The Appropriate Omnivore

2011: The Year of the Grass Fed Beef

2012-01-18T22:20:00.000-08:00

In 2011, I began the blog for the Appropriate Omnivore. The timing for couldn't have been better. 2011 was also the year for the most openings of grass fed beef restaurants in Los Angeles.

All cows used to be grass fed, but after World War II, with the rise of industrialized agriculture, cows began to be fed corn due to its surplus. The problem was that cows, by nature, are not meant to eat corn. In 1999, there was the formation the Weston A. Price Foundation, which recommended to go back to grass fed beef, among many other changes in the Western diet. Then in 2006, Michael Pollan published the bestseller The Omnivore's Dilemma, which gained even more followers to the grass fed movement.

Over the past decade, Los Angeles has been opening restaurants that serve grass fed beef, but no year had as many open their doors as in 2011. There are about 17 grass fed beef restaurant in LA and six of them started up last year.

Most grass fed beef restaurants tend to serve burgers. The newcomers to provide grass fed patties included two in Santa Monica, The Misfit and Shaka Shack. LA also got an addition from the San Diego chain Burger Lounge, proving that a grass fed beef restaurant can be a successful model and take on thriving gourmet burger chains like The Counter and Umami. There are already plans for another Burger Lounge to open in Beverly Hills this spring. Lastly in the burger world, Short Order was not only one of the most anticipated grass fed meat restaurant openings, but one of the most anticipated restaurant openings in general. Short Order was the latest offering from celebrity chef Nancy Silverton, who's also behind the La Brea Bakeria and Pizzeria Mozza.

While burgers are still the most common way to find grass fed beef, two new restaurants expanded this sustainable meat's status in the Los Angeles culinary world. Mixto in Silverlake became the first Mexican restaurant to serve it. And the small plate bar and restaurant Wood & Vine has a menu item of a grilled flat iron grass fed steak.

The rise of grass fed beef options wasn't limited to restaurants. A butcher shop called Lindy & Grundy opened in the Fairfax district. The shop sells a wide variety of grass fed meats as the owners utilize the whole animal for the meats they get from various family owned farms in California.

With the grass fed beef restaurant scene having rapidly grown in 2011, I can't wait to see what happens in 2012. And as grass fed beef has caught on, maybe American will latch on to other changes, such as raw milk, sprouted grains, and fermented foods. It should be an exciting year.

30 Day Kombucha Challenge: Week One

2012-01-12T20:51:00.000-08:00

It's been one week since I've started the 30 Day Kombucha Challenge and so far, I'm feeling great. I'm seeing many of the benefits that kombucha promises. For several years now, I've been someone who's always needed to start out the day with a cup of coffee. Since beginning the challenge, I haven't had any coffee. I haven't felt as much of the need for sugary desserts. I'm also am able to eat less and feel satisfied.

I've tried two different flavors from Kombucha Kamp - love potion 99 and apple pie. Kombucha tea is a mix of sour and sweet. I find that when first sipping it, the drink tastes very sour. But the more you get into it, some sweetness develops. I preferred the apple pie for the sweeter taste that remained in it. I'm an appropriate omnivore, so I enjoy some good fruit. I love all kinds of desserts made with apples - apple pie, apple gelato to name a few. Being able to mix apple flavor with kombucha is a win win situation for me.

Next up, I'll be drinking a batch of kombucha that I'm making myself (pictured at the top), thanks to a starter kit from Kombucha Kamp. It's been a lot of fun learning to how to brew kombucha. This is going to be the first of many fermented foods that I'll be preparing.

The Appropriate Omnivore Does the 30 Day Kombucha Challenge

2012-01-02T23:01:00.000-08:00

After talking with representatives from the Weston A. Price Foundation at the Green Festival last year, I've been transitioning into the direction of the real food movement. One of the things that the WAPF recommends eating is fermented foods, such as the fermented tea known as kombucha. Kombucha has many health benefits, including improving your digestive system, boosting your immunity, controlling your appetite, and curbing your sugar cravings.

With the new year upon us, I realize I still have a lot to work on as far as following more of the Weston A. Price Foundation lifestyle. I thought what a better way to start off the year than by being part of the 30 Day Kombucha Challenge by drinking the fermented tea of Kombucha Kamp. Throughout the month, I'll be sharing the experiences of my kombucha quest.

