McMenamins restaurants serve Oregon Country Natural Beef, which I believe are 100% grass fed, organic, etc. In Seattle, that means the McMenamins Pub in Queen Anne, Dad Watson's in Fremont or the Six Arms on Capitol Hill.

Thanks, Nancy! This is great info. These restaurants are definitely at the top of our list. All of the chain steakhouses I contacted said they seve only grain-fed beef. So I'm happy we have plenty of good, independent restaurants with local chefs serving superior food!
Karen

With my wife and friends we received a tour of Sweet Grass Farm on Lopez Island. Scott Meyers and his family have transformed a tired and run-down farm into lush green pastures on which they raise Waygu (Kobe) beef to maturity. The cattle are treated with gentleness, eat grass that never receives fertilizer and is not irrigated, and they receive no hormones. Organic supplements aid their healthy growth.

Scott works with a soil and wetland scientist and geologist, employs rotational grazing and is a steward of the land as he builds the vitality of the land soils.

He also works with Ducks Unlimited (www.ducks.org) to improve wildlife habitat.

The meat is the most tender and tasty we have ever tasted!

Dick

I had the Thundering Hooves burger at Atlas in U-Village a couple weeks ago, and it was fantastic. I'm a bit picky about my burgers, but this one really stood out...perfectly seasoned, not over-worked, medium-rare, as requested, and nice bun and veggies.

My dream is for someone to open a really tasty, authentic SE Asian or Mexican restaurant that serves pasture-rasied & grass fed meats. It's great that a few New American restaurants & pubs are starting to serve it, but how about some more everyday places? And yes, I would gladly pay more for this type of meat.

I'm so glad you're covering this topic! I'd love to know more about which restaurants are offering fully grass-fed meats. Thundering Hooves, Skagit River Ranch, Sea Breeze Farm, and a number of other local soures are great for 100% grass-fed/grass-finished meat.

Two comments:

1. Karen's original question specified "100% [grass-fed], not just grass-finished." Her terminology is actually a little reversed. "Grass finished" means meat from an animal that is not only grass-fed its whole life, but is also fed grass in the last few months of its life (which pretty much reverses the nutritive benefits of the previous grass feeding). "Grass fed" on the other hand can refer to an animal that's fed grass most of its life and then sent to a feedlot for 3-6 months to fatten it up at the end. When she says "100%" what she really means is grass-finished.

2. To Lucky, in the comments above, Oregon Country Natural Beef is not grass-finished. The cows are sent to a feedlot at the end of their lives for a few months. It's specified in the website of that brand. Most larger producers like that do send the cattle to a feedlot.

Debs
Seattle Local Food

Thank you for the clarification, Debs! That makes sense & I'm glad to know the difference. All these terms are a little confusing. I also looked up the Oregon Country Natural Beef & found out the same thing. Will try the Atlas burger as posted by Lisa.

This is great information! I wish there were more restaurants out there that served up 100% grass fed and finished meats. Pasture raised chicken too! Eat Local is a great place to go in Queen Anne. They create gourmet frozen meals that are made from grass fed, pasture raised meats. The veggies are all organic and local. Check it out!