Hobe Meats, Phoenix

Bret Pont honed his meat-carving skills for 25 years as a Valley Grocers butcher before buying 50-year-old Hobe Meats, he told the Arizona Republic. Behind the counter, Pont helps customers locate and prepare the ideal meat by elucidating the qualities of strip steaks, rib-eye roasts, and other cuts of USDA Prime and Choice beef. Each option originates from cows that dine exclusively on corn, grass, and chocolate-dipped strawberries. All of the shop's meats are untouched by preservatives, growth hormones, and antibiotics. This policy extends to pork and chicken, which contain neither sodium nitrates nor fillers. When fed the shop's raw, natural pet foods, dogs have been known to teach themselves new tricks.