Learning about Certified Angus Beef

Julie Boggs of Westbrook Angus

Certified Angus Beef is not the same as Angus or Black Angus which you may see on everything from beef at restaurants and supermarkets to even fast food burgers. In order to be designated Certified Angus Beef, it must pass a strict set of requirements and USDA inspection and approval, and very little of it does. In fact only 1 in 4 inspected makes the grade. That's the main thing I learned when I met with ranchers, chefs and restaurateurs to learn about beef and the Certified Angus Beef brand in particular. The ranchers I met bred breeding stock and they told me they like the Angus breed for a number of reasons, it's temperament, size, and ability to produce.

Over the course of several meals I got a chance to try many cuts of Certified Angus Beef steak including rib eye, tenderloin, top sirloin and filet mignon. It was very well prepared by restaurant chefs from the steakhouse chain El Gaucho and also from Aqua by El Gaucho. It was truly enlightening to try so many cuts at once, and while they were all tender, juicy and delicious, there were subtle differences in flavor and texture. The consistency in quality I experienced is really the reason for the Certified Angus Beef brand. I admit I like the flavor of grass fed beef as well as grain finished beef. But I learned that the health claims made about grass fed beef are somewhat dubious. While grass fed beef is higher in omega-3 fatty acids and Vitamin E, beef is not a great source of either. Also there is a misconception that grass fed beef is more sustainable, but the energy use and greenhouse gas emissions per pound of beef are increased three-fold in grass-fed cattle versus grain finished. Truth be told all beef is grass fed, it's just how long it spends on a feed lot fattening up on a diet of grain that makes the difference.

My usual favorite cut of steak is rib eye. But side by side tasting many different steaks, I was surprised to find the "baseball cut" top sirloin my favorite of all. It just had the best "beefiest" flavor. The Certified Angus Beef representatives say that fat is flavor. But I have to disagree. Top sirloin is actually a leaner cut of beef, and yet it was still good, even tastier than other fattier cuts, in my opinion. It's not just the fat, but the way the fat is marbled that makes a difference. While I enjoyed all the Certified Angus Beef I ate, I would love to see more availability of Natural Certified Angus Beef and an organic option as well.

When I returned home I purchased some Certified Angus Beef top sirloin chateaubriand to try cooking myself. Sure enough, it was juicy, rich and beefy, somewhat lean but very good. Because I don't eat beef often, I seek out the best I can find and rely on my local butcher to make recommendations. Recently I was buying some skirt steak and my butcher told me the Angus was better than the Kobe because it was the inside and not the outside section. Like wine and chocolate, when it comes to beef, there is always more to learn...

My thanks to Certified Angus Beef for hosting my trip and meals. Please note I paid for the beef I purchased myself.

Farm Bill update

The Senate is debating the 2012 Farm Bill, which reauthorizes agriculture, conservation, and nutrition assistance programs for another five years. You can read coverage at Politico, the Washington Post, the Food Politics blog, and Roll Call.

Overall, the Farm Bill is likely to save some taxpayer money by replacing some agricultural subsidies with new crop insurance programs.  These government subsidized crop insurance programs are likely to cover "shallow losses" -- comparatively modest losses that don't meet the threshold for serious losses already covered.  These new crop insurance subsidies may be a little less expensive than the crop subsidies they replace, but they still reflect the agriculture industry's capture of legislators, who can be persuaded to do the industry's bidding, rather than representing sound policy.

Senate leaders agreed to consider a list of 73 amendments. You can follow the specific votes on the Senate website. If I understand correctly, an amendment to approve a compromise between the egg industry and animal welfare organizations regarding treatment of chickens was not on the list of amendments for consideration, perhaps because it was blocked by hardliners in other meat industries who oppose such compromises. An amendment to protect the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program from medium-sized cuts failed (it would have saved the money by reining in the new crop insurance subsidies). An amendment to limit the size of payments in a marketing loan subsidy program passed.

The DeMint amendment that I discussed recently failed. DeMint (R-SC) noted that checkoff programs claim to have enthusiastic support from producers. If this were true, surely a voluntary contribution would be sufficient, right? Yet, only 20 Senators, all Republicans, backed DeMint's effort to make the contributions voluntary. My skeptical view of checkoff programs seems to have more friends at the Heritage Foundation than among the progressive Senators who ought to speak up for good governance and a coherent federal government message on this public health issue.

