[SF BayArea,NorCal]Where do you get your Meat & Fish

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davidsorensen32
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Joined: Wed Jul 24, 2013 9:57 am

[SF BayArea,NorCal]Where do you get your Meat & Fish

Post by davidsorensen32 »

Given the skyrocketing meat prices due to extreme drought and dwindling fish supplies this must be on top of everyones mind. Would like to know where/if value conscious families with mouths to feed shop in this extremely HCOL SF Bay Area. Food related expenses of our family have been going up 15%-20% every year even though we limit restaurant visits. Items that seem very expensive are:

* Steaks (grass fed and organic)
* Chickens (free range and organic)
* Wild Fish
* Lamb (organic possible ?)
* Goat (organic possible ?)

Costco seems to be slimming down on choices (choice meat gone in the first hour or so) or stopping it altogether (e.g. no wild fish for several weeks). Dreager's/WholeFoods seem to catering only to Facebook or Google billionaires. What happens to us mediocre mortals with good old W2s ? I searched for CSAs (community supported agriculture) but seems thats only limited to vegetables/fruits. Anyone have any ideas ?
Startled Cat
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Re: [SF BayArea,NorCal]Where do you get your Meat & Fish

Post by Startled Cat »

I've had good luck with Costco (SF location). I haven't noticed any shortages there. The quality of their meat is very high for the price level.

Asian grocery stores are great for getting inexpensive pork and shellfish. Stockton St. (Chinatown) and Clement St. are good areas to shop in SF, and 99 Ranch is a good choice in the suburbs. There's also Oakland's Chinatown if you are in the East Bay.

I love the frozen mahi-mahi at Whole Foods. It's very reasonably priced for a Whole Foods product.

Prices at the SF Ferry Building tend to be high, but there are some things I consider good values. Prather Ranch has some great grass-fed beef, often at similar prices to the beef at supermarkets like Safeway. The SF Fish Company is a bit on the expensive side, but it has a good selection of fish that can be hard to find elsewhere (for example, skate wing). I avoid Golden Gate Meat company because the prices are a bit outrageous.

I've heard that halal markets can be good places to buy inexpensive lamb or goat. I don't have any personal experience with these. Whole Foods and classier Safeway stores sometimes have lamb and veal at good prices (and sometimes not). I'm an opportunistic buyer.
Pizzasteve510
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Re: [SF BayArea,NorCal]Where do you get your Meat & Fish

Post by Pizzasteve510 »

Deleted duplicates already mentioned.
Last edited by Pizzasteve510 on Sat Feb 28, 2015 9:02 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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curiouskitty
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Re: [SF BayArea,NorCal]Where do you get your Meat & Fish

Post by curiouskitty »

I mostly use GoodEggs for that sort of stuff as they have really local options. If I want sushi grade fish, then Basa Seafood and Berkeley Bowl have been great.
madbrain
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Location: San Jose, California

Re: [SF BayArea,NorCal]Where do you get your Meat & Fish

Post by madbrain »

davidsorensen32 wrote:Given the skyrocketing meat prices due to extreme drought and dwindling fish supplies this must be on top of everyones mind. Would like to know where/if value conscious families with mouths to feed shop in this extremely HCOL SF Bay Area. Food related expenses of our family have been going up 15%-20% every year even though we limit restaurant visits. Items that seem very expensive are:

* Steaks (grass fed and organic)
* Chickens (free range and organic)
* Wild Fish
* Lamb (organic possible ?)
* Goat (organic possible ?)

Costco seems to be slimming down on choices (choice meat gone in the first hour or so) or stopping it altogether (e.g. no wild fish for several weeks). Dreager's/WholeFoods seem to catering only to Facebook or Google billionaires. What happens to us mediocre mortals with good old W2s ? I searched for CSAs (community supported agriculture) but seems thats only limited to vegetables/fruits. Anyone have any ideas ?
I buy almost all my meat at Costco .
The steak is not organic, but the USDA Prime meat is excellent, and definitely worth the extra cost .

The lamb at Costco is from Australia and not organic. However, it's still excellent. The only place I have ever seen organic lamb was at Whole foods. It cost 3x the price of lamb at Costo, per lb. I have to travel pretty far to get to a Whole foods, so I'm not setting foot there more than a couple times a year.

I didn't notice any shortage at the Costco Santa Clara, Sunnyvale and various San Jose locations, and as far as choice, Costco added duck in the past year which is one of my favorites.
livesoft
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Re: [SF BayArea,NorCal]Where do you get your Meat & Fish

Post by livesoft »

Goats are found on bike trails for free: http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-m ... story.html
Wiki This signature message sponsored by sscritic: Learn to fish.
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curiouskitty
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Re: [SF BayArea,NorCal]Where do you get your Meat & Fish

Post by curiouskitty »

Madbrain: I bet Bi-Rite has organic lamb if you pass through SF much
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curiouskitty
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Re: [SF BayArea,NorCal]Where do you get your Meat & Fish

Post by curiouskitty »

Looks like lamb is $7-8/lb if you get 5-7 lbs at once. It doesn't say organic but it is antibiotic free etc. and they deliver: https://www.goodeggs.com/sfbay/meat/lamb-goat
madbrain
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Re: [SF BayArea,NorCal]Where do you get your Meat & Fish

Post by madbrain »

curiouskitty wrote:Madbrain: I bet Bi-Rite has organic lamb if you pass through SF much
I don't often go there. It's 55 miles one way from home and about 1hr10 minutes best case at off peak hours. I wouldn't go there grocery shopping.
Also, it's too far of a trip for my Nissan Leaf to make the round trip, unfortunately.

The things that bring me to SF are marching in the SF gay pride, the Folsom street fair, and the SF symphony.
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