Advantages of Grass Fed Beef?

I grew up on a small farm and we sometimes slaughtered cattle for our family to consume. As far as I knew at the time, all beef was "grass fed". As I got older and traveled to different areas of the country, I learned that the majority of beef we purchase from a supermarket is not grass-fed but rather grain fed - on feed lots.

According to this article published on IdealBite.com, we should all consider eating more grass fed beef. "Grass-fed beef, bison, and lamb have less total fat, cholesterol, and calories than grain-fed. And grass-fed is a good source of potentially-cancer-blocking conjugated lineolic acid." Not to mention that grazing is usually better for the environment versus feed lots.

Click here to find places to purchase grass fed beef.

BBQ Road Trip

I am planning a road trip from Las Vegas to Albuquerque to Amarillo next month. It's a driving vacation that includes a visit to the Grand Canyon. I'm looking for ideas for bbq restaurants we should check out along the route.

A Google search brings up quite a few, but I'd like to weed out the contenders from the pretenders before we leave for the trip.

Amarillo, TX

A. Dyer's Bar-B-Que - (806) 358-7104
B. Cattle Call Express - www.cattlecall.com - (806) 331-1227
C. Desperado's BBQ & Steaks - (806) 372-3030
D. Texas Roadhouse - Amarillo - www.texasroadhouse.com - (806) 352-7427
E. Big Daddy's BBQ - (806) 383-9731
F. Jerry's Famous Pit Bar-B-Que - (806) 376-9932
H. Wesley's Bean Pot & BBQ - (806) 381-2893
I. Hickory Stick Barbecue - (806) 373-3322

Albuquerque, NM

A. Rudy's Country Store & Bar-BQ - rudys.com - (505) 884-4000
B. Quarters BBQ - www.thequarters.com - (505) 843-7505
C. County Line BBQ - www.countyline.com - (505) 856-7477
D. Robbs Ribbs
E. Powdrell's Barbeque House Mr - (505) 345-8086
F. Golden Pride BBQ Chicken - www.goldenpridebbq.com - (505) 294-5767

Any suggestions?

Good Morning America Best Barbecue Challenge

Good Morning America Weekend’s Best Bites series continues tomorrow with the Best Barbecue Challenge. Viewer selected finalists are Dinosaur BBQ (Syracuse, NY), Cousin’s BBQ (Ft. Worth, TX), Woody’s Smoke Shack (Des Moines, IA), and Archibald’s BBQ (Northport, AL).

Voting begins after our segment on the finalists airs tomorrow morning on ABC (8am ET – check local listings elsewhere).

Click here to vote.

Michigan BBQ Rib Contest Seeks Competitors

Novi, Michigan - Hot and tasty summer family fun is on the menu for the first annual West Oakland Rib Cook Off and Family Fest, Sunday August 9 at the Rock Financial Showplace, 46100 Grand River Ave in Novi , MI. The all day event will feature as many as fifty BBQ Rib teams, live music, local restaurant tastings, family activities including a furry creature petting zoo, and much more!

“Experience West Oakland ”, a committee of the Novi Chamber of Commerce, was recently granted a sanction from the Memphis Barbeque Network for their inaugural event, which will offer BBQ competitors the chance to compete for Prize Packages totaling $10,000. A panel of 40 professional and amateur judges will determine the contest results. The Grand Prize Winner will be invited to compete in the “ Memphis in May” Barbeque Network Finals, May 2010. More information on the sanctioning body can be found at www.MBNBBQ.com

Registration information for interested contestants can be found at www.experiencewo.com

For more information, please call 248.486.3424.

Truth In Advertising - Part 2

When visiting restaurants I often chuckle when I see bbq on the menu. As an example, Saturday night we tried out a local restaurant in a nearby town that has a very popular buffet. Two people can eat all they want for less than $20. You pay as you enter and then you don't have to worry about finding a waitress later when you're ready to leave. However, the bbq ribs were not bbq at all. They were most likely oven cooked, or worse...boiled. Then they brushed some bbq sauce on them and called them "bbq ribs". The meat wouldn't even stay on the bones long enough to bite into it. Not my kind of bbq ribs at all, but very popular at this restaurant.

QSRmagazine.com has another example of the truth in advertising issues I'm beginning to despise. Maybe I'm just getting old and my cynical side is taking control, but it's borderline ridiculous.

Kentucky Fried Chicken is advertising a new "grilled" chicken product this week. I've seen the ads every time I've sat down to watch a little TV this weekend. El Pollo Loco, a chain that also serves chicken, has taken exception with the KFC advertising campaign and makes an interesting observation - How can they call it grilled chicken, if they don't cook it over a flame?

Suffice it to say that El Pollo Loco's new advertising slogan - "See the fire, taste the flavor." - is no accident and is likely in direct response to KFC's attempt to cash-in with a "me too" product.