Chicago Area Suppliers

Sam'sClub works with the BBQ community,as well as Restaurant Depot.

Not sure how much volume cooking you would be doing to justify volume buying?Butts and ribs are in pretty ready supply and many cooks prefer them fresh,so packers might be the item that you would consider for case buying?

Sam's has pretty good prices on ribs & butts. And if you join KCBS you can then shop at Restaurant Depot. I usually get my brisket there. There are 3 or 4 in the Chicago area.

Being that Sams is a "discount"/ bulk vendor I had it in my mind that the quality of their meat (pork) might be lower than a local burger shopnor meat packer. Is this bot necessarily the case in all of your experiences?

Thanks for the replies everybody!

This one's easy - Just go to the Fulton Market area. Just west of the Loop, starting at the intersection of Halstead and Lake, it run's around 4 blocks North, and 7 blocks West. Though the area is becoming a little gentrified, it's still primarily made up of meat processing and wholesale distribution operations. A few have separate retail facilities, and some that don't will occasionally sell to you at retail if you ask nice. The latter are typically open weekdays only from 5:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M. Important - Don't go before noon when they're still loading trucks for shipment. Also, know exactly what you want, be prepared to possibly buy in quantity, and to pay in cash at some vendors.

Some of the one's I frequent and favor are:

•Peoria Packing. 1300 West Lake. Their retail operation, across the street from their processing plant, is open 6 days a week. Wear a jacket or sweater. It’s basically a giant refrigerator filled with large metal tables that each contain a variety of meats, some by grade. There’s typically a butcher on premises if you need your selection trimmed. Good for beef, pork, lamb, and goat.
•Grant Park Packing. 842 West Lake. Primarily wholesale that’s open only for retail on Saturday. Good for all cuts, but best for pork which is the only meat processed on premises.
•Columbus Meat Market. 906 West Randolph. A separate retail facility that’s open 6 days a week. It’s a specialty butchering operation and meat market with a lot of prime beef.
•Ex-Cel Corned Beef. 1009 West Lake. The name says it all – Briskets and CB. I don’t recall the retail days or hours so you need to check ahead.
•Issacson & Stein. 800 West Fulton. For a change of pace, a huge selection of seafood arrives daily. The retail facility is open 6 days a week.

There are many more operations in the market area, but the list above is a good start. Also, if you’re wandering around the market area, you may just stumble upon a few more gems. I recommend that you Google or call the operations to confirm the days and hours they are open for retail.

Going to Fulton Market can be a very entertaining journey in itself that also happens to come with a couple really big bonuses. A large selection of ultra-fresh high quality meat and seafood at prices that are dirt cheap for what you’re getting. In many cases, the amount you’ll be paying will make Sam’s Club, RD, Costco, etc look like they are all using the same pricing formula as Whole Foods.

Thanks a ton for the time you spent and the valuable information in your reply. Can't
Wait to check it out.

David

It's a bit of a drive, but I might just have to take a trek down there. Planning on a big cook for the 4th. I remember going down there to Randolph St when I was a kid with the parents when they had all the produce markets there on Saturday mornings.

I miss Chicago. Not the weather.

Come on Pags, you know you miss the temperature changes. A little over a week ago it was 50, today it was 100.

Andy, the high here in St. Pete today was 89. Who knew our temp would be lower than yours.

And Andy, let's not forget that tomorrow it'll be 100 again only to drop to the mid 60's by Thursday!

You know what they say, "If you don't like Chicago's weather, it will change."

quote:

Originally posted by David73:
Thanks a ton for the time you spent and the valuable information in your reply. Can't
Wait to check it out.

David

Don't forget to take a cooler. It will come in handy.

quote:

Originally posted by AndyJ:
It's a bit of a drive, but I might just have to take a trek down there. Planning on a big cook for the 4th. I remember going down there to Randolph St when I was a kid with the parents when they had all the produce markets there on Saturday mornings.

It's a bit of a drive to Fulton Market from Streamwood, but one I think you'll find worthwhile. Myself, I live in the western suburbs (Hinsdale), and, when I'm in Chicago, I commute downtown everyday by train. My office, at Wacker and Madison, is a 5 minute cab ride, or 15 minute walk on a nice day. Nice and easy.

Not too many produce vendors left these days. A few years ago the property values in the area jumped dramatically, and quite a few got offers for their buildings that they couldn't refuse. A good one that's still around that I go to occasionally is N & G Produce on Randolph, around 900 West. A large selection of very fresh produce at prices that are downright silly.

Is Greektown still nearby?

quote:

Originally posted by Pags:
Is Greektown still nearby?

Greektown is still there. A couple blocks south of Fulton Market. It's cleaned up and become a bit gentrified, but nothing much has changed. A few new restaurants compliment the long time standbys - Pegasus, Greek Islands, Parthenon, etc. In fact, I had lunch a few days ago at my favorite spot in Greektown, Santorini.