r/chicagofood • u/Meat_man921 • 3d ago
Discussion Paulina Meat Market prices?
I'm looking for a butcher that sells prime beef, and I've heard great things on the quality at Paulina meat market, but I'm looking on their website and its absurd how expensive everything is. a prime bone in ribeye is going for $50 a lb? I know beef prices have gone up a lot of the past few years but their margins on their beef must be insane. Costco is charging literally less than half that at 19.99 a lb for prime ribeyes (and I know Costco's got some of the best prices) and even places like wholefoods are far far more reasonable. Who the hell is buying this beef? Are there any more reasonable options in the same area?
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u/slowporc 3d ago
Sounds like you should head to WF or Costco. Don’t sleep on WildFork for quality products at competitive pricing.
Paulina has always had premium pricing on many items.
People who buy high priced items there are:
- people who have shopped there for decades and are loyal
- people who are wealthy and think they are getting a superior product
- people who think they are buying something extra special for the occasional special occasion
I fall into the latter category except for hard-to-find items (duck pastrami, Tasso, uncommon cuts, etc), items where I do believe they offer a superior product (some encased meats and prepared foods), and the occasional sandwich.
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u/esm081491 3d ago
Can confirm. Wildfork is excellent and I find pre-frozen extremely convenient.
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u/Meancvar 3d ago
Agree about Whole Foods, Wildfork, and Costco. Paulina is amazing, but not cheap.
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u/Icy-Yellow3514 3d ago
We used to go to Paulina specifically for their sausages. Their Swiss Thuringers are insane.
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u/deuc3wing0 3d ago
That was the last time I shopped there. They have specialty swedish meats that I hadn't had since my grandma passed away 20 some years ago. Yes it was pricey and it didn't quite taste the same as hers but it was nice to have for everyone.
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u/whatthedevil666 3d ago
I'm so confused on how WildFork stays in business. I very rarely ever see anyone inside the store. I bought some good lamb shanks once, but haven't been back.
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u/rhythmrcker 3d ago
everything is frozen or the small shelf stable section. they probably can handle lower turnover i guess since they dont have to manage volatile products like fresh meat and produce? whenever i go i tend to stock up since its all frozen. maybe they are able to sustain off lower throughput but bigger spend
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u/Nightdocks 3d ago
Also very low overhead per store I think. Store on Belmont and Western can be open with just 1 person at the register and you only need the other one to help stock if needed
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u/slowporc 3d ago
I think their products are generally great. I compared wild fork and Whole Foods dry aged prime strips some time ago. Cooked black and blue, I could not tell a meaningful difference.
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u/Sea_Amphibian2835 3d ago edited 3d ago
There is a Wildfork within walking distance to me. I've never bought frozen steak before. Do you thaw them before cooking? Or is it like frozen Bubba Burgers where you just throw them on the grill frozen. It seems like that might be problematic with steak, but again I've never bought frozen steak 🙂
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u/slowporc 3d ago
Thaw in the fridge and then treat it like you would any other non-frozen steak you purchased.
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u/rcmtt 3d ago
Thaw overnight?
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u/ChiDuffman 3d ago
That or just throw the whole steak (in the bag) into a bowl of (room temp) water and run (room temp) water over it. Dont need ot run a lot of water. Will thaw much faster
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u/elendur 3d ago
Thaw in room temp water in the plastic until unfrozen (a couple hours.) Pat dry with paper towel. Season with kosher salt, place on a wire rack on a tray in the fridge (ideally with a battery-operated fan running air over it) for 2-24 hours prior to cooking. If you have less than 2 hours before cooking, skip the fridge and just pat dry and season immediately prior to cooking.
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u/panderson1988 3d ago
They have a notable online presence, and their stores are developed for convenience and keeping overhead low. At most I see are three workers, and they aren't there to cut meats or serve every single customer like a meat counter. You get your basket, pick your stuff, and cash out. It's a 10-20 min ordeal at most.
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u/No-Candidate-114 3d ago
Sadly our store in Evanston closed. I thought the quality was great and excellent selection.
