Moo & Oink
Gepperth's Meat Market

There is a small informational paragraph after each mention. Not really worth quoting here.

Thoughts?

I stop in Moo & Oink now and again, more for the vibe than anything else, though I usually leave with some pork products. There's kind of a warehousey feel to this place, and I don't believe it's really in the same league as Paulina, but it's got a good selection of hot links and on their website, you can enjoy a cow and pig doing a jig.

Hammond

I think Paulina and Gepperth's are both pretty good. I have some problems with Paulina in particular, though. Although they sell prime, they can't, in my experience, cut it to order. That is, the prime meat they have is all pre-cut. You can't get a 2" thick bone-in prime ribeye, but you can get a 3/4" boneless prime ribeye if they have 'em. They can do custom cuts for their choice beef, and it's good choice, but still.

That being said, it's incredibly hard to find a butcher nowadays who sells prime at a reasonable cost and will cut it to order. That's what I really want.

On the other hand, the one time I asked about prime the guy immediately pointed out how well-marbled the choice was for about 60% of the price. You can't argue with service like that!

Anyone have any experience with Bornhofen's Meat Market on Broadway near Granville? Passed by it the other day but wasn't in a position where I could take a close look.

gleam wrote:
That being said, it's incredibly hard to find a butcher nowadays who sells prime at a reasonable cost and will cut it to order. That's what I really want.

Although I don't normally shop ther for meat, Fox & Obel will custom cut prime meat. They have done it for me in the past.

Bob S. wrote:Anyone have any experience with Bornhofen's Meat Market on Broadway near Granville? Passed by it the other day but wasn't in a position where I could take a close look.

I've only gone here a couple of times. I live in the neighborhood & don't go here nearly enough. They cut some really nice, thick pork chops for me once & the other couple of times I've gone in for coarse ground chuck and sausage. I asked one of they guys there & they said they get in prime beef from time to time and can get it if you call ahead.

stevez wrote:

gleam wrote:
That being said, it's incredibly hard to find a butcher nowadays who sells prime at a reasonable cost and will cut it to order. That's what I really want.

Although I don't normally shop ther for meat, Fox & Obel will custom cut prime meat. They have done it for me in the past.

Yeah, Fox and Obel is the main reason I inserted "reasonable cost" in there..

I don't expect a great deal on prime -- I'd be fine paying $20/lb -- but Fox and Obel charges a fair chunk more than that, if I remember correctly.

gleam wrote:I don't expect a great deal on prime -- I'd be fine paying $20/lb -- but Fox and Obel charges a fair chunk more than that, if I remember correctly.

Depends on the cut and the aging. You can get prime ribeye steaks there for under $20/lb, and they will cut them to order if you ask.

viaChgo wrote:

Bob S. wrote:Anyone have any experience with Bornhofen's Meat Market on Broadway near Granville? Passed by it the other day but wasn't in a position where I could take a close look.

I've only gone here a couple of times. I live in the neighborhood & don't go here nearly enough. They cut some really nice, thick pork chops for me once & the other couple of times I've gone in for coarse ground chuck and sausage. I asked one of they guys there & they said they get in prime beef from time to time and can get it if you call ahead.

Thanks for the info, viaChgo. I'm about as happy as anyone could be with the Paulina Market, but I do like supporting the neighborhood too. I'll try to check it out soon.

Bob S. wrote:Anyone have any experience with Bornhofen's Meat Market on Broadway near Granville? Passed by it the other day but wasn't in a position where I could take a close look.

I lived in that neighborhood for years and always went to see Frank and the guys at Bornhofen's. I still go back. It's just me and Mrs. Kman and she doesn't eat meat so it was a welcome treat that they were always willing to custom-cut any meat to any size that I needed. Sometimes you feel like a roast but don't have guests and don't want a month's worth of leftovers - no problem at Bornhofen's.

I like Moo & Oink - which was one of the first groceries that I visited when I relocated to the Chicagoland area. Pretty good meat for the money and they carry a lot of the soul food specialties like Glory Food products, spices, greens at a reasonable price ... and some pretty fine chitlins ...

Surprisingly, no one has yet mentioned Peoria Packing...a palace stacked floor to ceiling with meat. Or Chicago Meat, an Hispanic style/Greek owned meat emporium on the Northwest side.

jlawrence01 wrote:I like Moo & Oink - which was one of the first groceries that I visited when I relocated to the Chicagoland area. Pretty good meat for the money and they carry a lot of the soul food specialties like Glory Food products, spices, greens at a reasonable price ... and some pretty fine chitlins ...

Indeed. At one time Moo & Oink advertised themselves as home of “The Cleanest 'lil Chitlin in America. So clean, they cook in half the time.” I’m a fan of Moo & Oink too.

I was surprised to see some Moo and Oink products at my local Cub food store...boxes of links and rib tips among other things

Bob S. wrote:Anyone have any experience with Bornhofen's Meat Market on Broadway near Granville? Passed by it the other day but wasn't in a position where I could take a close look.

Great experience. Just went in there today for the first time. Can't wait to go back.