Burger Lounge West Hollywood Opening Soon

2011-11-10T23:26:00.001-08:00

Several gourmet burger chains already exist in Los Angeles, such as The Counter and Umami Burger. In February, the San Diego chain Burger Lounge announced it would be opening a location in West Hollywood. As the Burger Lounge uses grass fed meat from the Tallgrass Beef Company, the Appropriate Omnivore has eagerly been awaiting its opening.

The Burger Lounge's website now says the West Hollywood location will open in mid-December. It also says that a restaurant will open in Beverly Hills sometime in 2012. These two new additions will bring the Lounge to have a total of eight restaurants. In addition to serving grass fed beef, the restaurant also is certified green by The Green Restaurant Association.

Burger Lounge being able to compete with the other hot gourmet burger brands proves that sustainability can sell. The Appropriate Omnivore will be there when it opens to see how it ranks with the other grass fed beef burgers in the city.

Ice Cream from Grass-Fed Cows #1: Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams

2011-11-08T23:25:00.000-08:00

Much focus has been put on eating meat that's grass fed, but consuming dairy products from grass fed cows is just as important. There are many dairy farms that raise cows on pastures and produce everything from milk to cheese to butter to ice cream. This is the first in a series reviewing one of my favorite types of sweets that meet sustainability.

Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams started in Columbus, OH in 2002. It now has eight shops in Columbus, one in Cleveland, and two in Nashville. Along with making its ice cream from the Snowville Creamery's grass grazed cows, it's also known for offering some of the most unique flavors. I was given a four pints of different flavors as a gift and thought what a better way to start off this overdue series.

Beginning clockwise at the left with the photos above, the first flavor is dark chocolate. While I appreciated the richness of this particular flavor, it was my least favorite as it was the most ordinary of the bunch.

Next is the bourbon buttered pecan. Hearing bourbon in the name, I feared feeling drunk and on a sugar high at the same time. Not the case. The Maker's Mark bourbon adds a little extra oomph to it, but the ice cream doesn't taste like liquor. The pecans are the hero of this flavor. Often nuts are ground up to little pieces in ice cream, but here my tongue could still feel the original texture of the pecans.

Continuing with bold flavors, we come to the Queen City cayenne, a mix of chocolate and spice. Loyal readers will know that I love spicy foods. But I wasn't quite sure how I'd feel about spice mixed with my sugar. It turns out the two go together much better than expected. One second, I savored the sweetness. The next second, I was getting a little kick out of it. The roller coaster of the two tastes in this flavor is something I've never quite felt before while eating ice cream.

Last, comes my favorite ice cream flavor of the four, salty caramel. It's not as out there as the Queen City cayenne, but this one tastes sweet and savory at the same time. Most caramel flavored ice creams don't have the same strong taste as pure caramel. Jeni's caramel tastes like I'm eating the chewy candy itself.

Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams sets the bar pretty high for ice cream from grass fed dairy. It respects the individual flavors of the ingredients and pays off with its daring pairings.

For those of you that don't live near any of the shops, click here for retail partners across the U.S. that sell Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams.

Los Angeles Green Festival: An Appropriate Omnivore's Point of View

2011-11-07T23:04:00.001-08:00

The focus of my blog may be on sustainability in the food industry, but I'm interested and active in all areas of environmentalism. I loved that the Los Angeles Green Festival was able to cover everything from how to power your home to how to invest your money in socially responsible companies to how to get involved with your areas of interest in the green world. I spent my time learning about as many different subjects as I could. But of course, the booths related with food and agriculture caught my attention the most.

At green conventions, I often find most of the food related exhibitors are either vegan or vegetarian. I previously wrote about the euphoria I felt seeing the Weston A. Price Foundation at the Green Festival. This was the only time I'd seen something in an environmental convention that talked about the environmental pluses of being an omnivore, with the exception of the meat, egg, and dairy vendors at the Natural Products Expo West.

While the Weston A. Price Foundation was the only booth with a focus on eating meat, there were other exhibitors that supported consumption of sustainable animal products. First, there was the Homegirl Cafe, one of the most unique restaurant concepts. The Homegril Cafe takes at-risk former gang members and trains them in the restaurant business and culinary arts. The food they serve is organic produce grown in urban gardens. The Homegirl Cafe offers many great vegetarian options, but appropriate omnivores will be pleased to at their meat, poultry, and fish offerings.

