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Seattle Times food writer Nancy Leson serves up the best info and tips on Northwest food, cooking, dining and restaurants.

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June 26, 2008 8:25 AM

Where's the (grass-fed) beef?

Posted by Nancy Leson

"I thought you might be the right person to ask what Seattle-area restaurants are serving grass-fed beef," writes Karen Wirkala. "I mean 100%, not just grass-finished. I've been inquiring around, and it is incredibly difficult to find! I can get it at PCC to cook myself but we like to go out once in a while!"

Here's a start, Karen:

Walla Walla's Thundering Hooves promises customers that "Pasture Finished Meats not only means 100% Pasture Finished on our Certified Organic pastures, but also 100% grass-fed throughout the life of the animal! You can be confident our livestock are never fed hormones or antibiotics and always have freedom to forage as they please - sustainable agriculture at its best!" What's more, they conveniently list restaurant clients on their website. And while those restaurant menus are certainly subject to change, this week you can find a selection of Thundering Hooves grass-fed beef at Stumbling Goat Bistro; wrap your hands around a grass-fed burger at the Sand Point Grill or Chow Foods restaurants everywhere; sample a grass-fed Cowboy skirt steak (or the "Texas Pot Roast" seen in its raw incarnation, in the photo above) at Austin Cantina; or order a Thundering Hooves ribeye at Ray's Boathouse.

Sedro-Woolley's Skagit River Ranch proudly raises 150 certified organic,100% grass-fed beef each year and promises that their Angus herd "spend their entire lives on organic pastures, benefiting from rotational grazing on the freshest, most nutritious grasses and herbs." Their beef is regularly featured on area menus, and this week you can find it at Tilth, where grass-fed Skagit River Ranch hanger steak shares the plate with potato gratin, fennel and Picholine olives.

And since the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, I'm putting out a call to all you Eaters, asking: where else might Karen -- and the rest of us -- dine locally on 100-percent grass-fed beef?

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Posted by Lucky

2:02 PM, Jun 26, 2008

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.

Posted by Karen Wirkala

8:13 PM, Jun 26, 2008

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

Posted by Dick

8:45 AM, Jun 27, 2008

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

Posted by Lisa

4:08 PM, Jun 29, 2008

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.

Posted by Seattle Local Food

1:24 PM, Jun 30, 2008

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

Posted by Karen

6:26 PM, Jul 05, 2008

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.

Posted by Wendy

4:50 PM, Jul 17, 2008

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!