Free lunch in San Francisco (for the next 48 hours)

Thanks to smartphone apps you can now get through security and into your seat on a plane, book a hotel room, deposit checks, find a parking spot and even buy lunch. And today if you live or work in San Francisco and have a smartphone, I am buying you lunch, courtesy of GoPago.

GoPago recently launched a free mobile app that lets you order and pay for food and drinks using your smartphone (iPhone or Android). Browse for restaurants in San Francisco, order your meal online, pay securely using a credit card, then skip the line and the hassle of handling cash. When you waltz into the restaurant, just flash the receipt on your phone, and you're good to go.

Download the free app (iPhone or Android), use the code AmazingAmy and get $10 credit good for lunch (or breakfast or dinner). And no, I didn't choose the code. GoPago did. But I am very happy to share it. The code is good for $10 in credit and is only available for 48 hours so check it out ASAP.

The roster of restaurants in San Francisco is growing and growing. I took a peek at the current list and there are several places that I particularly like--Sellers Markets, Helmand Palace, Tropisueno, Green Chile Kitchen, Henry's Hunan, Osha Thai and Mehfil--lots of spots that are perfect for lunch downtown and a few in outlying areas as well. Please feel free to share this code and enjoy your lunch!

Liberate the soybean farmers!

The American Soybean Association (ASA) this week slammed Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) for proposing that checkoff contributions should be voluntary.

At present, the checkoff programs use the federal government's power of taxation to collect hundreds of millions of dollars each year in mandatory assessments from producers -- whether the producers want to contribute or not -- to be spent on advertising, marketing, research, and plenty of overhead.

The checkoff programs were the focus of scrutiny by USDA's Inspector General, who determined in a March report (.pdf) that the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) "needs to improve its governance over the boards."  AMS took some steps in 2010 to increase oversight and plans to release more detail about procedures the boards should follow in the near future.  A key example in the report came from the soybean checkoff.  According to the Inspector General:

A recent OIG investigative review reported that a subcontractor of the USB [the soybean checkoff board], the United States Soybean Export Council, used subcontracts as a mechanism for paying employees unauthorized bonuses totaling approximately $302,000. The Council’s executives did not obtain authorization from the USB to pay the bonuses. 

The American Soybean Association's vociferous email this week is misleading on several points.

In the email, ASA President Steve Wellman said, “The checkoff is not a tax. It is not something that is imposed upon us as farmers. Rather, it allows farmers to invest our own dollars to conduct research, build markets and create new uses for soy.” I cannot figure out who Wellman thinks he is fooling, checkoff farmers or the general public? For farmers who choose not to contribute voluntarily, the checkoff payment is imposed. The U.S. Department of Justice enforces the mandatory assessments. Although the checkoff collections do not appear in the federal government's official tax accounts, that omission is itself a scandal. In plain English, the checkoff is a tax.

The ASA email continues, “With oversight provided by USDA, producers have taken it upon themselves to fund over $905 million of research, promotion and consumer education programs annually through checkoff activities at no cost to the federal government.” Is that really the number? $905 million?! The USDA Inspector General's report said the soybean oversight problems mentioned above contributed to the IG's concern that "oversight controls were not adequate to prevent or detect the potential misuse of funds."  I would not say that USDA oversight strengthens the case for a mandatory assessment.

Describing the IG report and the soybean checkoff problems in particular, syndicated agricultural policy columnist Alan Guebert wrote in April, "When federal auditors examine almost any aspect of the 18 checkoffs created by Congress, they usually find the worst of times: funds misspent on illegal travel, subcontracts used to funnel money for unauthorized bonuses, no procedures to track money and audit rules so porous that a checkoff-bought Sherman tank could clank through most checkoffs without a question or an eyebrow getting raised."

In DeMint's proposed amendment to the Farm Bill, checkoff contributions would be voluntary and would no longer be enforced by the federal government's power of taxation.  Imagine that! Like every other industry, farmers would be free to contribute or not contribute, as they prefer, to private-sector marketing efforts.

Wine Road, Sonoma County

The view from Everett Ridge Winery

Recently I was invited up to Sonoma to visit the Wine Road. The Wine Road isn't an actual road, but a winery association with a wide variety of members and their mission is to increase awareness of Northern Sonoma County. Think of it as your own personal concierge, available to craft the perfect experiences in the Alexander, Dry Creek, and Russian River Valleys. The Wine Road covers six different AVA's, represents about 150 wineries, or around half of the wineries in the region, over 50 different lodgings and produces a fantastic map of the area.