The online market Spud.com was also at the Green Festival. While they're known for selling lots of organic produce, you can also buy the Santa-Barbara based Paso Prime grass fed beef from their site. Another booth was Food & Water Watch, which focuses on areas that affect everyone, such as non-GMO foods and water safety, but also letting people know about alternatives to factory farming.

And then there was the usual share of vegan related exhibitors and speakers. But I felt I was able to have open and meaningful discussions with them. I went to the Earth Balance Press Brunch, which talked about the benefits of a vegan diet. During the Q&A part from the press, I felt comfortable being able to bring up how I felt that meat can be healthy and good for the environment.

As I wore a press badge that said "The Appropriate Omnivore" on it, I found many exhibitors at the convention were pleased to see what I'm doing. It turns out there are more pro-meat eating environmentalists than I thought there were. A woman at the Mercy for Animals booth also saw my badge. She disagreed with my point of view, but the two of us were able to have a meaningful conversation. She als said she's interested in following my blog.

Then there was the PETA table. Okay, that one I just made sure to run by as fast as I could. And I was able to do that without them seeing my name tag. Who says meat doesn't give you more energy?

While I was glad to see that there were exhibitors offering multiple solutions to the food crisis, whether it's raw food, eating more veggies, or simply more sustainable meat, I wish that the Weston A. Price Foundation wasn't the only exhibitor that had a direct focus on the benefits of meat, eggs, and dairy.

For future Green Festivals, I'd like to see more booths that support the idea of appropriate omnivorism. There are so many ways this can be done from farms with pasture raised animals (e.g. Organic Valley) to dieticians to authors. We need to let more people know that meat, poultry, fish, and dairy are part of the solution to the environment, not the problem.

Los Angeles Green Festival: Weston A. Price Foundation Part II: Meeting the Members

2011-11-05T23:23:00.000-07:00

LA WAPF chapter co-leader Victoria

with me at the LA Green Festival.

Yesterday, I posted about getting the unforgettable opportunity to speak with the Weston A. Price Foundation at the Green Festival. While I was there learning more about their dietary lifestyle, I also was able to speak to all four of the WAPF members present at the booth to hear their personal stories. I also found out how their booth fared at a festival where most food organizations there were vegan or vegetarian related.

First, I was ecstatic about getting to talk to fellow blogger Ann Marie. She runs the site Cheeseslave, which offers lots of great insight on traditional eating as well as a diverse list of recipes for healthier, more sustainable foods. She also maintains the website Real Food Media, which is a network of bloggers to devoted to the Weston A. Price Foundation's wise traditions. Ann Marie has been a WAPF chapter leader in Los Angeles and is now is looking to be a part of the Las Vegas chapter.

Ann Marie became involved with the Weston A. Price Foundation four years ago, because of her daughter. She was vegetarian in college, which resulted in a mouthful of cavities and a root canal. She then developed candida, where she could only eat meat and fish and had to avoid gluten andgrains. Eating meat and fish again was able to cure Ann Marie's athritis and this changed her outlook on consuming animal products. Her negative reactions to gluten and grain are now reversed and she's in good health by sticking to the real food movement.

I then met up with Victoria, the current Los Angeles Weston Price chapter co-leader. She's been working with the organization almost since its birth in 1999 and was one of the first chapter leaders. She learned about the WAPF while hearing a Sally Fallon interview on the KPFK radio station. Victoria previously was on a vegan diet where she was unhealthy for six years. She was bloated and broke out all the time. After leaving veganism, all aspects of her health got better - nails, hair, skin. Despite being with the WAPF for over a decade now, Victoria says she still adjusts to new regimens every day.

The next Weston Price member that I spoke to was Angie, who chairs the Redondo Beach chapter and has been with the organization for a little over five years. Angie always had an interest in eating well and being outdoorsy. During a Los Angeles triathlon in 2000, she met a chiropractor who told her to stop drinking milk. She then discovered the WAPF and realized she could drink raw milk to be healthy.

Lastly, I talked to Dennis, who's been with the Weston A. Price Foundation on and off for 10 years. He learned about the organization from people with a similar raw diet to his. Dennis loves eating raw meats such as sashimi, ahi, and liver.

