Mr. Prime Beef

I drive all the way from NE Anchorage through rush hour traffic every Monday or Tuesday to get the fresh stuff from this place. The old lady and I have unhealthy addictions to the Ranch-​Style bacon; unhealthy because she will likely hurt me if I eat it all without her again. Very good cuts of meat at a very good price and a friendly staff to boot.

As although butcher shops are few in Anchorage I almost want to give this 3 stars, but, I’m in Palmer and have much better options. I didnt think that MPB was that pricy (Tbones $ 9.99; rib steak 13.99; chuck roast $ 4.69) as a butcher shop, but definitely nothing special, the quality is mediocre at best, and labeling is entirely absent. There is no info on origin or culture (grassfed, organic, etc) so What is it? Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation product? Even Freddies has better labeling at least to the point where you know what is ‘natural’ (BS) and what is organic… I guess one will just have to ask, and I didn’t so my bad.
Alaska has a small but very high quality meat enterprise, you will find good examples of it at 3 Bears, MatValley Meats, and SaveU More in Homer, who have professional butchers who will GlAdLy cut you what you want. I did not exactly get a warm customer– friendly vibe at MPB, they didn’t seem to have much patience for questions either but I have to hand it to them, they have that east coast style, sell it now, and sell it quick MO that is missing in many stores in AK especially the deli counter a Safeway or Freddies. The meat I bought, a chuck roast, was a tad ‘off’, a bit ‘livestocky’ and highly marbled which can be good or bad, but when I got home I ended up trimming quite a bit of fat off, a bit excessive I felt. After cooking it was OK, but not great, as I said, a little too fatty and that part of that hinderence comes from really not being able to get a good look at the meat until you get home and unwrap it.
I doubt I’ll be going back.

I dunno why Anchorage doesn’t have more butchers. Mr. Prime Beef just pisses me off cause it’s so freaking pricey and nothing special. Yeah they do have a few things you can’t get other places, big deal, it’s a butcher, so they SHOULD have some specialty items. They get no points for that. I’ve tried their bargain boxes and they really aren’t any great savings and the quality is just meh. And you have to order ahead, which I find bizarre. It took them a whole day to get my bargain box ready. Whatev.
I haven’t had a bad experience per-​say, but if there was another butcher in the area, I would NEVER go to Mr Prime Beef again. My sweetheart loves their hotdogs (which have that casing that snaps when you bite into it *GACK*) so that might keep me going back, just for that.

From the outside this place does not look like much. But inside it is an old fashioned meat market! We bought two beef tenderlions (filet mignon) for New Years dinner. They were pricey but OMG it melted in our mouths. Cut it with a butter knife! We also picked up some twice baked potatoes, which were a little salty but had lots of flavor. And they carry our fav McCormick’s meat marinade, which has been hard to find in the grocery stores. They had everything from lamb to rabbit. Picked up a bag of beef bones for the dog. Everything looked great. Will definately be returning here for our meat! Thanks Mr Prime Beef!

I live in the Aleutian chain so it’s quite pricey to by meat there. I get the hindquarter pack and I know every item I oprn will be GOOD. For good service excellent product they cannot be beat PERIOD.

I can only review this spot based on one quick stop – for steaks on the way to the bush. I have a tradition – first night camping I bring some ridiculously great food that makes no sense to carry – this time it was some crazy wild good thick steaks that I grilled over a fire in Lake Clark National Park – with a bottle of Cote Rotie – oh man, my mouth is watering just thinking about it! Anyway I’d been told Mr. Prime was the place to get your meat and based on one purchase… super! Worth flying this meat out into the bush…

Hmmmmm… Meat/​Butcher Shops… those are HARD to find up here. You know when you walk in, see guys and gals in white aprons, knives everywhere, raw chunks of huge beef being cut, and on display. Massive hot dogs for sale, thick thick bacon cut, Reindeer meat, hams… poultry. Great place to get your meats, but I have to drop a star, because the prices can hurt you. But I love, I JUST LOVE getting a 36 oz. T-​Bone cut to my specs… or a Chateaubriand… this place is worth the money!