Don’t skimp on your holiday meals this year. Check out one of Chicago’s best butcher shops for the choicest cuts of meat, fresh poultry, pastries and more. You’re sure to find everything you need and probably a new favorite dish or two.
Devon Avenue Meats
Butcher, American, Steakhouse
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Devon Avenue Meats is a little deceptive. While the name invokes a North Side Rogers Park location, this top-quality butcher is found farther west in suburban Park Ridge. But it’s worth the trip for a classic cut of ribeye as well as their new line of craft sausages and brats. Resident butcher Vincent Giardina opened the shop more than 30 years ago, and he has been serving Chicagoland from his family business ever since.
Gene’s in Lincoln Square is a massive, two-story meat market. Choose from more than 40 different types of sausages, frozen in-season game, and premium-grade grass-fed certified organic beef. Brothers John and Gene Luszcz, who emigrated from Poland, opened their butcher shop on Roscoe Street in 1972, but they have since expanded and moved to their current location on Belmont Avenue. The market remains one of Chicago’s most well-known spots for classic deli meats.
It doesn’t get much more old school than Gepperth’s. Though located in the now-trendy Lincoln Park, the Gepperth brothers opened shop in 1906. They sold it to the Demkes in 1981, but it’s remained a family business through and through. Head butcher Otto Demke has been cutting meat for more than 50 years, so you know your order is in capable hands. Fresh poultry, beef, sausage, pork, lamb, and veal are all available six days a week.
Beograd is far beyond a simple butcher shop. They have a full restaurant, café, and market attached to their Irving Park storefront. They specialize in Serbian and regional Balkan cuisine across all of their counters. Dragan Kecman and his family started the business in 1984 as a simple neighborhood meat market and watched it grow to a Chicago-wide favorite. Try their cepavi, burek, and many crepes.
Paulina Meat Market in Roscoe Village may be the most well-known butcher shop in Chicagoland. In 1949, Sigmund Lekan opened the market with his sons to provide the neighborhood with the best quality fresh meat and poultry available. It’s changed hands a few times but always remained true to its simple family roots. They love helping customers shop for holiday meals, big events, or just casual dinners. In addition to the butcher shop, they’re also a specialty grocery store with pasta, sauces, jams, jellies, oils, vinegars, cheeses, and more.
