Formerly Brian's Butchery and Deli.

Around the Block Butcher Shop
Around the Block Butcher Shop
Steak at Around the Block Butcher Shop
Chicken at Around the Block Butcher Shop
Around the Block Butcher Shop
Steak at Around the Block Butcher Shop
Steak at Around the Block Butcher Shop
Steak at Around the Block Butcher Shop
Steak at Around the Block Butcher Shop
Around the Block Butcher Shop
Steak at Around the Block Butcher Shop
Foods from Around the Block Butcher Shop
Comments

2014 Jul 6
... and the new logo.

2014 Jul 4
Name has been changed from the increasingly incorrect Brian's Butchery to Around the Block Butcher Shop.

2013 Dec 25
Well, it was pretty good. Even from the lean end, there was plenty of fat for gravy and Yorkshire puddings. It was good and tender.

Still ... next time I'll not bother with the dry-aged piece. The difference, to me, was negligible. Their regular cut is superb.

I'll go back for the dry-aged steaks any day.

2013 Dec 24
Rizak - let us know how it turns out. I bought AAA Sobey's version for $8/lb (not dry aged). I know it won't/shouldn't be as good as the dry aged stuff, but it looked good (had it custom cut).

2013 Dec 23
I picked up our roast beast yesterday. 65-day dry aged prime rib roast. 5.4 pounds at $25/pound.

Yeah. Not cheap.
I wasn't expecting it to be.
I was prepared for this.

Still, this had better be the best prime rib roast I've ever made in my life.

I'll definitely take the time to make Yorkshire puddings properly. Lots of them.

Dave almost killed himself cutting it off. The bandsaw blade skipped past the guides, jumped off the wheel and got stuck in the bone. THAT was exciting.

I'm definitely going back to get a nice capon or chicken for NYE. I'm going to try brining for the first time. Yes, I'll look up all the advice here. No need to repost it.

2013 Jul 26
David Wallace is an excellent guy, I look forward to him up keeping the high standards at Brian's.

2013 Jul 24
Alright! I really like David. He's a quality gent, and a great butcher. I'm in there all the time and dealt with all of the guys behind the counter. I agree that the shop will be in good hands.

Best of luck, David!

BTW, I really should try the dry-aging sometime. I've never had it before and this is the season.

2013 Jul 24
Apparently it changed hands last week. Brian's son Daniel sold it to one of his employees.

blogs.ottawacitizen.com

2012 Apr 22
He finally got in some leaf lard [pork kidney fat] for me. 2 pounds for 2 dollars. That's a good deal. I then spent a couple of hours tending the cut up pieces as they rendered over the stove. I ended up with 2 generous cups of lovely, creamy lard. This will make some delicious pies in the future or maybe I'll try my hand at making shallow-fried chicken.

He also brought in some Kessler chops [smoked centre-cut pork chops] for me (and had to try some for himself). MMMMMmmmmMMMM! Them's some mighty fine chops! Quite salty, though. I'll make some applesauce to go with them next time. Baked was fine, but I really want to BBQ them.

It took a few visits before he found a supplier for the lard, but now I know I can get it whenever I want with a bit of notice. YAY BRIAN!

The guys there all know me, which is nice. Okay, I made fun of their girly moustaches during the Movember charity drive last year and they never FORGOT me. I suppose there is a difference. ;)

2010 Dec 5
The bacon is fantastic, as well. Just cooked some up. Not much shrinkage, and a really good salty/smoky/sweet balance. Maybe I should have frozen them in aliquots of larger than two pieces per person...

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2013 Jul 28
Best steak I've ever made. I picked up two dry-aged Porterhouse steaks and we were planning to save some for steak sandwiches the next day. Yeah, that didn't happen. SO delicious! I seasoned them a bit with Worcestershire Sauce and grilled over a medium gas flame until nice, then put them on plates next to a baked potato and salad. I let my steak rest a bit and ate the salad and potato first. The steak was just so good I ate it all. I only put a bit of salt on. I wanted to see how good it was. Well, it was plenty good.

At $20 each, I'm not going to be buying these every day. However, I much prefer to get these than to pay $40 for a sub-par steak dinner at a restaurant.

SO delicious.

2010 Jun 15
See my other post on just Brian's for more context - I was disappointed to discover that very little of the beef comes from O'Brien's. Only by special order. They are very proud to say they have been doing Alberta beef for some 27 years.

But I bought a couple of T bones anyway since I was already there, and cooked them up on the grill after work. They were tasty enough, though man it was something else getting used to grilling feedlot beef - flames everywhere from all the extra fat! Definitely not used to that with grass fed!

As far as the flavour goes I'd buy it again. But I won't likely be back for the beef anyway, simply because it is from Alberta. And expensive ($12/lb!) for a guy used to buying sides of beef from local farmers, at far less than that.

2010 Jun 14
Thanks for the update monty - Brian's is right near where I work, and I'll be far more inclined to go there now that I know where their meat comes from. In fact, i'm craving a steak right now looking at that picture of yours ... :-)

2010 Jun 13
cold smoked/BBQ'd bone-in ribeye

chef Obi - just realized i never followed up on your question. a lot of their beef comes from O'Brien Farms, iirc.

www.obrienfarms.ca/

2010 Feb 13
All I can say is wow. Best steak I have had. Can never eat supermarket steak ever again. And that was the small one. It may be pricey but it is well worth it.

2009 Jul 22
That is sweet monty!

2009 Jul 22
I have to give Monty props for not carbonizing this one =)

2009 Jul 22
monty as an apartment dweller with no access to a bbq I am suitably jealous! I am now off to wipe the drool off my keyboard-;)

2009 Jul 21
i proclaim this...the summer of monty!

2009 Jul 7
Much nicer looking Monty! Looks appetizing now =)

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2009 Jul 21
they do a mean tourtiere here, in addition to steak pies and chicken pies. all 3 have a nice crust and are chock full of meaty goodness. very simple "like mom used to make" stuff.

at about $7 a pop there's always one in our freezer.




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2010 Jun 2
love the chicken here and frequently buy whole birds and boneless skinless breasts.

i can't remember the name of the supplier but the butcher has remarked it's the best he can get, for the scale/# he needs, next to going to a local farm. i believe it's the same supplier The Piggy Market and a few other local shops use.

the chicken is incredibly moist and seems almost impossible to dry out when BBQing (a good thing!)




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2010 Jun 26
Wow, now that is the type of innovation I like to see in small butcher shops! Who would have thought to put apple in sausage? My only complaint really is that I had a lot of trouble deciding what sort of condiment to serve on it. In hindsight I think some sort of relish might have been better than what I tried.

The apple chicken sausage is absolutely fantastic! Though I guess some people will balk because they told me they only sell their sausage frozen - the freeze it immediately after making it because they do not use any nitrates or other preservatives.




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2010 Oct 10
Brian's now has a steady stock of Bekings eggs on hand. White or brown at ~$3.99/dozen.