I go up to Sonoma frequently, but this latest trip hosted by the Wine Road introduced me to a number of wineries I hadn't visited before. Here are the highlights of my trip:

Kendall Jackson Wine Center
I know what you're thinking. Really? Kendall Jackson? The brand I find in the supermarket? Well, yes. Kendall Jackson has a series of stunning Wine Center Gardens and an outstanding wine tasting program.

There are red and white wine sensory gardens that include the plants that have affinities for wines, and descriptors, which are the flavors that you find in the wines. For example in the Pinot Noir section you'll find descriptor plants like plum, violets and strawberry (all flavors you will find in the Pinot) and affinities such as figs, pumpkin and leek (all of which pair well with Pinot). There's also an international cuisine garden, a vegetable trial garden and a culinary herb and edible flower garden. Meandering through the gardens provides a good starting point for wine country exploration.

Kendall Jackson has a chef on staff and a food and wine tasting available for $30. You'll get a chance to try seven of their wines (that are not available in the supermarket) primarily their Grand Reserve and Highland Estate wines, each paired with a delicious morsel of food.

Think Chardonnay paired with house cured king salmon with Chardonnay grapeseed oil, preserved Meyer lemon and estate peas followed by Syrah with sweet tea brined Niman Ranch pork belly slider with Syrah BBQ sauce. My favorite pairing was the 2007 Highlands Estate Seco Highlands Pinot Noir with mushroom arancini with sottocenere truffle cheese and Pinot Noir aioli. Each bite of food made me want to take another sip of wine, and each sip of wine, another bite of food. There are also wine and cheese tastings if you prefer.

Paradise Ridge Winery
I tend to like wineries with that extra something special. At Paradise Ridge I not only enjoyed their refreshing Sauvignon Blanc with lots of grapefruit and a hint of gooseberry, but feasted my eyes on their sprawling 156 acre estate and outdoor sculpture collection all tucked away behind a residential neighborhood in Santa Rosa.

Worth a visit for the views alone. It's a small winery, you may find some of their wines in wine shops, but mostly they sell through their wine club. The outdoor sculpture "galleries" are open to the public without charge as is a self guided vineyard tour. Driving up to the property you see all different sculptures set into the landscape. The tasting fee is $10 and refundable with purchase.

Truett Hurst
Truett Hurst its located in the midst of Dry Creek Valley and there are acres of garden and a particularly idyllic setting on the creek that is perfection for a picnic or a nap. Yet another winery set on amazing piece of property...but even if it wasn't I'd still suggest you seek it out.

Paul Dolan a pioneer of sustainable, organic and biodynamic wines is one of the partners, and Virginia Lambrix is the wine maker and I really like her elegant approach. I can't say which of the Pinot Noirs I preferred, the Black Sheep Pinot Noir with classic strawberry notes, good acid and big bouquet or the Burgundian style White Sheep Pinot Noir with good structure and firm tannins and while Zinfandel is not my favorite varietal, her wines won me over. They ranged from the Luci Zinfandel which was intense and bold with lots of spice (and a frightening 16% alcohol) to the Red Rooster Zin which was balanced and juicy. I also like that none of their wines are priced over $40.

I also enjoyed Virginia's VML Chardonnay which was bright, clean, zingy and fresh and the rosé which was also bright and fresh with lots of fruit.

Farmhouse Inn
If I could afford it, I'd love to stay again in Forestville in the Russian River Valley at the deluxe Farmhouse Inn. It's the most luxurious, private and quiet spot with more attention to detail than I've experienced in a long time.

Who wouldn't love a place with not just gorgeous gardens but a fire pit for making your own s'mores (all the ingredients provided, natch)? Not just cookies before bed, but cookies and milk the mini fridge and a couple of mini cupcakes too! Heated marble floors in the bathrooms and cozy bedding spoiled me.

But best of all might have been the food. Breakfast at the restaurant was included and I was crazy for the corn waffles with bananas, caramel sauce, candied pecans and whipped cream one day and huevos ranchers with black beans and chorizo the next. I'm dying for the recipe for their banana walnut muffins, the best ever.

Of course you can plan a trip on your own, or just head up to Sonoma and wing it, but if you want something specific, I do recommend contacting the Wine Road folks who know the area intimately.  They can make suggestions or arrangements for you. For example they can steer you in the right direction if you want to visit wineries that also offer food or have great art collections, or garagiste winemakers that are not always open to the public or that offer tours by appointment only, if you want to find a winery with with picnic facilities.

There are also a ton of events up in wine country, so be sure to check out Wine Road event listings before you go for things like BBQ's, concerts, parties and more.

