albertan meat in calgary... - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

jofillips · 06-03-2008, 04:12 AM

hi there,
as most people here know, albertan beef is some of the best in the world and locals are rightfully proud of this.

What I wanted to find out is if there are any good butchers in calgary selling the finest albertan beef and all the different cuts? or does everyone buy their 'pink' beef from the supermarket?

I've been thinking for a while now of setting up a shop in the kensington area (first location that came to my head) to sell the best quality beef (and other meat) where people will know where i've sourced it from and the quality of it.

I just have a very strong feeling calgarians would love to buy their albertan steaks and joints after they have been hung for over 3 weeks and gone purple/burgundy in colour!!

Ducay · 06-03-2008, 05:09 AM

It would be a good idea, I would love to be able to buy some great beef that I know is Albertan. Only issue is, I dont know how much people will be willing to pay extra to know that.
Dont some of the supermarkets in Calgary advertise alberta beef?

jofillips · 06-03-2008, 05:49 AM

yes albertan beef is in the supermarkets but thats all you get to know(apart from the double A rating).

Thats a great point ducay - how much would people be willing to pay for great steak?
in my opinion an extra 3 or 4 dollars per kilo would be fine, but would calgarians pay that?

sadora · 06-03-2008, 06:19 AM

I would be willing to pay that little bit extra for good quality beef products. You should check out Andy's Family Meats on Mcleod Tr & Master Meats in the NW to see what they do. I don't know if Kensington is really your best option for a location because if people in that area are really that interested in getting a specialty cut of meat they can just call up to Sait to see what their culinary students are working with in the butcher shop, and get a really cheap prize.

wpgflamesfan · 06-03-2008, 06:24 AM

kind of related to the topic but does anyone know where to get prime graded beef anywhere in Alberta

sadora · 06-03-2008, 07:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wpgflamesfan

kind of related to the topic but does anyone know where to get prime graded beef anywhere in Alberta

Most Canada Prime is sold to restaurants so your best bet would be to contact someone at Bridge Brand. Some of the local butcheries might carry it, but you're most likely to find Canada AAA or AA grades. I'm sure that if they don't have it they will be able to get it for you granted you're willing to pay for a huge chunk of it and not just for a few steaks.

Table 5 · 06-03-2008, 08:07 AM

if there was a butcher that would offer customers canadian prime beef, Im sure there would be demand for it. There might already be a place like that, but with the high disposable income, and general love of meat, I'm sure you would have the chance of good success. Well as long as your customer service would be high...something that is sorely lacking in Calgary these days.

Boblobla · 06-03-2008, 08:14 AM

Someone already mentioned it but I love the butchers at SAIT. Very cheap cuts since they are not allowed to make profit on it because the students were not paid.

jofillips · 06-03-2008, 08:27 AM

sadora - i've driven past both of those places before but never went in, they're pretty big aren't they?
kensington appealed to me first off because i feel a butchers shop would work better with other shops in the vicinity and where people walk to and fro quite a bit.

table5 - yup, customer service would have to be a priority with a classic-style butcher where i plan to sell a good range of cuts/meats.

One thing that struck me was chatting with my in-laws who are cattle farmers from strathmore/rockyford area and they were saying that a LOT of the cuts from the UK/europe are only used as minced meat/hamburger in canada - ie the brisket, shin etc. Even though these are the tastiest cuts when cooked properly - oh plus they're a quarter of the price of steak.

BuzzardsWife · 06-03-2008, 08:55 AM

At Sobeys they sell the Sterling Beef which is AAA..and it's really good. There is a butcher shop on Heritage and Fairview called The Better Butcher, you could ask them about their beef.

Shazam · 06-03-2008, 08:56 AM

There are a number of very good butchers at CFM. Hoven Farms is my favourite there.

Others:

- Bon Ton Meats at Stadium Shopping Centre.
- Second To None Meats on 4th.
- Master Meats on Centre St.

