I'm feeling equal parts 'dumb' and 'thrilled'.
A couple week ago, I finally took my wife's suggestion and stopped in the Halal grocery store up the street. It's like a time machine: an actual meat counter with an actual butcher with real knives and know-how. They obviously don't carry any pork, but they have beef, goat, lamb, chickens, cornish hens, and turkeys. Plus fresh eggs and lots of sausages and ground meats. All of it raised without hormones, on natural organic feed and butchered just a day or so before the meat gets stocked at the counter.
The embarrassing part is that I keep stopping back for more meat, and asking about all the cuts I've been looking for for years, but had given up on. And the guy is very patiently showing me the glorious truth: that because he processes the *whole cow* he can *of course* sell me all the pieces. So yes, he has whole brisket. Yes, he has tri-tip. Yes, he has hanger steak. And (oh!) yes, he can get me my long-lost ball tip roast. And the prices are quite good-- hanger steak is like 6 bucks, and the tri-tip I bought today was 8 bucks. Not to mention all of the cuts of lamb that he has for some great prices.
Maybe the best part is the service, and the obvious pride the owner takes. He expertly trimmed up my tri-tip today, *before* he weighed it. And gave me an excited, urgent invitation to visit his nearby farm/feedlot/slaughterhouse. He wants me to see how much he cares for the animals, and exactly how he breaks everything down. It's so rare to see someone who takes such pride in his work, and is so happy to help a customer.
Anyway, if there is a Halal market near you, it might be a good place to find some of those long-lost cuts of meat, at some good prices.