Last Wednesday, as I simultaneously sank into vacation mode and revved up for holiday mode (i.e. had a vodka gimlet), my doorbell rang. The handsome dude at the door informed me that he’d been in my neighborhood delivering frozen steaks, etc., and had some leftover, broken cases on the truck which he needed to unload at rock-bottom prices.
He really did have a frozen-foods truck with “Wicked Good Meat” logos on it, and a professionally-made brochure. He showed me his meat ;), all vacuum-sealed and portioned. Said it was comparable to Omaha Steaks. I am normally very resistant to sales pressure and skeptical to a fault, but damn, did his bacon-wrapped filet mignons look appealing! I dithered and he offered me a broken case (9 portions) of the abovementioned filets for $25.00. And as we chit-chatted, I discovered that I work with his uncle. SOLD! I dug the money out of my purse; he puttered away in his little truck.
I am planning to cook a couple of them up for New Year’s Day dinner, along with some garlic smashed potatoes, Alton Brown’s green bean casserole, and homemade yeast rolls.
Do you think I was taken? Anyone ever heard of “Wicked Good Meat”? At roughly $2.75 each, and a minimal blip on my wallet, how bad would these filets have to be to make me cringe in shame at being fleeced? And most importantly, have you ever bought meat from a stranger off a truck?
I’ve done this. The steaks were nice cuts, but the taste suffered from being frozen. I’m back to fresh supermarket cuts, and I wouldn’t buy frozen steaks again, from whoever.
I don’t know about the Wicked Good Meat logo, but people in trucks make the rounds here trying to sell frozen meat, giving similar stories about leftovers, broken cases, etc. I’ve never bought any, but their reputation here locally is that they sell extremely low quality meat that does not weigh as much as it is labeled as weighing.
I’m especially skeptical of them because of how rude they sometimes get when I politely decline to purchase any.
I live in Omaha, and drive right past Omaha Steaks on my way to and from work. For frozen meat, they have a pretty good product. About three or four blocks from Omaha Steaks is the small butcher shop where I buy almost all of my meat.
I was out mowing my lawn last summer and this guy drives up selling frozen meat. Says he had some left after delivering an order in my neighborhood and would make me a ‘good deal’. Told me that my neighbors had bought some. It’s a small town and I know all my neighbors and didn’t know the name.
Very agressive sales. Worse than timeshare salesmen, if you know what I mean. And would not take NO for an answer. Sky high prices for meat from who knows where and frozen how long.
I looked at some and said I could get a better deal on fresh, and walked back into my house. SOB followed me onto my porch so I took a picture of him with my cell phone and threatened to call the cops.
Scam, scam, scam. I’d rather buy Amway from a Jehovah Witness.
Funny how you pointed out how rude they are. I assume from your name that you are from Kansas, but they are plenty rude out here in California as well when you don’t buy anything!
I’m like “I’ve got 3 big supermarkets within a mile of here. Why would I buy something like meat or fish off a truck that is driving around the neighborhood? Go out to some rural areas where people have to drive miles and miles to get to a supermarket.”
I regularly get hit up by the steak guys in my neighborhood with some extra stuff they need to let go cheap. I never figured it was a scam, but I never believed they were just trying to give me a deal, either.
Yes, semi-rural Kansas. The irony here is I’ve got two big freezers in my basement, and if I want beef, any of a number of my neighbors will give me a good deal on a half a steer when they have one slaughtered for their own use. Seems like here, the guys in the truck are trying to sell coal to Newcastle.
+1 with duke. my first thought was… if it was a ripoff, it’s the cheapest ripoff ever. second thought: i would have fired one up right then to see if it tasted any good. if so, then bully for me. if not, then it was a moderately priced life lesson.
Buying meat from a truck. Reminds me of one of those dubious businesses the Three Stooges would run in one of their short films. (“OK, Larry, you distract the butcher with your violin. I’ll grab as many steaks as I can, and Curly, you stand by the rear of the truck and make sure to open the doors when I come runnin’ with 'em. You got all that?”)