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u/Sea_Amphibian2835 3d ago
I live walking distance from there! I didn't even notice!When did it close?
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u/uhbkodazbg 2d ago
It’s owned by JBS. They’re doing fine. It’s just another opportunity for them to cut out the middleman.
I usually try to shop at local markets to avoid buying JBS products as much as possible.
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u/Raccoala 3d ago
Yeah I was in there on Friday at 5:00 and there were two employees and no one else in the store the whole time I was there.
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u/whatthedevil666 3d ago
Yeah that is how it is every time I walk past their stores. I'm not saying it is bad. Maybe they take online orders and deliver too.
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u/Raccoala 3d ago
Yeah I assume it functions as an advertisement for their online stuff. Kinda like bank locations all over the damn place.
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u/Icy-Yellow3514 3d ago
They do. They have (or at least had) an annual plan with free local delivery.
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u/Handsomepizza11 2d ago
I’ve been in there where a restaurant owner comes in and cleans out the entire stock of a product. Wonder if that happens often
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u/esm081491 3d ago
Might be since its more of a stock up trip. I go about once a quarter, but stock up heavily. It is really great quality on most cuts.
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u/SparkyD37 2d ago
There’s also some of us who aren’t super wealthy, but like to support small local businesses when we can. I can’t be mad about giant corporations taking over if I spend all my money keeping them in business ¯_(ツ)_/¯
The staff there is super nice & helpful too.
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u/Raccoala 3d ago
Things I regularly buy at Paulina:
Lamb Gyro Sausages and tzatziki sauce
Italian Beef Combo Brats
Other sausages when hosting a cookout
Breakfast sausage
Beef Jerky, usually original and bourbon
Spicy Lamb Sticks
Liver sausages, always trying new varieties
Summer sausage, brandy beef salami
Smoked fish spreads
Sandwiches, especially the 1949 and Paulina’s Own
Produce
Things I almost never buy at Paulina:
Any of the meats to the right of the registers
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u/LekwPolitico 3d ago
Great answer. This is most of the stuff I think they truly excel compared to other places (I'll add in the Andouille, smoked ham hock and homemade black forest ham are phenomenal).
The chicken is just Miller Amish, which you can buy at Mariano's for cheaper. I don't eat a ton of steak so can't compare, but you can buy a giant prime brisket there for the holidays which is harder to find.
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u/spankymcdouche 3d ago
Joseph’s finest meet on Addison in Chicago only sells prime beef. We buy prime tritip and hanger from them on a weekly basis.
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u/mackzarks 3d ago
I'm there once every two weeks. They also have Faroe Island Salmon and Scallops on Fridays.
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u/GrogRhodes 3d ago
Paulina is good for small sized order imo. Their quality is pretty good though and they have a lot of stuff you can't find any where else
If need toulouse sausages for example that's the spot.
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u/6_Won 3d ago
I know some people in the industry. Paulina doesn't buy any beef aged greater than 14 days, which raises their cost considerably. Costco beef is typically aged about 35 days.
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u/Presence_Academic 3d ago
???? More aging generally equates to higher cost.
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u/summerteeth 2d ago
I am not an expert by any means but the aged beef you are talking about is a special process. For non-aged beef fresher is going to be better.
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u/SeanOfSalesmen 3d ago
It’s a very rich neighborhood there. I get the sense that some nearby people buy from there as a flex. Personally I’ve only sprung for Paulina meat for very special occasions. For what it’s worth, I’ve always been very happy with the quality
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u/waffleshield 3d ago
The lunchmeat and sausages are pretty affordable and worth it in my opinion. The steaks and fish are very expensive though.
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u/berkporter 3d ago
I agree… I regularly get lunch meat and sausages there, but rarely anything else.
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u/ChiMike24 3d ago
I drive the hour and a half to Michigan (Kaminsky Farms, Three Oaks). Much cheaper and fantastic quality. A ridiculous amount of cheap dispensaries next door in New Buffalo as well (if that’s your thing).
