RSS FeedHowto: Using The Safeway Butcher
Today we’re looking at using the butcher (apologies to non-meat eaters), which in our opinion is a lost art. We’ve always wondered, why build these enormous grocery stores only to allocate a tiny counter to speak to a butcher (often with no real butcher to talk to)? Add to that when you try to talk to the employees at most grocery stores (as we’ve tried with Harris Teeter & Giant), the only meats available are those already out. Most stores will not cut to order.
The pre-wrapped meat selection at the new Safeway is large, but these meats suffer from two primary issues: (1) you’re never really sure when the meat was cut, and (2) these meats are always cut too thin. Who wants a 1/2 inch T-Bone, Porterhouse, or Bone-In Ribeye? At a 1/2 inch those steaks are too tough and cook up like a minute steak.
The new Safeway advertises custom cuts of meat, so on a recent weekend we put them to the test. The first Safeway employee we spoke to at the butcher counter told us that they only have the packaged meats, and the few pre-cut premium meats available, but no custom cuts. When we asked if we could speak to a butcher or a manager, we were directed to Gary who asked us what we wanted (2 inch thick bone-in ribeye). Gary said it wasn’t a problem, went into the back, and 10 minutes later came out with our steak.
The difference between a custom cut cowboy steak and a pre-wrapped thin slice of meat is more than just the size. Fresh cut steaks season & cook up better, and you know that you’re getting exactly what you want. It may take a little more persistence to find someone willing to honor the “Fresh, Custom-Cut Meats” ad, but it’s worth it.
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Comments
sweeet…the one part of “city living” that i realllly felt like i had been missing over the years…was the lack of a neighborhood butcher to flirt with…
somebody might want warn gary….
xoxo
This was a needed post. I was excited the first weekend by the beef and by week 2, it turned into what you described. I think they even try to pass the “thin cut” as a positive thing. I haven’t bought any beef since that first weekend, and I won’t until it changes. Also, while the section itself is large, the selection of cuts is not.
Next can you talk about how abysmal the seafood department is? We’ve already complained to the manager three times about (1) the seafood employees misinforming customers about what the shrimp count means (number of shrimp per pound), (2) displaying fillets skin side up so you can’t tell how fresh they are, and (3) trying to sell us a bag of dead mussels. If we didn’t know better that to buy them, we could have gotten seriously ill, and after telling the employee so he put them right back on display.
This is more than a disappointment, it’s a public safety issue!
I’ve met district manager Craig (who lives in MVT) and store managers Brian and Kenny. I could be naive but I’m under the impression they do have high standards and want this to be the best Safeway it can be. Craig talked extensively about how they use Secret Shoppers on an ongoing basis to evaluate employees and store performance.
Starting a new 150 employee organization that is staffed mostly with entry level positions from scratch is an enormous task. The shakeout period may be longer than most of us with office jobs can relate to. Customers can help push it along by escalating issues directly to management rather than just getting annoyed and calling the store “ghetto”. PQL’s features like this can help with regards to product strategy. When it comes to an issue that is specific to an employee I think best results will come from same day in-store feedback to a manager.
Perhaps what we all need to do is send emails to my favorite butcher shop, The Organic Butcher of McLean, and ask him to finally open a store downtown. Insider sources told me that he was eying a spot close to Cowgirl Creamery a while back, but obviously that fell through. They are a wonderful shop that offers lots of mean selections, as well as a small organic produce selection grown in Loudoun County. http://www.theorganicbutcher.com/
Has anyone talked to the farmers that come to the Bloomingdale market? I am vegan, so not a lot of help, but I bet if you talked to them they would be able to bring you fresh, locally grown, organic meat that is also custom cut.
as a kid, I lived in foreign countries and I remember shopping visits to the “specialists.” this included the bakery, the butcher, the veggie stand and the canned goods store (the abarrotera which is not to be confused with the supermarket which was best for milk, soda and snacks). as convenient as the supermarket is, perhaps turning back the clock is not so bad.
I saw someone asking specifically for a 4 lb leg of lamb on Sunday at the Safeway and the “on duty” person at the counter assisted. thanks for the write up.
got fancy with some nice 2 inch thick filet that was in the case the other day, very fresh & cooked up like butter. thick meat is definitely better.
I haven’t tried to order a custom cut, but does anyone else think the butcher and seafood counters are both surprisingly small? I was particularly disappointed by the sausage selection–hot and sweet Italian, that’s it? Give me some Andouille and chorizo.
I personally find the seafood counter to be horrible. Has to be among the worst quality i’ve seen. I remember going in the day the store opened and the seafood already stank. But that is what you get with a large company like Safeway.
That being said, the steak I got was pretty decent.
I think the thing I find most interesting about the store is the product mix. 1/2 yuppie high-end stuff and 1/2 lower income targeted. We’ll see what wins out over the next year or so.
I picked up 1 lb. of cooked shrimp last Sunday and it was very fresh. haven’t tried the other fish though.
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Interesting. I think that if you are going to spend the time and money to cook a steak, you want it to be the nicest cut of meat available. Reading this made me long for the butcher shops that were more prevalent when I was young, and for Wegmans. But I guess persistence pays off, and if you demand quality, you may get it. Thanks for the info!