Restaurant Depot

How is the quality of seafood (and other items too, I guess) at Restaurant Depot?

some of the frozen c-food has been acceptable. calamari tubes and tents are what i was buying mainly. don't think they do fresh. i've used them for some bulk grocery items and meat on ocassion. @ that level, i prefer costco. plitt is respectable for fish if you need fresh.

i really like the nova lox from acme smoked fish in brooklyn, available frozen at jetro. it, and the smoked salmon, which i havent tried, are each under $10/lb (2 lb. packages, i think). i usually find nova too bland, but bought it here once on impulse and have bought it again. i also buy the wild caught crawfish meat. today, for myself, i'm mixing it with mayo, cilantro, preserved lemon and diced red peppers and having it on whole wheat bread for lunch.

one thing that jetro does amazingly well, IMO, is customer service. those guys whizzing around on little trucks are extremely helpful. they never say, "i dont know". they always say, 'i'll find out for you'. consistently helpful people, across the board. i've been shopping here since it opened, and find the high quality of their employees remarkable. justjoan

I got hit by a forklift driver the other day. I should have called a manager, but just ripped the guy a new one.
the only thing good at Jetro are the prices on paper products.
their produce sucks and is overpriced when split.
the new layout sucks, the aisles are too narrow.
their ability to keep the same products in stock is laughable. they were out of white vinegar the other day. white vinegar!

between Restaurant Depot and the condos, most of the mom and pop vendors in Fulton market are gone, and now you have no choice but to shop there. it's like WalMart. even the garlic is from China.

the little fresh fish that they get in sucks as well. but they're expanding the line . yippee.

the produce manager is a nice guy, as are most of the women up front. though they completely changed register staff about 3-4 months ago, and that was hellish. I kinda like the meat manager, even if he doesn't like me rummaging through the ribeyes looking for a decent piece of meat. Only one in ten times rummaging will I buy a choice ribeye.

I highly recommend you support the little guys that are left, and that's coming from someone who shops at Jetro daily. All my old purveyors are gone, except Sam's Meat, but I'll be back looking for a new produce and dry goods guy soon.

If you want high quality fresh fish try Wabash Seafood on Hubbard.
312-733-0533. STill run by the Rebello family, fish flown in daily, they are an exceptional operation and super nice folks.

they must read the site, eh? now that the store manager has had a ceiling beam fall on him during construction, the place has really turned it around. the staff has been awesome, beyond helpful and courteous; everything is stocked and (mostly) priced, and they have even been passing their savings on to the customers. ( a big shout out to Adam, for keeping me informed of milk pricing at the CBOT)

and the introductory/ loss leader fish prices have been pretty darn good!
and so has the product. however country of origin labeling would be better.

it's convenient, open late, one stop shopping for the basics. kinda like Aldi.
and that ain't a bad thing.

ive cooked a ton of their chicken for a yearly USO BBQ COOK at the Great lakes Naval base. I thought they were really good quality..never used any of their seafood though

Some advice...take the music off your website. I HATE opening a site and music automatically plays. I don't care how great the music is.

FYI, Jetro now has a section of fresh seafood. I can't justify buying it (hey, I make truffles) so I can't vouch for its goodness (or lack thereof), but it has smelled not-too-fishy while walking past.

CTBoss wrote:Some advice...take the music off your website. I HATE opening a site and music automatically plays. I don't care how great the music is.

what or whos site are you referring to?

Looking for some feedback on the meat and other items available @ the Restaurant Depot locations in Chicagoland.

The Store I will be using will be the Lombard location, and am mostly curious about teh quality of the meat(mostly pork butts, and bb ribs) they offer. I believe I have eaten some of their spares, and butts in the past, but looking for more info, as well as additional cuts that may be avaialable, and overall impressions or must buys @ Restaurant Depot.

I am making my first visit tonight after work utilizing a $25 off any purchase of $100 or more coupon available if you register on their website.


http://www.restaurantdepot.com

Jim, I've always been a bit curious about Restaurant Depot also. But my understanding is that you need a reseller permit to buy there. Is this true? (Maybe you have one?)

