Cioffi's is at 4142 Hastings St., Burnaby.
Mr Choy already blogged about the awesomeness that is in The Heights (because Burnaby is awesome, too!) and naturally his foto is miles better than mine.
If it's one thing I love, it's boutique shopping. I like going somewhere that sells one thing, really well. Besides getting impeccable service from knowledgeable staff, the quality is quite often over and above what you might find anywhere else. My neighbour mentioned Cioffi's to me and ordered me to check it out, saying, "It's old-school Italian ... on a Sunday morning all the old nonas are fighting each other over who gets the best cut of veal." Sounds like my kind of place: a meat boutique.
There's the beef. Lance and a beautiful brisket.
As a nice Jewish girl (NJG) it's part of my genetic code to love a brisket. Unfortunately the kind I am looking for is not easy to find or particularly common in this neck of the woods, so I thought I'd check out Cioffi's to see if they had the flesh I was after. Cioffi's is family-owned and brother Reno (another brother operates their other location, two doors down) immediately encouraged me to check out the shop and assured me that a beautiful brisket is always on hand.
Sausagefest. The best kind.
Kind fellow that he is, Lance took a moment to give me a quick tour and even showed me the cold storage locker where they specially dry age beef in-house. Love me tender.
People Eating Tasty Animals.
The quality and selection at Cioffi's is pretty impressive, and their prices are reasonable. If you feel like a splurge (that is still cheaper than a good night out) or actually just really care about having real people sell you real food I definitely recommend a visit. Even if you walk away empty-handed you'll enjoy wandering the aisles and taking in the sheer variety of product.