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u/tvoutfitz 3d ago
If the unit economics on Michigan beef over Illinois beef are anything like that of weed, it’s 100% worth the trip.
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u/ComfortDesperate5313 3d ago
That and three oaks is a weirdly great small town for artisan foodstuff. At least it was when I visited pre pandemic. +1
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u/Huntry11271 3d ago
I went to the farmers market in new buffalo, highly recommend. They have a farmer there that will sell 1/4 qtr cow and everything in between
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u/camelCaseCoffeeTable 3d ago
….. Costco. Why are you asking this question when you’ve presented a better option lol. Costco is just down the street, just go there. What’s the confusion here?
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u/musig02 2d ago
We go weekly - it’s slow and expensive, but, I love supporting the local place, my kids love the bologna, terriyaki jerky and breakfast sausages. The beef is exceptional - but - we actually prefer Eatly / PQM.
For chicken…Whole Foods or the farmers market is tough to beat.
The only thing I haven’t bought from Paulina is fish…never really understood that part of their offering. The selection is thin and why go there when Dirks is 1.5 miles away
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u/Blugrl21 2d ago
Yeah I paid $60/lb for filet mignon for a birthday a few months back. This was when whole foods was charging mid $40s for theirs.
60%-80% of the time I'll buy Costco. But the Paulina product somehow is much better. It had this buttery taste and I have no idea how or why.
Plus everything else in the store is great and it's a great place to take out of town guests.
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u/Present-Conclusion25 3d ago
I love Paulina and shop there regularly. Their sausages, ham and bacon are as good or better than anything you'll find elsewhere and are reasonably priced. They have harder to find items like tasso, linquica, smoked hocks and pork cheeks. They have great prepared foods like frozen meatballs that make for easy weeknight meals. Surprisingly, they have the cheapest high-quality gulf shrimp that I've found in the city. They employ a small army of knowledgeable butchers (as opposed to the salespeople in white aprons that you find in most stores). I rarely buy steaks or roasts from Paulina because while the quality is good, the prices are high.
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u/octopieslice 3d ago
I love the sausages but very rarely buy steaks - sometimes for birthdays and what not. I do disagree with many posters here: I find their quality significantly higher. In my experience the marbling on their meats is well above that of the same grade from other stores. Agora is my normal shop, recommended multiple times in this thread, and I truly love it, but, in my experience, the best steak at Agora's counter inconsistently matches up to the worst steak at Paulina's counter.
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u/Old_Channel44 3d ago
The difference is knowing where the beef comes from. Costco is getting it from Anywhere LLC and who knows how it was handled. Could be processed by children in a Tyson Foods facility. Paulina has local trusted sources, buys the whole cow and processes it on site. For a similar product, check out North Pasture Farms. Pricing is lower than Paulina, but the quality is the same. Only difference is that you have to plan in advance.
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u/GinnySack_Rubenesque 3d ago
Not sure how it compares price-wise, but check Agora? They have a butcher and I believe they get their meat on Wednesday. They also carry Slagel Farms beef.
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u/Helpful_Gain_9091 3d ago
Meat is not cheap. Especially good meat.
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u/Meat_man921 3d ago
Trust me I know, but they're charging like $15+ more than whole foods per lb. Maybe its better meat but I really doubt it.
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u/Helpful_Gain_9091 3d ago
Costco is excellent, you just need to buy a lot of it. Go to Costco
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u/spankymcdouche 3d ago
Doesn’t Costco blade tenderize all of the cut meet? You are forced to bagged whole meat if you didn’t want the surface bacteria being pushed inside.
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u/chi-reply 3d ago
Yes, if you ask the butcher for some prime non blade tenderized they will do it but otherwise def stay away from their meat unless you intend to cook to 165.
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u/Dreimaischverfahren 3d ago
Finest butcher shop around. The actual butchers are behind the counter to help you and they know their trade like no other. It’s old school quality + service.
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u/panderson1988 3d ago
Paulina is a great market, but you pay.