And Calgary Co-op has lots of excellent Alberta beef for sale. It's labelled as such.

And there's lots of other places.

A butcher in Kensington would work well. You'd better hurry though, because I'm sure Janice Beaton is going to do something about it real soon.

ken0042 · 06-03-2008, 09:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jofillips

kensington appealed to me first off because i feel a butchers shop would work better with other shops in the vicinity and where people walk to and fro quite a bit.

I just feel you could be missing the mark with Kensington. Yes, there's a lot of foot traffic. But how much of that is people who live in the apartments in the area; who may or may not have easy access to a deck where they can BBQ? Also, this may be an over generalization, but isn't there a large population of health nuts in the area? So you may have more vegetarians, and others who may find a juicy steak too unhealthy.

I would think you'd do better in a suburban market. I think of McKenzie Towne which has the foot traffic and the other local shops, but also has the people who tend to BBQ, and higher end neighbourhoods like McKenzie Lake and Douglasdale nearby; giving you more people who would pay the extra few dollars per kilo for a better cut of meat.

Plus I live right there, so I'd also like to have a good butcher near my house.

SeeGeeWhy · 06-03-2008, 09:08 AM

Farmer's markets. Kensington would be a good place and I doubt many people know that you can buy direct from SAIT. Why not service a suburb in a place like Mackenzie Towne?

EDIT - LOL, Ken beat me to it.

4X4 · 06-03-2008, 09:11 AM

First of all, it's 'Alberta Beef' not albertan beef. Get it straight, bub.

Secondly, I agree with ken's post^^. Though I'd prefer that you set up shop in Kensington as it is way closer to ME!

Table 5 · 06-03-2008, 09:21 AM

McKenzie Towne is tucked way in the deep south (well it was deep when i lived in Calgary!), so its really out of the way for a lot of people. Kensington is centrally located, and has a lot of people coming from other neighborhoods to the area. I think it would be a great location myself...

Or how about Marda Loop?

Shazam · 06-03-2008, 09:26 AM

People in Kensington don't BBQ. Their servants do.

tete · 06-03-2008, 09:31 AM

Just to let everyone know, SAIT's meat counter (the Calorie Counter) is now closed for the summer. It won't open up now until mid-September, IIRC.

Barnes · 06-03-2008, 10:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ken0042

I just feel you could be missing the mark with Kensington. Yes, there's a lot of foot traffic. But how much of that is people who live in the apartments in the area; who may or may not have easy access to a deck where they can BBQ? Also, this may be an over generalization, but isn't there a large population of health nuts in the area? So you may have more vegetarians, and others who may find a juicy steak too unhealthy.

I would think you'd do better in a suburban market. I think of McKenzie Towne which has the foot traffic and the other local shops, but also has the people who tend to BBQ, and higher end neighbourhoods like McKenzie Lake and Douglasdale nearby; giving you more people who would pay the extra few dollars per kilo for a better cut of meat.

Plus I live right there, so I'd also like to have a good butcher near my house.

There was supposed to be a european style butcher opening on high st but that never came to pass.

Sobeys, being the anchor tenant may have some sort of right to say no.

Slava · 06-03-2008, 10:36 AM

Andys Meats in Avenida (by Lake Bonavista) is great. I have spolied myself now and buy their meats in general now as opposed to the supermarkets.

The steaks there are amazing and definitely worth an extra few bucks for a great meal!

Ford Prefect · 06-03-2008, 10:40 AM

The best place to get the best quality Alberta beef at reasonable prices is at small town meat packers. These places get all their beef from local producers and it's better quality meat than you'll get from a supermarket and a lot cheaper. If any of you go through Drumheller there's an excellent local packer in Rosedale (about 3 minutes east of Drumheller) called Riverside Packers. Their beef jerky is wicked good too. Trochu has a good local meat packer too, as does High River. I'm sure there's lots of others too ...