Darren72 wrote:Jim, I've always been a bit curious about Restaurant Depot also. But my understanding is that you need a reseller permit to buy there. Is this true? (Maybe you have one?)

yes, you need either a tax id number or a tax exempt number to buy there. The prices I have seen look really good

I just got my Illinois tax ID number last week for a BBQ venture I am starting so I am finally good to go.

I've purchased a lot of the bone-in butts from RD in the past. They're just fine for bbq, available cryovacced in 2-packs or by the case. They seem to average 10-12 lbs., and have nice fat caps. Back ribs (also cryovac) are trimmed nicely and are meaty. I've also purchased flank steak (decent) and skirt (needed a lot of cleaning up).

You can find bags of Royal Oak lump charcoal cheap cheap. Some other things that are good bargains at Restaurant Depot that you don't have to buy by the case or giant can/jar are butter (generic and Plugra), milk, buttermilk, kosher salt, turbinado sugar, regular sugar, pork tenderloins, some hot sauces, some types of rice (I think Thai jasmine and basmati came in 10 lb., as opposed to 50 lb. sacks), and frozen shrimp.

It's been a few months since I've last been to RD, so prices of course may have changed. The Lombard store recently started carrying El Milagro homestyle/totopo chips which I used for my pulled pork nachos. Saved me a trip to the El Milagro factory.

Have fun!

grace

jimswside wrote:

Darren72 wrote:Jim, I've always been a bit curious about Restaurant Depot also. But my understanding is that you need a reseller permit to buy there. Is this true? (Maybe you have one?)

yes, you need either a tax id number or a tax exempt number to buy there. The prices I have seen look really good

I just got my Illinois tax ID number last week for a BBQ venture I am starting so I am finally good to go.

Hi,

If you are using the food for yourself and not reselling the food purchased, you are still responsible for paying taxes.

Regards,

swine dining wrote:I've purchased a lot of the bone-in butts from RD in the past. They're just fine for bbq, available cryovacced in 2-packs or by the case. They seem to average 10-12 lbs., and have nice fat caps. Back ribs (also cryovac) are trimmed nicely and are meaty. I've also purchased flank steak (decent) and skirt (needed a lot of cleaning up).

You can find bags of Royal Oak lump charcoal cheap cheap. Some other things that are good bargains at Restaurant Depot that you don't have to buy by the case or giant can/jar are butter (generic and Plugra), milk, buttermilk, kosher salt, turbinado sugar, regular sugar, pork tenderloins, some hot sauces, some types of rice (I think Thai jasmine and basmati came in 10 lb., as opposed to 50 lb. sacks), and frozen shrimp.

It's been a few months since I've last been to RD, so prices of course may have changed. The Lombard store recently started carrying El Milagro homestyle/totopo chips which I used for my pulled pork nachos. Saved me a trip to the El Milagro factory.

Have fun!

grace

thanks for all the info on the meats Grace,

I had heard about the Royal Oak, and was planning on stocking up, thanks confirmng that.. Also the El Milagro tortillas are a favorite

Cathy2 wrote:
If you are using the food for yourself and not reselling the food purchased, you are still responsible for paying taxes.

you are correct. This visit will be all for me so I expect to pay taxes. Future visits for the business end of what I am planning to do will be non taxable.

I sure dont want any trouble with the tax man,.

Hi,

If you buy for the business for development, it is taxable.

If you buy product for resale, it is not taxable because you collect tax from the end-user.

Looking forward to hearing more about your business venture.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

If you buy for the business for development, it is taxable.

If you buy product for resale, it is not taxable because you collect tax from the end-user.

Looking forward to hearing more about your business venture.

Regards,

thanks for that info Cathy.

I am just starting a small part time BBQ catering business(keeping my day job), so purchasing from Restaurant Depot seemed like a good supplier when I saw their prices on meat, and other items I will need, and I had heard some positive feedback regarding them.

jimswside wrote:I am just starting a small part time BBQ catering business(keeping my day job)

That's great news, man. Congratulations and best wishes!

