Deep Roots Meat

Happy meat isn’t just about animal welfare; it’s also about human welfare. I’m talking about community, human interaction, accountability — the difference between anonymity and personality. When I try to find out who raised the animals that provided my meat, I want to see this: What I don’t particularly want to see is this: One of these looks like a good cattle rancher,...

Plainville Farms

Crave Brothers

Wellshire Farms

The information on the Wellshire Farms website seems to indicate happy animals, but it’s not very detailed or specific, so I corresponded with a representative (Shelly) via e-mail. She was very helpful and offered some great answers that confirm their producers are raising animals with much higher standards than most commercial ranches. Unfortunately, it’s not local (which we greatly...

New Bird in Town

If you’ve ever searched Orlando for local food — especially local meat — you’ve probably been disappointed at the apparent lack of sources. Laura and I have done a lot of research to come up with the multitude of options we’ve posted here on our blog. But it’s easy to feel like Orlando is something of a local food desert. I assure you, however, it’s not. Just to...

The Rusty Spoon

After much wishing and hoping (and a bit of drooling over the menu posted online), Laura and I finally made it to The Rusty Spoon, located in the ground floor of the 55 West building on Church Street. Owned and operated by the same good folks who make the delectable gourmet burgers at Pine Twenty2, The Rusty Spoon classifies itself as a “gastropub,” a new-ish term for a restaurant...

Diamond P Ranch Chicken

This post is way overdue, but Laura and I have been very preoccupied buying a house! We are currently in the final stages of the purchase process (which has gone on for some time, due to short sale paperwork and approvals), so we have left our blog alone for the past couple weeks. Not too long ago, we drove to Diamond P Ranch to pick up our very first freshly-harvested chicken. (That means the...

The Rusty Spoon

Colorful restaurants are popping up all over Orlando, it seems, bringing it ever closer to becoming what I consider to be a “real city,” one with a diverse and accessible culture of art, cuisine and community. The most recent step toward this that I’ve heard about is the opening of the Rusty Spoon, a gastro-pub in downtown Orlando, in the 55 West building. Although Laura and I...

Nature’s Harmony

This farm in Georgia is going the distance, raising chickens for eggs and meat, rabbits for meat, cattle for dairy and meat, sheep, turkeys and pigs. As part of the local food scene around Athens, Georgia, Tim and Liz Young are committed to sustainable farming and “reconnecting with the land.” Their free-range eggs (not cage-free — the chickens are kept in eggmobiles that are moved...

Pine Twenty2

Our original goal in changing our diet was to stop supporting industrially-produced meat — which we feel harms people, animals and the planet — and start supporting sustainable methods. We quickly discovered that while there are numerous opportunities to buy raw sustainable meat, it is much more difficult to find restaurants that serve it. So we were very excited to find Pine Twenty2, a...

Happy Chickens

This is one happy chicken! I dare you to find a Tyson chicken doing this. Do you think of chickens as vegetarian birds? I used to. Even eating the occasional insect or grub, they still qualified as vegetarians. Turns out I was wrong. Chickens are quite happy to eat frogs, as you can see in this...

Vegetarian Burrito Bowl

Looking at my empty Chipotle burrito bowl last Wednesday after I devoured its contents, I wondered if I could do something more constructive with it than add to the local landfill. Ever since I went to an Edible Landscaping class at the Orange County Extension Center and the speaker told me of his success growing lettuce in his office, I’ve wanted to try duplicating his efforts. With this...

Local Producer Spotlights

We may live in a subtropical hothouse, we may generally be known as the tourist capital of the world, and we may have a largely transient population, but here in Central Florida, we also have a thriving community of more-or-less-permanent residents who are gardening, farming, and raising animals. When we first discovered some of these local producers, Laura and I assumed they were the exceptions...

