Gluten-free at Jack's Prime

Several years ago, I gave a nice review to Jack's Prime Burgers and Shakes, in San Mateo, California.
I was wild about their burgers from humanely raised cows and turkeys (plus a really good veggie option), as well as their stellar chocolate shakes.

Burgers and a shake at Jack's Prime

Once I gave up eating wheat, I missed the burgers but enjoyed their excellent entree salads.

Recently I took some red meat and wheat-eating friends to experience Jack's, and was delighted to discover that they have added a gluten free bun option for the burgers. There is no upcharge for the alternative bun; and it's quite good. Better than Udi's, for instance.

So, now I'm pleased to declare Jack's my personal favorite burger joint.

Bison Bison Bison

Bison not amused

The American buffalo is so remotely related to the European buffalo, not to mention the Asian water buffalo, that ranchers prefer its binomial name, bison. Or, in full, bison bison bison.

Most bison still graze the range - they do, in fact, roam. Only a few ranchers try to confine them for a few months and fatten them on corn, to make them taste more like beef. Like cows, they are bovines, biologically geared to eat grass but not corn (which makes them ill).

 Unlike cows, they will not plod towards you when called. If you stand in an open field and call, "Here, bison bison bison," they may stampede.

Except for this avoidable danger, bison is the healthiest meats available, being lower in fat while higher in key nutrients. So if you love red meat, save your splurge at the grocery store for bison steaks or burgers. Be careful not to overcook this lean treat, and when you rapturously say its name, whisper.

Turkey Day on the Horizon

Looking through the materials I picked up at West Coast Green a few weeks ago reminds me - I better think about ordering a turkey. If you want one that is organic, kosher, or heritage, a little extra planning is called for. In my case, the most important factor is that the big bird led a decent life, preferably outdoors, pecking in the grass and procreating naturally.

Unfortunately, as I learned from reading Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, less than 1% of the 400 million turkeys eaten in America each year are the bird we imagine a turkey to be. The single breed raised by industrial-style 'agribusiness" have had flying, foraging, and mating bred out of them. They live their lives in big sheds (if you open a door at one end, the USDA lets you label them "free range"), existing strictly to become meat.

At the conference's tradeshow, I ran into Jason Diestel staffing a booth for Lyngso Garden Materials. He had buckets of mulch and compost on display, including some made with manure from his family's turkeys. Diestel Turkey Ranch calls their birds "range grown" because they spend their days outdoors in the Sierra Nevada foothills, coming in from the pasture to sleep safely in their turkey houses. Unless I can find as happy a bird raised closer to home, I'll be roasting a Diestel this year.

Where the Buffalo Roam

I am often mistaken for a vegetarian, because I don't eat much meat and will pick a veggie entree at most restaurants, even when meat is offered. Really I'm just a squeamish omnivore - learning about factory farming (from Michael Pollan's Omnivore's Dilemma and others)ruined my appetite for most chicken, beef, and pork.

Which is why I was so pleased to find bison for sale at my local cheap grocery. Burgers and fries are a weakness for me; but with wheat off the table (a story for a different day) I'm getting by just fine with the occasional plate of bison burger on a gluten-free roll, with a side of sweet potato oven fries.

Although I did find a package of "grain-fed bison" once (why? why?!), most bison are range-raised, naturally hormone and antibiotic free. Some ranchers do finish them briefly on corn in a feed lot; but mainly they spend their lives outdoors much as they did hundreds of years ago, before being driven nearly to extinction. Back up to about a quarter of a million across north America, they roam under supervision, helping restore ecosystems while grazing.

In addition to being more sustainably raised, bison are leaner than beef and have less cholesterol as well. And as long as you don't overcook the meat, it serves up juicy and full of flavor.