Yes, Jim, please start a thread with more details. I'm salivating at the thought of catering your bbq.

wow.....

RD is awesome, think Cosco or Sams on roids.... whole goats, lambs, more beef cuts and pork cuts than you could dream of.

Got a 3 pack of BB's for $2.44/lb

a 2 pack of butts for $1.08/lb. 17#

8-12 2# bags of shrimp for $16

the biggest deal imho was the lump 17.6 lb bags of lup for $8.00 ea. got 3.

ill be smoking all of this over the weekend pics to follow in the appropriate places...

RD passed my test this weekend, uninjected pork was as good as you can get anywhere. Meaty BB's, nice butts with centered bones. Really nice frozen freshwater shrimp, etc. This stuff isnt organic, or any other of the trendy buzzwords that some seem pre-occupied with, but it is good, and affordable for working class, family folks who dont have $$$ to waste/burn, thats all that matters to me.

Just got me a chest freezer today, guess where I am going Saturday to fill it up?

Not everything here is a bargain, but as noted, much is. I second the rec's for the gulf shrimps and the royal oak charcoal. In the seafood/fish area, the whitefish is excellent. I have not purchased the dry pack scallops, but the price is very, very good.

These are some other things that my wife and I generally buy: sherry vinegar, olive oil, hot sauce, goat cheese, Bel Gioso cheeses (not bad, really). The prices for lemons and herbs are excellent. You cannot believe how cheap 50 lbs of Wisconsin potatoes can be. We've found in the winter, local beets, apples, turnips and parsnips. A lot of the stuff on the "Jetro" side offer little savings oddly enough (compared to say Costco).

We recently cooked up six of the full briskets purchased here. Because we braised the briskets, we totally trimmed them, a lot of work. Still, for conventional beef, it's not bad, not bad at all--even us locavores cannot always afford 80 or so pounds of meat.

Vital Information wrote:Not everything here is a bargain, but as noted, much is. I second the rec's for the gulf shrimps and the royal oak charcoal. In the seafood/fish area, the whitefish is excellent. I have not purchased the dry pack scallops, but the price is very, very good.

I have NOT shopped the Chicago location, only the St. Louis Manchester Ave. location.

While RD is NOT the cheapest, it is very competitive with what you'll see at the warehouse stores or at GFS.

What I like about the place is the ability to purchase whole cases of primal cuts that you generally do not see. And I am also surprised how much variety of good there. With the exception of certain "odd ball" specialty items, you could easily buy just about anything there.

the price on Royal Oak Lump, the bb ribs, and the butts would be reason enough for me to shop @ RD, the other items are just icing on the cake.

Ill have to check out some beef cuts this week when I go, that and perhaps a case of snow crab. A Valentines Day surf and turf sounds good.

My mistake was I went when I was kind of in a rush, and an hour before they closed, I really didnt have the time to wander around, and check it out more. The selection is kind of overwhelming, kind of a sensory overload for a person who loves to shop for groceries, and cook.

jimswside wrote:My mistake was I went when I was kind of in a rush, and an hour before they closed, I really didnt have the time to wander around, and check it out more. The selection is kind of overwhelming, kind of a sensory overload for a person who loves to shop for groceries, and cook.

Me, too. I shopped at the Chicago location for the first time last week. We got there literally 15 minutes before closing. I didn't get to see much more than the 50 lbs of duck we bought (3 whole ducks and 2 boxes of duck leg quarters), but I was very happy with the ease of retrieving the items and prices. I wish I had more opportunity to shop at RD.

happy_stomach wrote:
Me, too. I shopped at the Chicago location for the first time last week. We got there literally 15 minutes before closing. I didn't get to see much more than the 50 lbs of duck we bought (3 whole ducks and 2 boxes of duck leg quarters), but I was very happy with the ease of retrieving the items and prices. I wish I had more opportunity to shop at RD.

I saw the duck and was tempted, let me know how it turned out.

