The Bauer Butcher

The butcher says 3 days freshness, 5 days max for beef. At 5 days I opened up $50 of beef short ribs to cook for guests and they stink, truly rank and inedible. I hate wasting $, especially for an animal that’s been butchered. I called and the business won’t make this right. I know I pushed to day 5, but for fresh beef, it shouldn’t be this “off”. Buyer beware… and now I don’t have anything special to cook for my guests, who are arriving in a few hours.

I really don’t want to write this negatively about anyone. I bought the rib eye. I couldn’t swallow a piece because it was like chewing the sole of a worn sneaker. I will never get meat there ever again.

The bacon here is my guilty pleasure. Whenever I'm in vincenzos, the bacon always seems to end up in my basket somehow! Have purchased a couple cuts of beef which have also turned out very well.

I had to try the steak as in the description the it’s as tender as a tenderloin or ribeye steak! I’m trying to find beef that is grass fed, pasture fed and I came across this cut at Mama Earth and I was so disappointed! My steak knife wouldn’t cut through it. If the description said it was grass fed and it would be tough - I would’ve made stew out of it.

I appreciate the good quality, local meat here.

But, while I realize that an organic, local chicken will cost more than a conventional grocery chicken (it's about $20 here), I shouldn't have to spend over an hour plucking out pin feathers myself. And these are thick, hard ones, not little bits that would cook away.

The pin feathers seem to be an issue with any chicken parts that have their skin. You pay over $5 per lb of chicken wings, and you get the pleasure of plucking them and separating the joints yourself.

Picked up some chicken and a dry aged beef burger from here to try out, wow. You can tell they source from quality farmers who care about their animals.

The chicken was fantastic, it tastes so much better than grocery store chicken. The dry aging process they do with their beef is perfect, easily one of the best beef burgers I've ever had in my life and I just had it completely plain on its own to try out the flavour. It is, of course, pricier, but you get what you pay for.

Another review mentioned their stock - you can't expect the more exotic meats to be in consistent stock like you can with chicken or beef. The animals just aren't currently farmed nearly as widely, so availability/supply is an issue. If you do want something atypical, you'd be best off calling in advance to see what they can do for you. Otherwise, you're rolling the dice if you just walk in.

I’ve had nothing but great experiences with Bauer and have shopped there many times and ordered cuts in on several occasions. They have great connections and butcher meats themselves. Notably excellent and creative sausages. They’re a craft butcher, not a big time grocery store butcher, and they don’t always have everything in stock that’s on their website. They also sell out. Call ahead if you’re looking for something specific or a rarer meat. Highly recommended.