In September 2011, husband and wife team Josh and Jessica Applestone opened the Brooklyn offshoot of their trailblazing New York meat mecca, located upstate in Kingston. Josh is a reigning figurehead in the new butchering movement—a transformed vegetarian deeply committed to ethically-sourced meats, as well as a skilled professor of his craft. Teaching classes and schooling butchers and chefs alike, the famed Fleisher’s training program has spawned some of the best new-school butchers in the country (including Tom Mylan of the Meat Hook and a few members on this very list.)

Both the Kingston and the Park Slope locations offer only pasture-raised, antibiotic- and hormone free-animals from small local farms. Find common cuts showcased alongside more unusual offerings like beef knuckles, oxtail, and lamb’s neck, as well as a slew of housemade sausages, marrow bones, and a smoky beef-and-bacon grind optimal for burgers. 192 Fifth Ave between Berkley Pl and Union St, Brooklyn, NY (718-398-MOOO, fleishers.com).