Where to Shop TO: The Healthy Butcher

I don't eat meat, but my husband does so when we buy meat I try to be sure it is at least organic, free of hormones and antibiotics.  When possible, we buy meat from animals raised on their natural diet (chickens/pigs that are pasture raised, cows that are grass fed,etc).  So, we looked throughout Toronto for a butcher shop that meets our ideals for sourcing meat.  

The first place we found that we tried out is called The Healthy Butcher.  They have three locations - one on Queen just West of Spadina, one on Eglinton at Avenue, and one in Kitchener.  They say that their priority is local and organic meat, but they also offer some groceries and prepared foods like soups.  I really like their philosophy.  They have a quote in their store that says something to the effect of  - we should eat half as much meat at twice the price.  I completely believe that this is the way our society should focus on eating - much less meat of a much better quality.

We've bought a few things there - some steak when we had company, some bacon, and also some homemade sausages (they offer 60 varieties) to grill during football season.  All were pretty good though I think next time we would get the meat specially cut for our needs - for example the bacon was a bit too thin but we just bought what was already cut.  They say they will gladly cut the meat to your specifications and source game or other less popular meats that you request.

The downside of course is that it is REALLY expensive and not just the meat - for example the pickles I buy are 25% more expensive there compared to even the co-op we belong to and Whole Foods.  I'm happy to pay more for meat, but I'm not sure why the same pickles cost 25% more.  Also, we bought one of their homemade soups once and it was really bad we couldn't even eat it, but I can't speak for all of them by any means. 

I would highly recommend trying out The Healthy Butcher if you find these ideals important.  Ask them where the meat came from, how it was raised, what it ate, and request that they bring in your favorite meat.  Now there are at least three other butchers that seem to have similar ideals that we've seen,but we've only tried one of them.  I'll write about that one separately and try out the others soon.