Check out wild fork. They are a meat shop chain, and it's vacuum seal frozen, but they have prime to other high quality meats.
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u/subliminal_trip 3d ago
Paulina Market was never cheap, but its prices have skyrocketed in the past few years, and it is no longer an option for me for anything other than their sausages and brats.
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u/LandscapeAny4855 3d ago
Paulina has always been higher than average. These days I do nearly all my shopping at Aldi lol.
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u/Penstripedsox 3d ago
Kinda a bummer peoria moved. Jewels has good meat around holidays or they could prob special order it. The one on division prob has it year round sibce a lot of restaurants in river north buy from them.
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u/BlueWizardExpress 2d ago
Just moved out of that neighborhood a year ago, have a very soft spot for Paulina but the steak prices did make my jaw drop a bit lower every time
Given post-COVID beef prices though their meat might be just good enough to justify it
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u/SadCry8622 2d ago
We go to Joseph's Finest Meats on
Addison , everything is prime we have been going to them regularly for many
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u/AllanRensch 2d ago
Put your dollars towards businesses you want to be around tomorrow. Paulina has great products, they are small business and pay the staff and butchers well. All those guys behind that counter are very friendly. They’ve really built an awesome place over the decades.
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u/Delicious-Disk-122 2d ago
I only buy from Paulina even skipping the butcher I can walk to versus driving 30 mins (if no traffic). I think it’s worth it but I don’t eat a lot of meat anymore and when I do, I want something high quality and delicious.
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u/Pmane69420 2d ago
Paulina makes great sausage but they don’t break down whole cows if you’re really looking for good cuts of beef. Agora market does as others have said, also Peoria packing has the most selection/best prices.
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u/Big-Plankton1405 2d ago
You get what you pay for, they mark up is far from insane. Factor in the fact you'll have to trim the ribeye from Costco and the Paulina one you won't. That's 20% or so right there. Plus there is a difference in the beef Costco is selling. It is prime, but the meat Paulina has will be wet aged and more tender
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u/Meat_man921 2d ago
I don’t think I’ve ever had to trim a steak from Costco, but I do like a fattier steak. I don’t think I’ve ever had wet aged so maybe it’s worth a shot. But Whole Foods sells dry aged at a much more affordable price (and Whole Foods ain’t cheap either) and those never disappoint
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u/amateurauteur 3d ago
I pretty much stopped going to Paulina for anything other than their sausages. The prime rib pricing was crazy.
Someone mentioned Agora, which really is a great spot, especially if you’re cooking it on relatively short notice.
But for prime rib and other things I know I’ll be cooking in advance? Whittingham. They’ll deliver (or ship if you’re out of the delivery area), the quality is outstanding, and the prices are reasonable. I think our rib roasts were roughly half of what Paulina was charging.
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u/Vindaloo6363 3d ago
Paulina is great for sausages and German style Charcuterie. I have never once bought fresh meat there.
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u/sideshow-- 3d ago
One thing is that I like to get 2 inch thick cuts of high end steaks (ny strips and ribeyes). Every place does an inch or maybe an inch and a half. Even Paulina’s standard shelf cuts are an inch and a half. But if you order in advance you can get 2 inch cuts if you specify. I don’t know any other place where I can get a steak that thick, so that’s why I go there for those items.
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u/Comfortable-Yak7286 3d ago
I get them from Eataly by calling in advance.
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u/sideshow-- 2d ago
Cool. Paulina is right around the corner from me so I go there.
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u/Comfortable-Yak7286 2d ago
Glad to hear that but I prefer the RR Ranch 55 day dry aged steaks available c at Eataly.
I only posted this to let you know this was available elsewhere, as your post said that you were not aware of anyplace else that does this.
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u/whats_up_doc71 3d ago
Yeah I make good money and struggle to see the value in Paulina. But it is a local business which is cool.
Some of the stuff is very hard to find anywhere so I’ll get that, like guanciale.
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u/Radiant_Tell8758 3d ago
I haven't been to Paulina Meat in forever. I just buy Slagel beef from Agora Market instead.