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It’s possible that the number one reason Anthony Lombardi and his dad, Vince, won for best butcher shop is tradition. They run a shop that has been serving Packer Park fine quality proteins for 13 years and often speaks to the nostalgia that creates cravings born of memories around a dinner table, or in a noisy kitchen.
But Lombardi’s Prime Meats doesn’t just serve the immediate neighborhood: they serve “a lot of South Jersey, people in Delaware, all of the suburbs, they come from everywhere,” said Anthony. “Especially if they grew up around this neighborhood or their parents did and they’re used to what their parents did. They make the trip.”
They come for the family’s specialties, like sausage (“Our sausages are really big because it’s all homemade and we have a lot of different varieties”), chicken cutlet (“We go through about 2,000 pounds of chicken cutlet in a week. It’s the way we trim it and slice it really thin,” said Anthony, holding up a paper-thin sheet of poultry), or prime beef (“We use hanging beef. It comes on a hook and it’s prime. It’s a grade above what you can really get in a box”).
Their pristinely clean shop on Packer Avenue hasn’t always been their home. They used to operate at another spot, at 20th and Jackson, but then they moved when they saw their current location was up for sale: “We gutted it to the studs and redid the whole store from top to bottom.”
With a new home, the Lombardis had to find some good help. And that wasn’t easy. “Many people don’t know how to break [meat] down,” Anthony explained. “Even finding help in here, it’s almost impossible because almost no one knows how to do it. “ Anyone lucky enough to be in on the tutelage of the Lombardi’s father-and-son dynamic will certainly need to love all of it: beef, veal, lamb, poultry, turkey, roasts, chops, steaks. The walk-in business is strong, but their phone business tries to honor pretty much any and every request, from freezer and BBQ packages to cut requests.
Esposito’s snagged second and Dad’s Stuffing earned a bronze.
Contact Staff Writer Bill Chenevert at bchenevert@southphillyreview.com or ext. 117.
2014 Readers’ Choice Awards
Cuisine
Steak ‘Em Up French fries
Philip’s Steaks and Geno’s Steaks (tie) Cheesesteak
PrimoHoagies Hoagie
Lil Nick’s Deli Specialty sandwich
City Pizza Pizza crust
Green Eggs Cafe Brunch menu
Penrose Diner Omelet selection/Diner
Scannicchio’s Italian Restaurant Date night/BYOB
Ristorante Pesto Italian restaurant
Johnny Chang’s Ethnic restaurant (non-Italian)
Breezy’s Café New restaurant (January 2013 to present)
Stogie Joe’s Tavern Bar menu
Nick Elmi Top chef
Sweet Tooth
Isgro Pastries Cannoli/Bakery
Pop’s Water Ice Gelati
Potito’s Cupcakes
Termini Bros Cookies
People
Jason Douglas DJ
The Business Local band
Bobby Rydell South Philly celebrity
Dana Smith Elementary school teacher
Vikings Mummers Brigade
Carl Arrigale High school coach
Neumann-Goretti High school team
Bryan Hughes Youth/recreation league coach
Nick Foles Philly pro athlete
Places
DiBruno Bros. Italian specialty store
Galdo’s Catering Hall
Ten Pennies Florist
Monti Rago Funeral Home, Inc., Funeral home
Packer Park Neighborhood
Epiphany of Our Lord Church Church
Lombardi’s Prime Meats Butcher shop
TLA Music venue
On the Move
Planet Fitness Gym/health club
DanceAdelphia Ballet program
Barry Playground Community pool
Fitness Works Place to take a Pilates class
And Let’s Not Forget
Bartender Category not on this list
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