While the Los Angeles Green Festival covered a wide range of environmental issues, including renewable energy, natural cleaning products, water safety, business with green programs, and general eco-conscious organizations, most of the booths dealing with food were either for vegan products or animals rights. I was beyond thrilled to see that the WAPF had a booth where they provided a different point of view that was much needed. It's similar to the reason I started my blog.

Victoria said they were unsure of how the Weston A. Price Foundation's presence at the Green Festival would go over, but it ended up being a great experience. People that stopped by were very open and interested. Their eyes lit up when they heard butter is good for you. For me, it was great connecting with an organization that supports a lot of the same principles as me, such as pasture raised meats and moving away from processed foods. Having the chance to talk with them, I'm now eager to learn some of their recipes and make my diet even more natural.

Los Angeles Green Festival: Weston A. Price Foundation Part I: Learning More of Who They Are

2011-11-05T21:48:00.000-07:00

A big reason I decided to start The Appropriate Omnivore blog was because I felt that the field of environmentalists in support of meat was still very small. When I go to environmental conventions, usually any booth related with food has something to do with veganism. So when I read that the Weston A. Price Foundation would have a booth at the Los Angeles Green Festival, to say I was excited would be an understatement.

The Weston A. Price Foundation is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1999 by Sally Fallon and Mary G. Enig, PhD. Before Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma or Lierre Keith's The Vegetarian Myth, the WAPF has promoted the health and environmental benefits of eating animals products and moving away from processed foods. They believe in a dietary lifestyle going back to the way food used to be. They named the organization after a Cleveland dentist who traveled around the world in the 1930s originally to learn about dental health. Dr. Price discovered that the healthiest cultures were those that consumed nutrient dense whole foods and animals fats that contained fat soluble activators.

The Weston A. Price Foundation strongly supports eating animals products such as organ meats, eggs, butter, cheese, and raw milk. In addition to encouraging consumption of organ meats, they support grass fed meat and eating every part of the animal. They also emphasize moving away from processed foods by using sprouted flour instead of white flour and replacing refined sugar with honey, maple syrup, or sucanat.

Another big change in food that the Weston A. Price Foundation pushes for is raw milk. The dairy industry started pasteurizing milk because of unsanitary conditions on the farms. The WAPF members explained; however, that pasteurization only brought up a different series of problem as it kills vitamins. Raw milk is something that was always supported by the WAPF, but now is making its way into the mainstream with the recent hunger strike of organic dairy farmer Michael Schmidt, the documentary Farmageddon, and the California raw dairy company Organic Pastures.

I worried I'd faint as I couldn't believe I got the tremendous opportunity to talk to this amazing organization. It was an uforgettable experience getting to meet some of its members and learn so much more about who they are and what they do. They offer invaluable advice on showing how meat can be healthy and sustainable as well as provide recipes for some great alternatives to the processed foods that we eat. If you want to learn more about them, you should check out their website at http://www.westonaprice.org/. You can also learn how cook their foods by purchasing Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions. And if you want to be involved with the organization yourself, you can go to Meetup.com and find a local chapter.

Tomorrow, I'll be posting an in depth article about the Weston A. Price Foundation members that I spoke to and the booth's impact at the convention.

Los Angeles Green Festival: Food & Water Watch

2011-10-31T23:24:00.000-07:00

The Appropriate Omnivore was at the Los Angeles Green Festival over the past weekend. Below is the first in a series of articles covering the event.

Food & Water Watch is a Washington D.C.-based non-profit group that works to give the consumers healthy food and clean, safe water. The organization originated in 2005 and now has 12 regional offices in the U.S. and one in Europe. I spoke to Valerie Palacios, who's working with the Los Angeles office and helped with the Food & Water Watch booth at the Los Angeles Green Festival, which took place October 29 & 30.Food & Water Watch deals mostly with federal policy issues, so a big part of Valerie Palacios' job is reaching out to the constituents in the region. She also works on connecting FWW with other community organizations interested in obtaining similar goals. Her main focus has been getting people in LA and southern California to support a Fair Farm Bill, a national campaign dealing with unfair agricultural practices, protecting small farms, and making it easier for people to find healthy food options. Valerie further adds "We are educating one another within our communities about U.S. food policy while we work with the Los Angeles City Council to pass a resolution in favor of a Fair Farm Bill."