And oh yes, this is a Wine Road iPhone app!

My thanks to the Wine Road for hosting me on this trip.

What ban?

Everybody seems to be saying that New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has proposed to ban sodas in containers larger than 16 ounces.

What ban?

My version: Bloomberg has proposed a cup-size restriction for selected soda sales in restaurants, movie theaters, and vending carts. 

You may agree or disagree with this proposed rule.  All I want to say is that trying out the rule has some merit.  There is a large literature showing that our brains mis-estimate the food energy content in large beverages, and our bodies physiologically mis-regulate liquid Calories.  Quite possibly, people will get as much -- maybe even more -- utility or satisfaction from a smaller cup.  Quite possibly, a smaller cup will be as profitable for NYC businesses.  Quite possibly, this rule offers a modest public health benefit at reasonably low cost in terms of money and personal well-being.  All of these possibilities are eminently testable.  I think it would be great to see NYC try out this policy on a pilot basis, and do a high-quality study showing the impact on health and economic outcomes.  Pursuing this pilot is a sober and sensible proposal.

If the pilot succeeds in promoting public health with few harmful side-effects for businesses and customer satisfaction, I would favor it.

I am not surprised that right-wing critics have gone all Defcon 1 about this proposal.  They say this proposal will cause a loss of liberty.  Puh-lease.  We are talking about the difference between a 12-oz and a 20-oz cup of soda in a movie theater.  We have a thousand personal liberties to worry about long before I will start to worry about the right to a particular soda cup size.

What really surprises me is that progressive supporters of the rule endorse the right-wing narrative about how this proposal will affect liberty.  What do I mean?  Consider Mark Bittman's column at the NYT this week:

On a more personal level, we hear things like, “if people want to be obese, that’s their prerogative.”Certainly. And if people want to ride motorcycles without helmets or smoke cigarettes that’s their prerogative, too. But it’s the nanny-state’s prerogative to protect the rest of us from their idiotic behavior....  To (loosely) paraphrase Oliver Wendell Holmes, your right to harm yourself stops when I have to pay for it. And just as we all pay for the ravages of smoking, we all pay for the harmful effects of Coke, Snapple and Gatorade.

In essense, Mark Bittman agrees with conservative critics that the cup-size rule is part of a broader agenda to forbid personal choices that could make us fat. Bittman says it is okay for the government to take away our liberty to make such choices, because we share the same insurance risk pools, so one person's medical costs affect another person's taxes and insurance premiums.

I don't think shared risk pools should give policy-makers the right to ignore personal choices cavalierly.  When describing sensible public policies that override personal choices, I would not toss in the term "nanny-state."  Unlike "Yankee Doodle" and "queer," there are poor prospects for converting "nanny-state" or "ban" from a term of insult to a term of praise.  A key feature of obesity policy is that many individuals themselves recognize that their short-term impulses are contradicting their own true long-term desires for health and satisfaction and good food and drink.  The NYC proposal may better serve the long-term desires of most people most of the time.

If this cup-size proposal really threatened important personal liberties, I would oppose it.

Why are this policy's supporters undermining its political prospects by making it out to be more than it is?  There is no ban.

Del Popolo Pizzeria

Del Popolo might look like a pizza truck, but according to the proprietors, it's a mobile pizzeria. At a reported $180,000 to build the thing, I think they can call it whatever they like. It's a refurbished shipping container with an actual pizza oven inside plus minimal prep space for a couple of cooks. 

The menu is short and sweet, just two pizzas in one size. There's the classic Margherita, the pizza by which all pizzas should be judged, and when I was there a white pizza with mozzarella, ricotta, basil and garlic.

Will people stand in line to buy a pizza? On the streets of San Francisco? Oh yes, they will!

This is the set up. A mini kitchen and pizza oven and a window where orders are taken and pizza "delivered." 

They offer some wacky sodas including Cheerwine, Manhattan Special and Empire. But being parked across the street from a supermarket, there was no shortage of choices. 

So how was the pizza? Excellent. There was a nice char on the crust, but not too much. I'd call it a Neapolitan style crust, airy and chewy. The sauce and cheese were flavorful and in good balance. The sauce was very fresh  tasting and they didn't skimp on the basil. I'd order this pizza again.

The white pizza was a little more substantial with generous dollops of fresh sweet ricotta and plenty of garlic. Not in the least greasy, it was rich from the cheese and yet somehow light at the same time. Recommended.

Where to find it? It's not on the namesake square in Rome, so you'll have to check Twitter to find out...