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Sonora's Meat - We are already opened


josepepe

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Butchers I buy from need a little advance notice to save 'roast.' Otherwise they cut them up for locals so no big pieces. Tried for Tri-Tip today but not available. They will have tomorrow as they slaughter according to demand. Lent and all. Got rump roast to try.

One I cooked I had to cut in two to fit in pot. Made each piece about 3/4 kg. About thickness you describe. Ate a few slices today. Still OK Bueno!

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We had two filetes today that were a terrible disappointment. The complete opposite experience of my previous three visits.

Damn. Ugh. Sigh.

I'm by no means giving up on Sonora, but if this were my first experience with it, I would need a lot of convincing to return.

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Someone above mentions that the ribeye from this store is very tender and tasty. We have now tried both the vacio and the ribeye, and both were substandard. The ribeye, bought and cooked today, was dry, tough and had no marbling, just a strip of odd-looking fat on the outside. Both cuts were tasteless. We were surprised given the comments above. We bought in the past from Carnes Finas de Sonora (Tango's supplier) on Vallarta at Patria in Guadalajara and though we think they've gone down a bit in quality, the imported cuts of ribeye and vacio were, maybe still are, way better than the meat at the Ajijic Sonora's meats.

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We had two filetes today that were a terrible disappointment. The complete opposite experience of my previous three visits.

Damn. Ugh. Sigh.

I'm by no means giving up on Sonora, but if this were my first experience with it, I would need a lot of convincing to return.

we too had an unsatisfactory experience with Sonora. we went in 3 weeks ago and spoke with a butcher, Mario and confirmed with an older man, the owner. we were told that in order to get a discount for our restaurant we needed to buy a minimum of 3 kilos. the lamb leg was listed as 140p/kilos and needed to be ordered at least 2 days in advance. maria elena at the organic market didn't have any ground lamb this week, so we decided to give Sonora a try. the shop was empty except for a new young butcher and a woman at the register, neither of which spoke any english. she could not confirm our order as the owner wasn't there, but promised to call us. we left our data and order in her notebook. she called a day later and said that our order would be ready after noon the next day. when we went to pick it up imagine our shock when she pulled out a bill for over 500p! 180p/kilo! we should have walked out,but we were committed to our menu by that time and although we complained about the change in terms, the woman told us that's what it is, too bad. we hope that it will be tasty,but we won't be back again.

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Interesting: The Walkers have been given second and even third chances by some of us, but they apparently don't give the same to others. Why not call the owner and let him know what happened? (Not to mention why assume the price of the lamb was the same as three weeks before?)

Just wonderin'....

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Not to get too carried away: I sent my husband to buy the meat both times (vacio, ribeye) and even though he may not be the world's best shopper, he should have been able to come away at least with ribeye that looked like the real deal without my having to look over his shoulder. It was horrible grilled and horrible cooked slow in liquid - no ribeye or for that matter vacio should ever be so tough and tasteless. Should we pay premium prices for truly inferior meat? It's not a matter of opinion - i.e., someone on chapala.com says it's good. It's a matter of a certain standard.

Also, if a business quotes a wrong price, they should swallow it and honour it. In my experience, that is rarely the way here.

We are going to stick with the imported meats from Carnes Fines de Sonora at the corner of Vallarta and Patria in Guadalajara. They're the company that supplies Tango.

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PS to Pulelehua: the people above didn't get a quote on the meat 3 weeks before they went to pick it up; they are only speaking up now, three weeks after having bought the meat and having the price switched. I'm pretty sure if you were in another country you wouldn't tolerate a 40 peso (3.12 USD) per kilo change on the price quoted you, whether it was 3 weeks or 3 hours before.

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We have been very pleased with Maria Elena's lamb shanks (and we are former sheep ranchers, inter alia) and have not tried Sonora's yet.

And, Canamex: Thanks for the correction: I must have misread "three weeks ago" and "this week" as two different time frames instead of same time frame. However, my primary concern, perhaps poorly expressed, was with the sentiment that because something went wrong, the doorstep of the business should never again be darkened even though, from the information given, the owner was never given a chance to make good what went wrong. If the owner then blew me off, whether I continued to do business there would depend on how important the product was to me and how difficult it would be to obtain the product elsewhere. If I felt it was necessary to continue doing business with the company, I would then think of ways to protect myself in future dealings. For sure, in this type of situation, I would get the price quote in writing before committing to a sizeable purchase.

