Independent butchers who buy whole animals directly from local ranchers. They break them down themselves, tell you what ranch the beef came from, and know the difference between a hanging tender and a hanger steak.
Not a grocery counter. A butcher.
Most meat sold in the US passes through four companies. It is slaughtered in industrial facilities, portioned into vacuum-sealed primals, and shipped to grocery distribution centers. The animal has no name. The ranch has no address. The grocery store employee who slices it didn't choose it.
A real butcher bought a whole animal from a named ranch, hung it for three weeks, broke it down by hand, and can tell you exactly what cut is in front of you and why it matters.
The SF butcher guide is the first chapter. Oakland, Berkeley, Marin, and Los Angeles are next — with the same depth of sourcing information, ranch relationships, and cut-by-cut guides. The goal is a directory that makes the provenance of every piece of meat in California findable.