Deep Creek Ranch

Some day we’ll visit Deep Creek Ranch and see the animals for ourselves, but in the meantime we are quite sure they produce happy meat. One of the owners is highly involved with Slow Food Orlando and they often show up at the all-local farmers market – College Park and Audubon Park – as well as various events, like the Winter Park Harvest Festival. The beef I have tried from...

Big Wheel Provisions

Best. Bacon. Ever. The owner of this company, the real driving force behind it, is Tony Adams, who has become something of a local icon, at least in the local food scene. He is a professionally trained chef with a passion for the freshest ingredients he can find, a talent for charcturie, and a commitment to using as much of each animal as possible. Find him at the only all-local farmers markets...

Lime Fresh Mexican Grill

My Mother pointed out an article in the Orlando Sentinel yesterday about Lime Fresh Mexican Grill. It is a restaurant with 9 locations, mostly in south Florida, but one opening up the end of this week over in Dr. Phillips area. Why it’s so cool is that they are the first restaurant to be certified humane by Humane Farm Animal Care (HFAC). HFAC is a non-profit group set on enforcing their...

Good Farming Practice

Second in my posts about happy things in the world of food is Polyface Farm. We all know about factory farming conditions, how cows and chickens are crammed shoulder to shoulder and forced to live horrible lives. Well, Polyface is a farm that not only gives us cows and chickens that live natural lives but that interact in a perfect system to better the farm and environment. Anyone who has read...

Murray’s Chicken

Last Night for dinner John and I had chicken! I was quite excited about this, since we hadn’t found a chicken yet that met our sustainable, humane, organic standards. I stumbled across Murray’s Chicken Breasts, at a Publix in College Park (I don’t ever shop over there, but I should since they have quite a selection of meat and dairy that fit our needs, compared to our Publix up...

Evening on the Farm

Last Saturday night, John and I drove out to Lake Meadows Naturals, for the Slow Food event, an Evening on the Farm. We had been really excited to finally make it out to Lake Meadows, since that’s where the eggs we buy through Big Wheel Provisions come from. And we were not disappointed by the farm at all. It for one, it’s gorgeous. Green and lush, with a acres of fields full of happy...

Day 53: Is Meat Manly? (Review of Founding Farmers restaurant)

We have not had a "meat meal" (where meat is the main course) for a couple weeks now. Frankly, I find that I'm not really craving a big hunk of meat the way I thought I would. The last time I had a "meat meal" was at Founding Farmers in Washington, DC. They believe that every person has the right to enjoy a "green 'meal away from home' and strive to buy ingredients that are sustainable over ingredients that are local or organic. Read on for a full review!

The Country Hen

Although The Country Hen is not local to us here in Central Florida (they're located in Hubbardston, MA), I found their eggs in a supermarket in Daytona Beach. After a little research, I think they are a very sustainable producer.

Traders Point Creamery

Located far away in Indiana, this farm is exceedingly natural and “safe.” In my book, any farm that has a restaurant on site and offers tours of their property has nothing to hide. They are strictly a cow dairy, offering cow’s milk, yogurt and a few varieties of cheese, and they emphasize the importance of good grass in raising dairy cows. They talk extensively on their site...

Wallaby Yogurt

Wallaby Yogurt was started by a husband and wife team in 1993 after they ventured to Australia and discovered Australian style Yogurt (or yoghurt as they spell it there). So, we all know about Greek style yogurt these days, but Australian Style? Turns out it is made with a slow cooking method, taking over twice the amount of time as normal yogurt. The result is a naturally creamy and less tangy yogurt then ours.

Fatted Calf

I don't live in San Francisco, I have never been to their farmer's market and therefore I have never been to Fatted Calf Charcuterie. However, I don't think I need to have been there to know that they are a happy place, serving happy people, happy animals.

Applegate Farms

If we were to start a meat & dairy company based on the beliefs and information presented in this blog, it would surely be something very close to Applegate Farms. Founded about 20 years ago, this company has a strong commitment to both organic and natural food. BELIEFS Applegate unequivocally believes in treating their animals with respect. They have strict standards for the environment...