As the back-half of summer goes scorched earth on our long days, so too will our grills fire up many delicious, smoked meats.
Hopefully by a pool. And hopefully with the kind of top-level cuts you simply won’t find at your nearby Publix or Whole Foods.
Tampa Bay is peppered with independent and family-owned butcheries with longstanding traditions of acquiring the meats, sausages and delicacies you long for—too many for one blog to handle. But these ten we know for sure hold a cut above the rest.
There’s still enough summer left to hit them all.
Heights Meat Market
Tampa Heights, Brandon, Clearwater
Relatively new but expanding fast, Heights Meat Market touts everything from Angus and Wagyu to exotic game and seafood.
Cacciatore and Sons
West Tampa
A top player in the game since 1896 with throwback prices to boot. Good enough for Ybor City icons of yore, good enough for you.
Cacciatore Bros. Italian Specialty Store
Town ‘N’ Country
Even more Cacciatores. This time in Town ‘N’ Country.
St. Pete Meat & Provisions
Downtown St. Pete
You know exactly where your delectable food is coming from at this local St. Meat haven.
Robert’s Meats & Catering
South Tampa
One of the most iconic ribeye sandwiches of South Tampa has a new website and a new home on Gandy.
Mazzaro’s Italian Market
St. Pete
Pasta, coffee, imports, meat, seafood—If it’s Italian, they’ve got it here.
Interbay Meat Market
South Tampa
When you see the “Green Store,” you know you’re going home with something remarkably good.
The Boozy Pig
Tampa
A bag of jerky for the car ride home is a must.
Aliana Meat Market
East Tampa
Family-owned and operated since 1995—the kind of place you keep an eye on for the occasional bargain.
La Casa Sierra Meat Market
NoHo Tampa
The only place on this list with a front door that quite literally looks like a hole in the wall.