Why My Butcher May Like Me Better Than His Other Customers

[RawZi]

    Does your butcher where you shop seem to give you special attention?  I bet many of you have stories or anecdotes why your butcher may like you better that he likes the others.

    Here's mine:
My butcher says he's only eaten vegan foods, worn, vegan clothes, and bought vegan products for over a decade.  He seemed (and seems) to really appreciate dealing with me, more than with other customers, and now I think that's why.  I didn't have any idea why before.  I have always asked a lot of questions about how the animals were raised etc.  He says he's a butcher cause it pays a lot better than produce, otherwise that's what he would prefer.  He says he's only been butcher a few years.  Wow, I had no idea a veg would work at a butcher place cutting meat, anyway.  I was offered free butcher training as a teen myself, but I said no cause I couldn't stomach the idea nor wrap my head around it at the time (I was veg).  So, my butcher likes me better cause I ask how the animals were during their lives before I think about buying, and choose their most humanely husbanded meats.

    My old butcher place I shopped at, the butcher liked that I ate raw (and told other butchers etc), but this one I shop at now has a bigger meat counter and more (non-frozen) marrow bones.  You have to choose where the goods are.

    Why does your butcher like you in addition just that you are a shopper? 
 

[RawZi]

    He did try to talk me into raw veganism (I had not asked for that), upon which I offered (without his asking) that when he needs to eat meat, I can help him understand it raw and that it often greatly reduces how much someone has to eat.  He seemed happy enough with that.  He can tell I know meat.  His co-butchers are impressed with my meat talk too.

[yon yonson]

one of the butchers at whole foods asked me once if i have ever eaten the grass fed beef or lamb raw. i just smiled and said 'yes, i have'. haha, apparently he eats it raw pretty often too, but i haven't gotten around to telling him that's all i eat. i just prefer not to mess with a good situation. this whole foods provides the vast majority of my meat and gives me free fat. if one of his fellow butchers gets privy to my raw diet, it might get weird and uncomfortable. they already refer to me as their 'best grass fed customer'

[TylerDurden]

Never ever tell butchers/farmers what diet you are eating. Some won't blink an eye over the issue, while others will just feel really weirded out and pretend they don't have anything available the next time you order, out of concern for your health/fear of litigation etc.. Even asking for unusual types of organ-meats like raw lung is not really a good idea. If I'm asked I'll just reply that I'm doing a palaeolithic diet, and keep it vague. I used to try to be clever, here and there, and, when being asked how I cooked my meats, reply that I always ate it raw, but I found it's best to be discreet.

[djr_81]

My butchers love me.
I'm far and away their biggest grassfed customer as I buy a primal chuck cut every other week when they get it in.
I told them outright the very first time I bought there that I eat it raw. They were perfectly fine with it and even expressed interest in doing it themselves. As far as I know none of them have though.
I also spoke to the head of the meat department on the phone today to really instill the importance that the grassfed I get is true grassfed as any grains will upset my body ( a la the meat I ot 2 weeks ago). He's just as concerned that his grassfed meat is truly 100% grassfed. He was a bit pissed off that the other vendor they used would sell him lesser meat at the grassfed price but thanked me for the feedback and asked that I call and speak with him directly if I ever have problems with the meat in the future. He's also giving me a discount on this weeks order as a result.

[RawZi]

Never ever tell butchers/farmers what diet you are eating. Some won't blink an eye over the issue, while others will just feel really weirded out and pretend they don't have anything available the next time you order, out of concern for your health/fear ... I found it's best to be discreet.

    When it comes to meat, so far, I have better luck in person.  I have mail ordered meat, but when asking for special cuts, as you say, they have gotten weirded out.  Also, they may think nothing of freezing the meat first without letting you know.  It's harder when you don't see the meat.  It could all be because I'm a woman, not a man.  I realize appearances can get people treated differently in any situation.

[extralizard13]

one of the butchers at whole foods asked me once if i have ever eaten the grass fed beef or lamb raw. i just smiled and said 'yes, i have'. haha, apparently he eats it raw pretty often too, but i haven't gotten around to telling him that's all i eat. i just prefer not to mess with a good situation. this whole foods provides the vast majority of my meat and gives me free fat. if one of his fellow butchers gets privy to my raw diet, it might get weird and uncomfortable. they already refer to me as their 'best grass fed customer'

How is Whole Foods with prices? I live in the Balto-DC area of Maryland, so there's a lot of Whole Foods (as well as Trader Joes and Asian markets), but have assumed it'd be too expensive to pick up meats there.

[yon yonson]

my whole foods in austin, tx sells really good quality grass fed fatty brisket for 4.99 a pound and some other leaner cuts for 6.99 a pound. i get marrow bones for 2.99 a pound and i get suet and hide fat for free. this is very cheap in my opinion. however, in the whole foods i've been to outside of austin (where whole foods began) are more expensive. the ones in portland, oregon and san diego, california both had grass fed beef for 7.99 a pound minimum. and it wasn't as good quality. if i were you i'd check it out though. they might have cheap stuff.

note: i only buy meat there, everything else is way too expensive (ie. produce and seafood)

[RawZi]

How is Whole Foods with prices?

    WF is expensive, but so are the little health food stores that carry meat, if not more.

[PaleoPhil]

my whole foods in austin, tx sells really good quality grass fed fatty brisket for 4.99 a pound and some other leaner cuts for 6.99 a pound. i get marrow bones for 2.99 a pound and i get suet and hide fat for free. ...

is the fat grassfed?

[yon yonson]

yep! pretty awesome right? they just throw it away unless i ask for it

[PaleoPhil]

yep! pretty awesome right? they just throw it away unless i ask for it

What the hell? Who does that? Where?

[RawZi]

Who does that? Where?

    They told me that a while back at my WF too, that if I'm there before ten in the morning, I can catch them before they throw away the fat, that they'll give it to me free.

[yon yonson]

ya i have to either call them in the morning and tell them to save me some or go there early when they're trimming the grass fed cuts. we have a huge meat department. austin's whole foods is the biggest in the world. i guess im lucky

[PaleoPhil]

Yeah, you folks are lucky. We don't even have a WF or anything that size in our area. Just small, expensive health food markets and a lousy farmer's market that has almost no meat beyond chickens and cooked hamburgers and no seafood or wild meats. I don't mind paying 99 cents/lb for the fat at the local markets, though, in support of local business.