Independent butchers are one of Ireland’s culinary treasures
Russ Parsons: Customers don’t come just for the meat, they come for the personal touch
People come in to the butcher’s, and they have a chat while they buy their meat. That personal touch is part of our culture. Photograph: iStock
Not long after moving to Ireland, I was wandering my Waterford neighbourhood when my eye was drawn to some lovely strip steaks in a butcher’s window. But there was a problem: they were cut a little thinner than I wanted. So I asked the guy behind the counter if he had anything in the back that might be a little thicker.
I didn’t have high hopes. In America a question like this would usually mean some kid would run to the cold room, check the packages already cut and wrapped, and more often than not come back to tell me that was all they had.