No trip to Gold Country is complete without a stop at Swingle Meat!…read more As mentioned in my previous review, groceries, especially meat prices are super high in the Bay Area, so whenever I have a chance to get some good deals on meat, I'm going to make every trip here worth it. On this trip I picked up some frozen ribeyes, sirloins, burgers, breakfast sausage patties, cheddar jalapeno sausages, and some chile verde and ranch house chicken. The chicken items I got come vacuum sealed, which is perfect when I plan to sous vide them. The things I wish I got more of was their honey pepper beef sticks and hot teriyaki beef jerky. It's very affordable and perfect for snacks. Another low key thing that we like are their frozen chicken wellingtons. super easy to bake at home and it's a tasty meal. I arrived in the morning and luckily it wasn't super busy. Grabbed a basket and before I knew it I had enough meats and snacks to feed a large family when in reality, it's just for a couple of us. $153 well spent and meals for days. The prices for the tri-tips have more than doubled since 2020, but honestly, still a great deal considering the size. $35-40 for a good sized marinated tri-tip is still a steal of a price. The mother lode tri tip is a can't miss and a fan favorite at any of our family bbqs. Definitely plan to bring a cooler and some ice packs so you can keep your meats stored properly in route to back home.

I was expecting a butcher shop where I could select some fresh pork chops or rib eye steaks. But…read moremost of the meats were pre-packaged frozen meats. Absolutely nothing wrong with that... it just wasn't what I was looking for. We did buy some frozen steaks. I found the prices to be reasonable but not worth going out of the way for (it's about 40 miles away from where we live). Regarding the quality of the steaks, we didn't find them to be better than what we normally purchase.

Wanted some quality steaks on our 1 year anniversary, this spot did not disappoint!! Went with 2…read moreporter house steaks but sooo hard not to buy 1 of all of their cuts. It is frozen so expect thaw time but quality was amazing! Also got some of the hill billy jerky and some prime rib/steak seasoning which was amazing

This butcher shop is a MUST stop on our way to our family cabin AND home. We like to grab sausages…read moreto cook for everyone as appetizers then on our way back home we stop to stock up our fridge and freezer. The prices are great and the quality is excellent! We really enjoy the chili cheese sausages, but they have a ton of variety's. They also sell some rubs, sauces, cheesecakes. It's really a cool place to check out for sure, worth the stop!!

I've wanted to visit the sandwich counter for a long time, and today we finally made it!…read more On a cold, rainy day, a hot sandwich sounded great. The staff said the most popular hot sandwiches are Chick-a-licious, Cattleman, and Pesto Pollo. I chose the Cattleman and enjoyed it. I would definitely go back for another sandwich. $9.99 well spent.

My family and I were driving up to Sonora to visit our friends for the weekend and needed to stop…read moreto grab a few items before we arrived. We grabbed beer, milk, cereal and some cold brew coffee - it all cost me WAY too much money for the little items I purchased in my opinion. At one point, I was almost speechless to see that they were selling Chobani Coffee Creamer for close to $10! The market had a lot of great items, and it was also super organized inside. It was decent sized too and they had well stocked produce and butcher sections. Employees were friendly for the most part, but I can't get past the pricing - the Angels Food Market is in the middle of nowhere - who is paying these prices?! Overall, I appreciated the store, and it had all the items we needed, but I don't know if we would stop in again.

Austin's is a true gem for Ripon residents and anyone who appreciates quality meat and great…read moreservice. As you walk in, there's a refrigerator on the left stocked with a wide selection of meat cuts and flavored sausages, with plenty of marinated and non-marinated options to choose from. I highly recommend the Yukon Gold marinade. If you don't own a smoker or simply don't have the time, Austin's will even smoke your meat for you and have it ready when you need it. For hunters, Austin's also offers game processing with a variety of seasoning options and preparation options. The process is straightforward, making it easy from drop-off to pickup. The staff are consistently friendly, knowledgeable, and enjoyable to work with. If you enjoy quality meats and excellent customer service, Austin's is absolutely worth a visit.

Everything , he is amazing the meats are awesome I like to make soap so I get the kidney fat butread more

I'm not sure how this place had high ratings but I got a chicken sandwich from here and it was…read moresmall and did not have much chicken . Cute little place and the workers were very nice though

I came in to try their chicken salad sandwich on rye. Delicious! They also offer fresh fish and…read moremeat and baked goods. Mom and pop shop and super friendly and chatty. Please come and create your own adventure.

My fiancé had to take our car in for service yesterday on Hammer so I requested el Cejas for lunch…read moreon his way home to Lodi. They were running a special for the mini torta and two tacos plate for $10 which is a no brainer because the $12 they normally charge for it is already a great deal. I also got a vampiro because they're SO crispy and delicious. No complaints! I think I've decided that I like the asada better than the pastor, the pastor is still really good but the asada is seasoned perfectly and the cuts of meat they use aren't filled with bs and cartilage and chewy fat like other taco stands. This place is def one of our faves in the valley.

My amazing wife surprised me on my birthday with a ribeye steak sandwich from el ceja. Ive been…read morelooking forward to this sandwich due to being told by multiple people how great they were. The sandwich comes with a generous portion of steak, onions, mayonnaise, mustard, lettuce, and cheese. The star of the show had to be the bun that all of this was placed between. The bun was soft and so tasty. As for the rest of the sandwich it was good, but not great. The steak is cooked well and the toppings hit the spot. Its just for me, nothing other than the bun stood out. Now comes the worst part about this sandwich. Its $20. For $20 I want something to make a sandwich set itself apart from others. Sadly the ribeye steak sandwich from el ceja failed in doing that.