Another big campaign by Food & Water Watch has been fighting against Monsanto's genetically modified sweet corn. Last week, FWW joined forces with CREDO Action, The Center for Food Safety, and the Center for Environmental Health to send a petition to the top 10 supermarket chains and food companies. The petition received signatures by 264,000 consumers saying they won't buy GMO sweet corn.

Valeries explains, "It is outrageous that this GE sweet corn could show up in grocery stores across the country in less than a year and we will have no way of telling it apart from other corn. Hopefully these companies will listen and respond to consumer demand and refuse to sell this GE sweet corn." Mandatory labeling of GMO products is a key policy that Food & Water Watch endorses. They also support a moratorium on any new U.S. approvals of genetically engineered plants and animals, testing GMO products for potential harmful effects before they go on the market, and regulating biotechnology.

On the water side of Food & Water Watch, one of their biggest campaigns is Take Back the Tap. This campaign differs from their others as it's mostly led by college students across the country. Valerie says "Despite the fact that purchasing bottled water is thousands of times more expensive than tap water, it is not safer than tap water and has hidden environmental and social costs at both the local and international levels".

As Food & Water Watch is about reaching out to the community and connecting with like-minded organizations and companies, the Green Festival was a great way to continue with these efforts. People familiar with their work sought out the organization at the festival. Additionally, FWW was got the opportunity to introduce themselves to those not familiar with the organization and get more people to demand change. Food & Water Watch also connected with other organizations and companies to establish future efforts to work together toward obtaining safety in our food and water.

Mohawk Bend Now Serving Grass Fed Beef

2011-09-25T18:27:00.000-07:00

The recently opened Echo Park restaurant and bar Mohawk Bend, has had one of the strongest commitments to sustainability. It serves 65 California brews on tap, is known for its extensive menu of vegan offerings, and uses many local and organic ingredients in its food. Today, it put not only its first beef item on the menu, but one that contains grass fed beef. Next time appropriate omnivores make a trip to the eatery, they can get a grass fed patty melt to go with their California craft beer.

Today was also the first day where Mohawk Bend patrons can get the two selections of beers from the upcoming Golden Road brewery in Atwater Village. Golden Road opens in a month and is the latest project from Mohawk Bend owner Tony Yanow. The two beers being offered are Point the Way IPA and the yet-to-be-named Hefeweizen.

Mohawk Bend 2141 West Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026 map
Sunday - Thursday 5:00 PM - 11:30 PM
Friday - Saturday 5:00 PM - 1:30 AM

Grass Fed Beef Restaurants in LA #3: Patty Wagon Food Truck

2011-08-20T16:12:00.000-07:00

If my earlier entries haven't been any indication already, the grass fed beef scene is hitting it big in Los Angeles. I've previously reported on sit-down and fast casual restaurants serving the sustainable meat. Now in the ever expanding food truck world is a mobile eatery that serves grass fed burgers. The LA food truck industry is already known for some of the best burgers in the city, but the Patty Wagon stacks up on the very top of the burger trucks.

Every Friday at work, we have a different food truck outside our offices. I was ecstatic when I heard The Patty Wagon would be the truck of the week. This truck says in its logo that it serves 100% grass fed beef, but that's only the start of its commitment to sustainability. While looking at the diverse burger options listed on the truck, underneath were all bottles and cans of soda pops made from cane sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup. Everything from Mexican Cokes to several varieties of Hansen's Natural Sodas.

Another great thing about the Patty Wagon is that it serves mini burgers a little over two ounces, since we as Americans eat much larger portions of meat than we need to. I decided to go with two of them, which still made for smaller portions than many other places. I love peppers on my burgers, so I decided to do one with sweet peppers called You're My Everything and one with jalapenos called I Get a Kick Out of You.

And what's a burger without fries to go with it? The Patty Wagon serves fries made from organic potatoes. Potatoes fall under the dirty dozen of foods with the most pesticides. It was icing on the cake to see that the fries were organic.

Ordering one burger with sweet peppers and one burger with spicy peppers made for a great yin and yang. I started with the sweet peppers burger. It was nice and juicy, the way grass fed beef should taste. The portion of peppers and mayo were the right amount as they didn't take away from the mouth watering patty. The peppers were a little bit light on taste, but made for a good warmup to the spicier burger.

Now onto the jalapeno burger. This one easily had the stronger flavors to go with the premium tasting meat. But all of the beef's flavor could still be tasted amidst the spiciness. The burger was also topped with pancetta. Often meat topped with meat can be too much, but this pancetta was sliced nice and thin to just add an extra layer.