The one in Lombard is close to where I work(10 minutes away), but like most good things 70 miles from where I live.

jimswside wrote:

happy_stomach wrote:
Me, too. I shopped at the Chicago location for the first time last week. We got there literally 15 minutes before closing. I didn't get to see much more than the 50 lbs of duck we bought (3 whole ducks and 2 boxes of duck leg quarters), but I was very happy with the ease of retrieving the items and prices. I wish I had more opportunity to shop at RD.

I saw the duck and was tempted, let me know how it turned out.

The duck turned out great. It was just for home use. We prepped most of the legs for traditional confit



and used the rest for tartare,



to make sausage,





roasted duck (missing picture), seared breasts,



stock



and cracklings.



The quality was solid and significantly cheaper than what I've paid for duck in the past (only from Paulina). The main issues were that RD sold only one kind of duck (Pekin) and no duck fat, so we had to go to Chicago Game & Gourmet for the Moulard breasts we used for prosciutto and the fat. I don't have regular access to RD, and I don't typically prepare 50 lbs of duck at one time, but RD is where I would go if I was going to do it all again.

Chicago Game & Gourmet
350 N Ogden Ave
Chicago IL 60607
312-455-1800

jimswside wrote:This stuff isnt organic, or any other of the trendy buzzwords that some seem pre-occupied with, but it is good, and affordable for working class, family folks who dont have $$$ to waste/burn

I'm confused why you think the organic and other "buzzwords" (i assume you would be putting free range, humanely treated, hormone free, grass fed into some sort of buzzword silo) is a waste of money, or for that matter why working class families shouldn't be entitled to it? I think in a few years you'll find that these words aren't "trendy" but rather a mainstay that as long as 3 or 4 companies are controlling our entire meat supply, are desirable by many and won't be going away any time soon. Some people would prefer a

since nobody else has really said it... Restaurant Depot's meats are everything that's wrong w/ our food system in America. Restaurants who shop there go there looking for the cheapest stuff money can buy, and end up buying boxes of ammonia soaked ground beef.. because hey, it's a good deal right?

I would actually put some of Costco's meats at a higher quality than RD's, even though as someone else pointed out the selection is more limited at Costco.

Jimswside can speak for himself but unless you make a conscious decision that you are going to buy "free range or organic" meat, the cost is going to be prohibitive to many working class families. I'm a bbq'er and when I see "free range or organic" pork butts going for $5-6 dollars a pound versus $1-1.50 cents a pound, which one do you think that I'm (or most BBQ joints) going to buy? Also consider that pork butts have a 35-45% shrinkage factor and that $5 a pound pork but just turned into a $8 a pound butt. Given that most restaurants strive for 30% food cost per dollar spent, those are going to be some pretty expensive pulled pork sandwiches.

I know that for you and others who decide that this is worth the extra cost, god bless you and more power to you. I believe that there is a place for the small artesian farmer and when prices go down to say, a 100% markup, I would go this route. Its just that I feel that most working class families will not pay the high premium for this type of meat. Now our local Whole Foods is doing a pretty good business so at least there is a market for those who disagree with me.

dddane wrote:

jimswside wrote:This stuff isnt organic, or any other of the trendy buzzwords that some seem pre-occupied with, but it is good, and affordable for working class, family folks who dont have $$$ to waste/burn

I'm confused why you think the organic and other "buzzwords" (i assume you would be putting free range, humanely treated, hormone free, grass fed into some sort of buzzword silo) is a waste of money, or for that matter why working class families shouldn't be entitled to it? I think in a few years you'll find that these words aren't "trendy" but rather a mainstay that as long as 3 or 4 companies are controlling our entire meat supply, are desirable by many and won't be going away any time soon. Some people would prefer a

since nobody else has really said it... Restaurant Depot's meats are everything that's wrong w/ our food system in America. Restaurants who shop there go there looking for the cheapest stuff money can buy, and end up buying boxes of ammonia soaked ground beef.. because hey, it's a good deal right?

I would actually put some of Costco's meats at a higher quality than RD's, even though as someone else pointed out the selection is more limited at Costco.