Joseph’s Finest Meats

Exquisite aged beef. Best in entire Chicagoland area! Better than most of the steakhouses, too…

Everything here is very fresh. I would recommend their bbq and their bbq house sauce. If you don’t know what to go for, ask Ben for help !

this place makes everything fresh. Freshly cut, cooked, rolled, homemade, you can even purchase dinner ready to go. Service is second to none and these people care, it’s Cheer’s on steroids LOL if you’re young enough to remember.
Benny is the most amazing human being who walks this planet and he is someone you should know.
My cousins husband is sick with cancer on his own time he will hand deliver their order, pre cook meals ready to eat, pick their favorite selections just to make their day a little less stressful… he does it for everyone even you, he’ll remember your name and your favorite cut, no meat about it, Benny is an ANGEL and someone you should know.

Bought 8 PRIME filets, 2″ thick, that were awesome.
Only place I know in (near) the city to get PRIME filet.

I now know how to have a steak feast at home, without being interrupted by the waiter, dealing with noise from the adjacent table, and paying for a triple-​digit price! Joseph’s will satisfy your addiction to meat. Yes, I mean a wide variety of meat that one can imagine, such as steak, sausages, lunch meat, livers, salami, and much more.
I took Mama J. to Joseph’s this morning, while the heavy rain was still in session. Joseph’s also has a small grocery section, just in case you need something else to go with your «Finest meats.»
If you haven’t had USDA Prime quality meat, I beg you to take a trip to Joseph’s so that you can experience the «heaven on earth.» We paid $ 53 and some change for three (3), freakin’-thick strips of N.Y. steak. I devoured one (1) of the three (3) on my own this evening. Yes, it was amazing.
I will be returning for sausages that Daddy J. has requested for next time. That will be the sole reason for taking the Addison, a.k.a. the mysterious #152, bus. By the way, the stop to get off is Nordica.

Joseph’s Finest Meats lives up to their name! I organized a company appreciation lunch and needed steaks for 110 people. The steaks were high quality, cut perfect, very tasty, and all the employees were happy! I ended up giving out Joseph’s card to a number of people. I will definitely use Joseph’s for future events.

I was hosting a serious foodie friend of mine on a Saturday with his family accompanying. We’re not Avant Garde but definitely strive for great food cooked in a home kitchen. We wanted to do a dry aged prime rib, believe it or not there are not that many options in the city to get dry aged prime beef from a proper butcher. I made the mistake of driving out here from the west loop on Friday Labor Day weekend, it ended up being nearly 2 hours there and back. Walking in it seemed pretty standard. The price was insane, like under $ 15/​lb for dry aged prime beef. We got two ribs (for 4 people) with the bones butchered off and reattached with thread. Gorgeous piece of meat, they did not have veal or beef stock made that you could purchase for a sauce or stew but they did have bones for sale. I followed a reverse sear recipe and let me tell you it was SUBLIME, some of the best beef I’ve ever had. I will DEFINITELY be back!

Ran in again over the weekend to get some beef for curry and some bologna for sandwiches. It is always interesting to see what others are getting — this time one guy asked for neck bones to make sauce and another was getting 5 pounds of sliced roast beef, most likely for a party. I also saw the owner of the neighboring Thai restaurant there getting his daily supply of meat — speaks well of his attention to quality and overall support of the neighborhood!

Quality.
Service.
Meat.

Hands down the best butcher shop in chicago. All their meat is usda prime and the service is outstanding. They truly are nice people who really care about the quality of product they sell. I challenge you to find a better butcher shop. Simply the best!

Got a really great quality standing rib roast, and had a long enthusiastic talk about meat with the butcher. Excellent experience overall.

Came on Valentines day because of the rave reviews by Unilocal regarding the excellence of the meat and the exemplary staff. Once again I was disappointed. When I got home with my steaks I about cried for the steer from which they were cut due to the sloppy irreverence of the meat cutter. If you can’t cut a steak evenly you shouldn’t be cutting meat at all. The new York strip was both cut as a wedge and virtually re-​butchered. The rib steak was a wedge. The rib steak also lacked visible marbling and the outer layer of fat that add flavor and juiciest to the cut.
I chide myself for trusting the excellent reviews and not babysitting the counter man. If you come here, fully examine the meat and the meat cutter as he performs his task. Examine the meat again before it is bagged and refuse substandardly cut meat as well as substandard meat.
Shame on you for having «finer meats» in your title while selling substandard stew meat as prime meat.
I added a star because the floor manager was very helpful and sweet. He actually gets five stars.

I can’t tell you how many times we’ve gone to a local grocer and complained about the quality of meat going downhill. Then we find Joseph’s and feel really dumb about hindsight being ²⁰⁄₂₀. What took us so long???
Joseph isn’t kidding about having the finest meats on this side of O’Hare. My boyfriend brought home NY Strip and Sirloin equivalent to the best steakhouses for a fraction of the price.
Jason came home raving about the Butcher. This place has been passed down to the next generation and he really knows his stuff. He liked this guy so much, I guarantee that after this experience, we will be coming here for meat from now on.

I bought a roast for Christmas Day for a recipe I have never attempted before, and it was truly the best roast I have ever made.
Joseph’s is truly a great butcher shop in what is a dying breed. You will not be disappointed one bit.
Meats, seafood, cheeses & lunchmeats… great staff and friendly customers. All round good experience that I didnt mind waiting the 35 minutes to pickup my order.
Plus very reasonable.