My only criticism of the Patty Wagon's burgers were that the buns could've been toasted a little less. I'm glad to see a food truck serving burgers on brioche buns, but toasting them too much changes the texture. A brioche bun has so much richness in itself. I know some people prefer bread toasted, but I'd like to see Patty Wagon at least give people the option to have the buns untoasted.

After savoring every bite of my two mini burgers, I moved onto the fries. These were twice cooked, which makes fries taste even better. The fries had a nice crunchy edge to them as they were cooked nice and brown, but also had a softness inside. I love how they were sliced super thin, almost a noodle like shape.

The Patty Wagon chalks up another victory for grass fed beef in LA. It's the best burger truck and one of the best all around food trucks.

Mixto Comida Latina: A Mexican Restaurant Serving Grass Fed Beef

2011-08-17T15:24:00.001-07:00

The website The Eastsider LA reports that the property which was home to the long time Silver Lake hole-in-the wall Burrito King has been purchased by the owners of nearby pizzeria Tomato Pie. Owners Garret Policastrow and Freddy Suarez plan to open a Mexican restaurant called Mixta Comida Latina, which will use grass fed beef and other sustainable ingredients to make its tacos, burritos, and tortas.

A Mexican restaurant serving grass fed beef will be a nice addition to the LA sustainable meat scene dominated by hamburgers. Tomato Pie ranks as one of the best pizza-by-the-slice places in LA, so I can hardly wait to see what Policastrow and Suarez plan to do with both Mexican food and grass fed beef. They say the place should open in about two weeks.

Mixto Comida Latina map
2827 Hyperion Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90027

Grass Fed Beef Restaurants in LA #2: Misfit Restaurant + Bar

2011-08-01T23:10:00.000-07:00

The next stop on my journey of grass fed beef restaurants was the Misfit Restaurant + Bar in Santa Monica. After my friends and I saw a movie at a theater on the 3rd Street Promenade, we decided to walk off the beaten path and check out this contemporary restaurant that I'd heard about. Upon entering the place, it's somewhat dark, but not lacking in atmosphere. As we enter the restaurant, we pass the bar area which has the trendy look of bookshelves lined with bottles of alcohol. We then make our way over to the table to check out the menu.

On my first glance at the menu, I was blown away with how many of the ingredients were sourced to where they were grown. The menu also explained that most of the items were purchased from the nearby Santa Monica Farmers Market. In addition to serving grass fed burgers and strip steak, they also have organic chicken, sustainable fish, and many vegan and vegetarian options. One of my friends went with the Copper River Salmon. My other friend and I opted for the Misfit burgers.

With the Misfit being a bar as well as a restaurant, I
had to see if any good microbrews were on the menu. I was very pleased to see that the beers were all craft and mostly from California breweries. I'm a dark beer guy, so I went with the Alesmith nautical nut brown ale, a San Diego brew. My beer arrived first and I was beginning to love the place. I often find brown ales to be a little light for my taste. They can lack the true maltiness found in a porter. Not this one. If I were to guess in a blind taste test, I'd think it was a porter.

Now onto what I came to the Misfit for ... the burger. As both health and the environment are reasons why I support grass fed beef, I like that the patty was placed in between two slices of toasted multigrain bread. The multigrain was nice and rich. I forgot about the whole notion that burgers need to be served on a bun.

The reason I chose the Misfit over the other burger there was because it contained two of my favorite condiments: dijon mustard and green chile. If you weren't able to guess, I like my burgers spicy. The mustard was a great supporting actor to the grass fed patty's lead performance. The green chiles added texture to the burger, but weren't overpowering.

The remaining condiments all executed their roles successfully as well. The cheddar cheese was sharp and was melted onto the patty just the right amount. There was plenty leafy lettuce underneath the patty, but Misfit didn't overdo the amount of lettuce as so many restaurants do.

The burger, the beer, and the shoestring fries that I split with a friend were quite fulfilling, but I knew they also served gelato. Fortunately, I still had some room saved for one of my favorite desserts. Being an appropriate omnivore, I decided I had enough dairy and went for the sorbetto dish. Plus strawberry was the most appealing flavor. Misfit offers the Phoenix based Grateful Spoon Gelato, which uses many organic and natural ingredients. I could easily taste the strawberries in it.

