Dick Howard's Meat Center

Ok...so we needed to buy some chicken. And apparently the place to go in town for any meat product is Dick Howards. I don't eat red meat so I hadn't been before- until I heard they have really nice pre-marinated chicken breasts. So the boys and I went after haircuts at a local barber (complete with a large deer head and various other animals on the walls) called Lews. I really wish I had my camera...for both Lews and Dick Howards. If this place wasn't the go-to place I never would have stepped foot in the door. It certainly doesn't look like much from the outside...a very typical hole-in-the-wall looking place, has a small parking lot and is right next door to a gentlemen's club of some sort. Nice.
It was simple on the inside....just one massive deli-type counter with anything you could imagine: pepperoni sticks, elk jerky, deer jerkey, buffalo, ham, beef jerkey, crabs, kebabs, red snapper, stuffed chicken breasts, cornish hens, grass fed beef and on and on. I didn't even look too closely at the meat side but I can only imagine the choices. They also carried several local products: organic cocoas, chocolate, jams, BBQ sauces, pre-packaged local grains...etc. So it was kind of fun to look around. The man who helped me was so nice and patient and I didn't feel rushed (although the place was busy) and so it had fantastic customer service. I bought some italian marinated chicken breasts, "pop's" special seasoning chicken breasts, and some terijaki chicken breasts. And right before I left I saw some marinated chicken fajitas complete with peppers and onions so I bought a couple of pounds of that for dinner. They were SO good. The four of us ate almost the entire 2 lbs of it. And they were reasonably priced too. I was excited to find a good alternative to eating out since there aren't a ton of restaurants here.

I just saw some reviews for Dick Howards and this place is known even outside of OR:

by Annie 11/09/2009
Howards is the best butcher shop around, hands down. I live in Northern California and when I come to K Falls I ALWAYS stop at Howards to buy meat to bring home; lots of hamburger, marinated steaks, sausages, ribs, elk, and buffalo. Howards will freeze my order until I'm ready to go home. I've even mentioned Howards to friends that travel, they now stop every time they pass through town. The service is friendly too.

And this one I thought was funny:
Their marinated steaks ARE THE BEST ! UMMMMMM-UMMMM! Just finished microwaving and eat one - DELICIOUS ! Also, they have the best selection of meats in the area -- as a matter of fact, they're the only game in town. Funny how they're located next door to a strip club. Weird. But DELICIOUS MEATS, NONETHELESS !

As for local restaurants, we have heard that there are a couple of good sushi restaurants we want to try. One even has good lettuce wraps-I can't wait to compare them to PF Changs wraps. There are a ton of Mexican restaurants here as well. The good thing about living in smaller towns is you really have the opportunity to try all of the "local" joints and not just chain restaurants. But speaking of chain restaurants, we had Papa Murphy's since we have been here and it is SO good too. I have never had Papa Murphy's before but there is one right near our house.

And if anything, we don't eat out very much anyway and it will force me to use my new Wolf range and try many new recipes!