Looking for Good Butcher w/ High Quality Meat

[cityimrov]

I'm looking for a good butcher around town who sells high quality meat at a reasonable price.  Things like grass-fed free roaming beef and occasionally something extravagant like Kobe Beef.  Having it certified organic would be a plus but not required. 

For a good butcher, I would like someone who knows all the parts of an animal and can take special requests when I want meat cut a certain way.

[Garden guy]

Good luck..i know of the market in avondale off of park st but other than that...most butchers meat around here is below top grade...let us know what you find.

[Dog Walker]

I'm looking for a good butcher around town who sells high quality meat at a reasonable price.  Things like grass-fed free roaming beef and occasionally something extravagant like Kobe Beef.  Having it certified organic would be a plus but not required. 

For a good butcher, I would like someone who knows all the parts of an animal and can take special requests when I want meat cut a certain way.

City,  You REALLY don't want to eat Kobe beef.  I have, in Japan itself, and the stuff tastes like fatty cardboard.  Grass fed from the American West or Argentina is much, much tastier.

[Clem1029]

Not sure if it's what you're looking for, but anymore I tend to get all my meats from Tillman's on Old St. Augustine in the north end of Mandarin. Quality is great, and price is outstanding for what you get.

http://www.tillmansmeats.com/

[KenFSU]

If your reasons for looking for high quality meat are ethical, you really can't top Whole Foods. It's a bit of a hike out to Mandarin, but they are in the process of labeling all of their meats according to the below animal welfare scale. They have a ton of organic meats, and a ton of beef in the "4" category. No "5+" yet, but I was told last night it was coming. I could never realistically cut meat from my diet, but I would think that if the average person knew just how horrific, joyless and utterly unnatural the conditions are for animals in factory farms, and all the hormones, antibiotics, chemicals and potential contaminants the meat is exposed too, they would turn their backs on 95% of the crap they sell at the supermarkets.

[mtraininjax]

Personally, I'd go to your favorite restaurant and ask them to order it for you. They have the license and exposure to so much more than consumers. I'd go to Orsay, in Avondale and ask Crystal or Brian or even Jon Insetta, if he is there. Plus, they know the best people to order from, and you can't go wrong using their experience.

[David]

Resurrecting this thread for selfish purposes.  I've gotten into bbq'ing and smoking over the few months so i'm constantly searching all over town for places with decent meat at a good price.

I've used Tilman's a few times, and have been pretty happy with the results, but I am looking to for a few places that sell mid level quality beef/meat at a tolerable price. It doesn't always have to be the best quality, just as long as it hasn't been some of the awful fatty cuts i've tried out from Winn Dixie and Wal-Mart. (I knew wal-mart would be awful, I just wanted to see HOW awful)

Tilmans is good on quality but I dont always want  to spend 40 bucks for 6-7 lbs of brisket. Publix doesn't have a wide variety but the meats they do have are decent.

I heard Costco has a good selection and signed up but didn't dare try to shop there on a weekend day.

Also had a hard time finding a nice cut of beef ribs, may have to special order those.

As for the actual butcher shops all I can think of is Tilman's , Pinegrove & there's one on the Northside off Pearl st I believe.

[Bridges]

Funny, I was asking anyone who would listen this weekend about a good Butcher shop.  How is Pinegrove? 

Costco does actually have some good selections for a decent price. 

[blizz01]

Fleming Island Meats is good; I always like the quality @ Fresh Market & Whole Foods, too.

[aaapolito]

What about the New York Butcher Shoppe in PVB?

http://www.nybutcher.com/locations.aspx?pid=15-ponte-vedra-fl

I've never been there, but I have heard some good things. 

[coredumped]

Try carrolls, it's been around forever, everything is guaranteed
http://www.carrollsmeatshoppe.com/?noredirect

[MEGATRON]

Personally, I'd go to your favorite restaurant and ask them to order it for you. They have the license and exposure to so much more than consumers. I'd go to Orsay, in Avondale and ask Crystal or Brian or even Jon Insetta, if he is there. Plus, they know the best people to order from, and you can't go wrong using their experience.

I think they would have issues reselling like that.

[David]

Funny, I was asking anyone who would listen this weekend about a good Butcher shop.  How is Pinegrove? 

Costco does actually have some good selections for a decent price. 

I've only done Pinegrove for lunch and their aged smoke meats, haven't cooked anything from there yet.  Heard a few good things about Costco's selection so I signed up.

Now the NY Butcher Shoppe looks interesting, they have veal and lamb, those can be hard to find.  As for having a butchershop in every neighborhood, it looks like those days are over. (Probably because we can't resist places like Costco!)

Carroll's looks like it's worth checking out too, never been there.

[blfair]

I get most of my beef from these folks when they're at the Fernandina Farmer's Market:

http://www.deeprootsmeat.com/

Most other stuff is from whole foods. The southern raised bacon is outrageously good.

Costco's meat is beautiful, organic stuff is limited though (chicken and ground beef, not grass fed though).

[Debbie Thompson]

Carroll's is the one you were thinking of on Pearl Street.  It's up around Talllulah, in the 60's...63rd, 64th, somewhere around in there.   It's the original one.  I don't see it on the flyer for Lee's Carroll's so I wonder if he sold his other shops in town to someone else.