The Misfit Restaurant + Bar was another home run for grass fed beef and sustainable restaurants. My friends were pleased with their burger and fish. For me, the place hit my trifecta of craft beer, grass fed beef burgers, and gelato.

Misfit Restaurant + Bar
225 Santa Monica Blvd.
Santa Monica,CA 90401 map
Monday - Thursday 12:00 PM - 12:00 AM
Friday - Saturday 12:00 PM - 1:00 AM
Sunday 12:00 PM - 11:00 PM

Mohawk Bend Finally Opens

2011-08-01T22:52:00.000-07:00

Tonight marked the long awaited opening of the Mohawk Bend in Echo Park. This place well exemplifies the idea of appropriate omnivorism as it offers plenty of food with locally sourced ingredients in both meat and vegan options. Extra bonus: the place has 65 California beers on tap.

Mohawk Bend 2141 West Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026 map
Sunday - Thursday 5:00 PM - 11:30 PM
Friday - Saturday 5:00 PM - 1:30 AM

Where Else Will the Appropriate Omnivore Eat?

2011-07-28T21:59:00.000-07:00

I've recently begun writing a series of articles on grass fed beef restaurants. I've been focusing on these for many reasons: the environmental benefits, the health aspects, they taste better. But I love all kinds of restaurants that have commitments to serving sustainable food.

You'll be seeing reviews of places that serve other types of organic meats and organic vegetables, fruits, and grains. I'll also check out restaurants that have locally sourced food. Additionally, I understand that not all restaurants can afford to serve grass fed beef. Ones that support meat that's free range or certified humane is still a step up from McDonald's.
I'll also be reviewing vegan and vegetarian restaurants. One might wonder why a blog titled The Appropriate Omnivore would attend places that don't serve meat. Part of being an appropriate omnivore is eating meat in moderation and eating several meatless meals a week. These restaurants have to be ones which are sustainable though. Not all vegan ones are. Places that serve veggie burgers that are processed with genetically modified soy, fried, and topped with sauces high in sugar aren't environmentally friendly.

There are a lot of great options in LA for sustainable food. Get ready for an incredible journey to restaurants that could change the way you think about food.

Good Eggs, Better Eggs, Best Eggs

2011-07-26T22:32:00.000-07:00

For many years now, I've been all about buying organic products. I viewed food labelled as organic as something that's better for the environment. But with being green, you always realize there's more you can do. For food products, this happened to me when I discovered the website Cornucopia. This site rates various organic products and explains the criteria for why they get the ratings they do. The three types of food that the site ranks are eggs, dairy, and soy.

Eggs are a food I'm constantly buying, so Cornucopia's egg rankings were what caught my attention the most. After looking at the eggs ratings, I soon discovered that not all organic eggs are raised equally. It varies on each organic farm as to how much access the chickens get to the great outdoors and how they're treated by the farmers. Cornucopia ranks the companies from 0-5 eggs and offers a total score of 2200.

A lot of the companies reviewed on Cornucopia are regional as they either find it more sustainable to not expand nationwide or they're too new. Fortunately, the site also listed the market area, so I could find out what eggs were available in California. I realized that a lot of the eggs I'd bought in the past received a 1 (Chino Valley Ranchers) or a 0 (Whole Foods, Trader Joe's). I tried to see if any eggs I'd heard of actually got good ratings. Organic Valley, one of the most recognized in sustainable foods, received a 3. Things were looking better. Then I saw two names I was slightly familiar with that got high 5's -- Organic Pastures and Vital Farms.

I decided to purchase both the Organic Pastures and Vital Farms eggs and see how they tasted. While both received high ratings, Organic Pastures was clearly the superior product for me. I've never purchased any eggs that tasted this fresh and delicious. I could see their difference the minute I cracked open one of the eggs. A friend of mine told me a story about when she was in England and found an orange yolk in her egg, thinking there was something wrong with it. She then found out that an orange yolk means they're fed the appropriate diet of greens instead of corn. Organic Pastures had an orange color to its yolk.

