The Butcher is In 

At Shadow Wagyu, It’s All About the Beef 

There was a time when a visit to the butcher’s shop was part of the American experience – before supermarkets took over. That experience is back in Coral Gables, albeit with a very specialized butcher. 

“This is the highest quality beef on earth,” says Alex Prendes, the proprietor of Shadow Wagyu, which has for three months been quietly vending Japanese beef in a small shop just south of Havana Harry’s on Le Jeune Road. 

Prices start at a reasonable $12 a pound for MeatWagyu brisket, but quickly climb to $52 a pound for NY Strip and then to $84 a pound for filet mignon. After that, prices soar to $250 a pound for the Kobe ribeye. (For the uninitiated, Kobe is a prefecture of Japan, and hence a type of Wagyu.) While that seems steep, Prendes points out there’s no fat on the meat, just the incredible marbling that makes it taste great. “You can’t eat a pound of it yourself, it’s so rich. A pound will feed 4 or 5 people,” he says. 

Prendes started by selling his meat to NBA players from a warehouse in Cutler Ridge. But demand was so great that he opened his Gables store. Now he gets a regular stream of customers, some who want him to cook the beef on the spot. Hence, you can set up a chef’s table meal in the back – or sit on one of a half dozen seats to eat a wagyu chili dog for $18, a skirt steak and fries for $40, or a pan con bistec for $120 (it uses miyazakigyu beef!)