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Interesting: The Walkers have been given second and even third chances by some of us, but they apparently don't give the same to others. Why not call the owner and let him know what happened? (Not to mention why assume the price of the lamb was the same as three weeks before?)

Just wonderin'....

the price was on a sign on the wall, same as before. the woman heard of our discussion of terms with the owner and said she would call us to confirm. she called and confirmed the deal and set up the pick up time. it was only when we picked it up that she said the terms were different and we could take it or leave it. at no time this week did we see or talk to the owner. for all we know the business has changed hands....

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Well, we may try Sonora one last time, with me shopping, to see what looks good on that day. But we'll do a side by side comparison with the Carnes Finas from Guadalajara and see which is better and no third chances if it's not up to snuff.

To Pulelehua, of sheep farming, a question: I've always loved lamb, but find the lamb here stronger-tasting (and tougher) than Ontario and New Zealand lamb (the only two I know). Has it to do with the age of the animal? Is it the different feed? Or is it "mutton dressed as lamb?" I've been curious about this for a long time and would appreciate knowing. Here we've tried Maria Elena's and Tony's.

And a second question to anyone: why is there no (real) veal here?

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Hola Canamex: Sweet and tender lamb is young lamb. Older lambs yield chewier meats with a stronger taste but come nowhere near mutton in a "sniffer" competition.

Occasionally (but rarely) have seen veal at Tony's. Might be available this time of year. Oh, now I am beginning to feel nostalgic -- remembering Marcella Hazan's recipe for veal osso bucco!

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Here 'veal' is from 6 month old animals. It was available at tianguis a couple of years ago but freaked out some of clients due to gross videos they had seen of harvest NOB. Not sure how meat was as never talked to buyers. I heard someone ask for it a few weeks ago and were told it could be ordered.

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I was refering to 'original' organic tianguis at Hole-in-One. Today I asked about veal at 'organic/natural' tianguis by casino/movie theater. Marie Elena said she can get it but has to order entire animal and hasn't been enough inquiries to merit the amount she would have to buy. However, she said she was considering it to test demand again.

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I was refering to 'original' organic tianguis at Hole-in-One. Today I asked about veal at 'organic/natural' tianguis by casino/movie theater. Marie Elena said she can get it but has to order entire animal and hasn't been enough inquiries to merit the amount she would have to buy. However, she said she was considering it to test demand again.

The market you attended today is the same one that used to be at the Hole in One - they simply changed locations.

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To clarify: The Tuesday market that is located at the new plaza complex located at the intersection of the Libramento and the Carretera is now called the "Farmer's Market". Originally it was known as the "Organic" market and was located on the floor below the "Hole in One" (restaurant/bar/golf school/hang-out). The market changed it's name simply because not all products sold can be certified as "organic" and perhaps of more importance, some products were never intended to carry the "organic" designation. The market that is now held at the "Hole in One" location is a venue used for the sale of mostly prepared meals and other food items and the vendors are mostly other local residents who wish to share their culinary talents and, perhaps, make a few pesos in the process.To

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Not intending to start an issue, but this is not my first rodeo with 'organic' and local tianguis. Few years ago I worked with Un. of Chilpancingo and ag officials in Joco to develope plan for 'naturally produced' products aimed at rural women to expand their family plots to support themselves. Actually, a local tianguis or two was part of the plan to offer them a market. It was intended as a model that could be applied throughout the developing world. Politics............

Locally, I don't know of any 'organic' producers selling at retail. Some for export but are not small producers. Organic denotes having spent a lot of $ to be certified by an international 3rd party. Producers in the US and Europe have gone to 'Naturally Produced' and other classifications to bypass strict laws for 'organic.' Local producers may grow their products with as stringent rules as for organic but don't have $ to get certification. Farmers Market investigates local producers to see they qualify. Can pretty much guarantee that all other tianguis produce, etc. sellers get their products at Abastos in Guad. Usually poorer quality and rejects that are cheaper.

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