Urban Butcher - Mission

So we visited granary road and seen urban butchers so we decided to check it out. They had a ton of frozen foods(yeah I know we should’ve know better) in the freezers and they sounded really good and for the price I actually thought this could be some really good easy meals for the family. We bought the beef lasagna, chicken lasagn and the lobster Mac and cheese. The portions are pretty small so we had to buy 2 of each, the lasagnas were around 15 each and the lobster Mac was just a bit over 20 if I recall right so the prices are pretty high but again I had some high hopes because the store looked good and we paid a premium for frozen foods. We had the lasagnas and they were ok but definitely not worth the price, the lobster Mac and cheese though is why I feel I need to write this. I didn’t bother reading the fine print so maybe it was just lobster flavored and not actual lobster meat because it was bland noodles with a faint cheese flavor, a ton of peppers and zucchini I think and not 1 pc of lobster(at least in mine and my wife’s portions) we had no idea about the kids because they wouldn’t eat it. Hopefully they see this and change things around because it looks like I’m not the only unhappy customer.

After considerable discussion with experienced staff at the store, partly because we lived within an stone's throw of them, I found out that they little differ from the somewhat terrible M&M shops!
I knew M&M when I sold meat out of a little truck when I was a student in southern Ontario before the company went retail. Now the product is not nearly as good, and suspect that they are tenderizing tough cuts in a pretense of the real thing. Tenderized and pseudo-marinated sirloin or round steak should not be sold as tenderloin, but it seems that they are doing it anyway. I also don't trust the spices and such they are putting into their brand, for it seems jacked up with MSG and other flavour enhancers that are toxic.

After buying some of their specialty meats, Urban seems to be copying that trend. I won't be going back ever. No butcher actively cutting meat in the back means that the product isn't to be trusted: any meat can be flash-frozen but if it's not good to start with, there's no way hype can produce the quality of meat many of us want from our 'butcher.'

Steer clear of M&M and Urban unless you don't care what you are putting into your body...

Went to the one in mission today and bought 4 chicken breast. When we got home to prep them the smell was so bad. I've never smelt chicken like this before, we usually buy local chicken at the Calgarys farmers market. We will not shop here again, I threw out the $38 worth of chicken wasn't going to take the risk, it was that bad!

Staff are mostly know nothing jerks and meat is only slightly better than the service. Not a bad place to visit if you really want to get ripped off.

We got some striploins today...a couple for the freezer and a couple for the barbecue. The guys happily trimmed the fat THEN weighed them and vacuum packed them for us - no charge!
We put a couple on the barbecue tonight and they're brilliant. Very flavourful! Thanks guys.

By the way, customer service was great, we browsed for a bit then got politely asked if they could help - top notch!

Ordered really good striploin! Also really enjoy the extras (sauces, pre-made meals) that I can quickly grab. Always really attentive.

Bought elk tenderloin, beautiful cut of meat. Expensive but no more than expected for a specialty cut. Customer service could be better.

Walked in, asked for fondue beef and they basically did everything not to serve me. So much for trying to encourage small local businesses. Sorry I disturbed you walking into your shop!