I meant to write an update but didn’t really get the chance to.
For Christmas last year, I decided to host dinner for my family. I called ahead of time to reserve a prime rib. They told me that they only sell «aged» or «dry-​aged» or something and that it only comes in 3, 5, 7 bones… etc. I think they said 1-​bone feeds about 2 people. Having about 10 adults and a child, I opted for having extra food than not enough so I got the 7-​bone prime rib.
Piece of advice during holidays, come in early to grab it. I had to grab it after work and had to grab a number. They’re so busy during this time that it takes a while to get your stuff.
The thing was MASSIVE. It was the size of a Michelin baby and barely fit into my oven (even with the oven rack on the very bottom). Without me asking, they had precut it off the bone for me and tied it back on (the way you should cook it). Great benefit! All I had to do was season it and throw it in the oven.
My family raved about it all. My brother even told me that although they always have prime rib with my sister-in-law’s family, this one was way better. I think we only got through half of it but that’s because we also had sides.
This year I will probably downgrade to the 5-​bone but I will definitely be getting it from this place.

If you are looking for quality holiday meat, it is a given that you will be recommended to Joseph’s by more than one person.
My husband called Ben for his recommendation and we went back and forth between lamb chops and legs. We ordered 2 legs of lamb with bones removed and butterflied for Easter dinner. These guys know what they are talking about and the service is old fashioned and personal. The latter is what makes this place a gem!
2 legs of boneless lamb weighed approximately 25lbs. My husband was a bit surprised in how much lamb we were getting and they were even willing for us to only take 1 leg, but we decided the more food the better right?! We would hate to have a holiday that didnt include take home containers for our guests. Side Note — We had plenty of leftovers and froze a ½ leg for a later date.
The prices are high compared to the shrink wrapped meat from the supermarket, but the quality cannot be beat.
The meat was as promised — bonless and butterflied. The lamb was tender and everyone complimented us.
Job well done Joseph’s!

I was hosting Christmas eve and Beef Wellington was the entrée. I went searching for a butcher to buy a whole tenderloin from. Getting it from Costco would have been the easy way to go, but I’m so glad I didn’t. I called in my order for a tenderloin suitable for 7 people a couple days in advance and they had it ready to go for me and I was in and out in a jiffy.
Did they sell me too much for 7 people? Yes, probably twice what I needed. Did I regret it? Amazing leftovers for days says No. Did it cost about as much as the GDP of a 3^rd world country? Close. Was it worth it? Absolutely. Hands down some of the best meat I have ever had.
Well, I went back this weekend to buy 4 fillet mignon steaks for a dinner I was hosting. The gent tells me it is $ 29.99/lb. I’ve gone pretty far out of my way and I’ve got my heart set on tasting that beautiful bovine backmeat again so I say ‘no problem’ and these guys came out of the woodwork and buzzed around like I was buying a Caddilac. One guy is cleaning and prepping the tenderloin and asking how thick. He makes the first cut. Guy #2 holds it up — Were these cut thick enough for me? Guy #3 — Was I using them today? Did I want them wrapped separately? Guy #4 — Had I been there before? Guy #1 — Did I know to bring them to room temp before cooking? Guy #2, can they get anything else for me? The service is great and not surprisingly, my Steak Au Poivre was outstanding. I’ll be back as often as I can, despite it being a decent trek from my house.
Note that they do have affordable cuts that I’m sure are good as well. My point is that for a special occasion and/​or expensive cuts, I wouldn’t hesitate to shell out the premium price for the meat here. The quality is exceptional.

I’ve been here two times is the past two weeks and I think if I do it for two more weeks, it becomes habit. Seriously though, I’m just impressed at the quality of meat/​poultry that they have here. The bacon is great and isn’t greasy — which they explained is because they don’t pump it with water. Who knew? And their pork belly was great for my lechon kawali fix.
I think every self-​respecting cook should have a butcher and this place is going to be mine.

So this review is long past due. My BF and I have been going to Joseph’s for well over a year now, 2 – 3 times a month. We absolutely love this place. Everyone there is super helpful and the quality of the meats is second-​to-​none. Before I found this place on Unilocal,I was growing increasingly annoyed with buying meat from the Jewels, Meijers and even Trader Joe’s of the world. It was fairly expensive, and I was often disappointed. So when I found Joseph’s I was excited to give an honest butcher shop a try. SO glad I did. Their ground chuck is amazing. No gristle ever, and so tasty. And we are in love with their bone-​in pot roasts. They seriously are perfect every time. We tried their Amish chicken and I love that is has no extra fillers or anything in it. And the guys there will cut things up however you want, no problem. We recently had our parents’ over for a nice dinner and we wanted to do something special. So we got a beef filet tenderloin to roast. It was a bit pricey, yes, but so, so worth it for a special occasion. Perfect. My mom said it was «the best meat she’d ever eaten.» And their sirloin steaks are great for stir-​fries.
Bottom line: Joseph’s is a must for us now. We won’t buy any meat from anywhere else. Their prices are very reasonable and their meat will make a believer out of you. And the customer service can’t be beat.
Side note: We live in Oak Park and used to just take Harlem Ave. Do NOT do this. I hate driving on Harlem in Dunning. It’s a huge mess and people drive like crazy. Do yourself a favor and take Oak Park Avenue to Addison, if coming from this direction. You will be glad you did!

I recently stumbled across Joseph’s and I will never again buy meat anywhere else. never. Their Amish chicken is fantastic, we’ve had the ground beef, kabobs, roast beef, all second to none. Oh, and if you are craving a corned beef sandwich — go buy their corned beef, which they make themselves — best corned beef I’ve ever had.
Not only do they have a good product, they are extremely helpful and please to deal with. Going in there reminds me of going into the butcher and deli’s with my nonna back in the 70’s and 80’s on Harlem Ave — definitely old school and love it!