For context, I often find myself driving between San Francisco and Fresno. On one articular trip,…read moreI was craving prime rib (which happens every two weeks or so). I asked my favorite llm where I should stop by for prime rib going from Fresno to SF. It at first suggested I make a bee like for house of prime rib in sf, which I like but have been to many times. It then suggested house of beef and I'm so glad it did (cattleman's in Livermore was also a 3rd choice but I've been there several times too). Thankfully it was Fri eve and they had prime rib. I like mine rare and it was perfectly cooked, very marbled, huge, well seasoned and delicious. I pared it wth au jus and mashed with gravy. Then, what reminded me to write this review, was the tri tip from the meat counter and took to go. They were nice enough to pack it in ice for my 2 hour drive. I just cooked it on my grill in the rain and this is seriously one of the best tri tips I've ever grilled up. The meat tenderness/marbling/quality is on par with any prime grade/American wagyu I've bought and the seasoning is just super on point. Looking forward to smoking the baby back ribs I picked up as well in the next couple of days but I will definitely be back next time I'm in the area. Seems like other reviews had issue with service but the staff were exceptionally attentive when I was there. Seriously the only thing that wasn't top notch about my experience was the cocktails(mine was totally fine but I'm a bit spoiled when I'm in SF) but for my purposes passing through I just wanted the prime rib and meats to go to be delicious and house of beef certainly lived up to its name!

Small dining space, but it works. We came at 5pm ish and got seated, and by 5:30pm, it was very…read morebusy with all the tables taken. Service is fast and attentive, staff is apologetic about the wait, but the waiting time was not too late or rushed. Our server 10/10 service, even gave us extra bread to take home. Salad and soup bar were excellent and everything tasted fresh. We loved the tomato soup, but didn't like the french onion dip soup. The bread was amazing, and even tasted great as reheated leftovers. The prime rib and ribeye steak were cooked perfectly to our order, but couldnt finish eating dud to being full from the unlimited bread, salad and soup bar. Garlic fries were amazing and crispy, even after reheated for leftovers. Only a few things I didn't like was when we went to get our soup and salad, they cleared the whole table. I was warming up the butter in my hands for the bread to spread on faster, but they took it away like trash when we went to grab our salad and soups. They resetted the paper towel rolls to the side of the table when we moved it to the center, and they almost took away my husband's alcoholic drink, and then realized we were still dining. The lighting was definitely way too dark. I could see elderly people slipping if there was were liquids or food filled on the floor. The space is interestingly very small for a steak restaurant, but they seem to make everything flow well. Definitely would come again, enjoy the soup and salad bar, and then maybe share a steak instead of ordering two.

My one stop meat shop!! Good, clean. Local! And great service! Also they have a killer red pasta…read moresauce and sometimes local sourdough. Fight the system! BUY LOCAL

Best meat I've ever had.Sausage, Tri tip, bacon.read more

What an excellent trimmed beef brisket! Slow cooked on my…read moreRecteq pellet smoker for 17 hours & 3 hours rest in a cooler! I will not buy anywhere else for briskets!!

My husband is born and raised in Modesto...we now live in the Bay Area. Every 4-5 weeks we make the…read moredrive out to Dave's to pick up a monthly "special box" (sometimes 2!) and usually a chicken box, for our household meat inventory . Honestly, I'm very picky about my food (not into processed food or MEAT that's ultra processed etc) and you just can't trust these big box stores anymore. For the price (including round trip fuel) and QUALITY, Dave's simply is the best. Everyone who works there is super friendly, helpful, and the place small but CLEAN! I wish i could do my shopping weekly there but it is what is...I'll still make the drive so long as they remain open! Thanks so much for being an amazing small business in CA!!

I've been here before, but NEVER for a 2 hour wait. Mind you, it's 4th of July weekend just 3 days…read morefrom now. Wait was to be expected, but still SUCKS to wait. After my grueling 2 hour wait, I finally open the door to the sweet smell of meat and air conditioning. Atmosphere is busy, and there were 4 lovely ladies just moving along and getting people their orders. I had the GREAT pleasure of having Allie (hope I spelled her name right) serve me. She was extremely patient and giving me every opportunity to ask questions, describe products and give samples to give me the true taste of what she was describing. She was very chipper, never rushing and made me feel like I NEED to come back! Hoping the management reads my review, typically I only write if service was excellent or notably terrible. This visit, this customer service, will make it that much easier, even waiting for 2 hours. Thank you Allie!

Love this place!!…read more ALL of the sausages are amazing. We have usuals that we get: Chorizo and Hawaiian Luau Sausage (regular and spicy) and trying new ones: British Bangers, Portuguese Linguic, Polish Kielbasa THIS is what they usually serve at festivals: the most delicious Smoked Dakota Fresh Bratwurst - A MUST BUY!! This place gets busy so have patience and expect to wait in line (outside - so be prepared when it is HOT outside) , they only allow 6 people inside at a time. Also, review the menu before going and prepared to place your order. You can still peruse and add while they are preparing your order. Street parking only (or at least that was all I saw) - could be challenging to find a spot. Would I go back?? YES.... All the way from San Jose.