While it' great discovering that high quality organic eggs are available in California, here's the rub. The eggs with a 5 are much more expensive. Personally, I see it as paying for what they're really worth. But I also understand that some people need to save money. Here's a breakdown of the companies by ratings and price:

So the best eggs you can buy in southern California are Organic Pastures and Vital Farms. One other thing about Organic Pastures is that they're not available in grocery stores, but they can be found at several farmers markets in the city. If you don't feel like swinging that much money on eggs, the next best thing would be Organic Valley, which costs only slightly more than others and has a better rating. I'll note, however, that any organic eggs are still better than conventional ones. So any eggs listed on Cornucopia are an improvement.

Grass Fed Beef Restaurants in LA #1: Larchmont Bungalow

2011-07-20T22:11:00.000-07:00

My first visit to a grass fed beef restaurant in Los Angeles is in the quaint mid-city area of Larchmont Village at a fast casual place appropriately named Larchmont Bungalow. The Bungalow serves both grass fed beef and grass fed bison. For my first time there, I had to go with the traditional beef burger.

I've been a burger connoisseur for a long time. Taking one bite into Larchmont Bungalow's burger, I felt this is not only one of the best grass fed beef burgers I've eaten, but one of the best burgers in general. They'll cook your burger to order, so I was able to actually request medium rare. The E. coli scare has been due to corn fed cows, so way more grass fed beef restaurants are fine cooking it medium rare.

The quality of Larchmont Bungalow's burger doesn't stop with the patty supplier. Along with serving meat that's raised in a green manner, they top it with plenty of fresh and flavorful greens. The lettuce was rich -- not your typical iceberg lettuce that you'd find at a diner. They also go with the brioche bun, which no gourmet burger should be without.

While I'm thrilled to see that Larchmont Bungalow chooses sustainable meat and food in general, I was disappointed to see that they're not as environmental in another area. I'm talking about their use of plastics. As you can see in the photo above, the water is in a plastic cup and the ketchup is in a plastic container. The Bungalow is clearly eco-conscious as they serve grass fed beef, but they could take the extra step and reduce their waste.

All in all, I'm quite impressed with the Larchmont Bungalow burger and I'll definitely go back to try more of their grass fed meat options. But when I return, I'll bring a stainless steel water bottle that they can fill up.

Larchmont Bungalow 107 N Larchmont Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90004 map
Monday - Sunday 7:30 AM - 10:00 PM

Grass Fed Beef Restaurants in LA: Intro

2011-07-16T15:12:00.000-07:00

I originally wanted to write a piece on why grass fed beef is better for you. But as their have been so many great books and articles written on that, I feel like I'd just be copying what I've read. Also, grass fed beef is one of the more well known necessities of the sustainable food movement. Most readers of this blog are probably well aware of why it's better, so I feel like I'd just be preaching to the choir. What needs to be brought to people's attention though is that while grass fed beef can be bought in grocery stores like Whole Foods and Trader Joe's and specialty butcher shops, very few restaurants offer it. So it looks a better thing for The Appropriate Omnivore to alert people about is what restaurants you can go to and order grass fed beef. Over the course of this blog, I'll be doing several entries, each spotlighting a different restaurant. I'll also talk about what organic options they have with other foods, such as fruits and vegetables. Get ready to change the way you look at restaurants.

What Is an Appropriate Omnivore?

2011-07-14T22:22:00.000-07:00

For a long time now, I've focused on being environmental. For an even longer time, I've loved beef. Some would see those two things as a contradiction. I've certainly heard my share of arguments that eating meat can't be green. But I've also read many great books and articles that have said meat can be healthy and good for the environment if eaten in moderation and avoiding factory farming.

To me, an appropriate omnivore is a someone who consumes meat, eggs, and dairy, but does their due diligence to find where the products are sourced. But being an omnivore isn't just about eating meat. Omnivores can eat both plants and animals. It's appropriate to go local and organic with fruits and vegetables as well.

My biggest inspiration is Michael Polan, author of the book The Omnivore's Dilemma. Maybe that goes without saying. Just look at the title of this blog. But I feel I can't give an introductory without thanking Mr. Polan.

As Michael Polan and many others have great writings on making meat more sustainable, that's not going to be sole purpose of this blog. My advantage of writing something which can be updated daily and accessed at any time is that I can talk about breaking news involving environmental agriculture. I'll also include reviews of restaurants and grocery/farmers market items, interviews with people in related fields, even some movie and book reviews.

I look forward to expressing my views on eating meat, hearing all of my readers' thoughts, and changing people's relationship with all types of food. Grab your burger or your tofurkey and let's discuss.