Not about drinks...but still local

We joined a new CSA this year, Anchor Run, just outside of Wrightstown, here in Bucks County. It actually grew out of a conversation I struck up with a guy at Watch City Brewing in Waltham, Mass., of all places. I was having dinner there (I was in the area to do an event), and just started talking to the guy next to me about local beer, and local food, and local produce, and how I belonged to a CSA...and not only is Derek McGeehan a farmer running a CSA, he runs the CSA that's nearest to my home in Bucks County...and he loves craft beer!

Well, who am I to kick Fate in the balls? We joined Anchor Run, and we've been enjoying it, all through the heavy rains, and the four hours of weeding green beans. We got a lot of eggplant and hot peppers, which I've loved, and I finally found a way to cook celeriac that I liked. Lots and lots of greens -- mustard, kale, Italian dandelion, bok choy, and some others I never heard of (tat soy?) -- that cook up nice, and plenty of lettuce and tomatoes, and lots of spuds and onions.

We also got some beef through them from another CSA (Tussock Sedge Farm, in northern Bucks), and last night, a day after our final harvest pick-up at Anchor Run, I decided to do an all-CSA dinner. I marinated a nice piece of London broil from Tussock Sedge (used Anchor Run garlic in the marinade), cooked up a mess of varied greens with sesame oil and chili paste and more garlic, grilled the beef with a foil pack of CSA potatoes, and steamed a pot of CSA broccoli. Add in a big CSA lettuce salad...and we had quite a meal. The beef was delicious, spuds were perfect...the broccoli had a worm in it, but hey, it's all organic, so you toss the worm and keep eating. Great meal!

Grass-fed Cheesesteaks at Otto's

Some of you may recognize the name of the man I call my Central PA correspondent, Sam Komlenic. Sam's our proofreader at Malt Advocate, he's a real rye whiskey geek, he's a beer guy with solid old school credentials, and we think alike on enough things that I don't fear sending him out to check things for me. Like last week when I got an e-mail menu from Otto's, the State College brewpub, presenting their weekend specials, which included "grass-fed cheesesteaks." !!! I've been getting more and more into sustainable and grass-fed meat since reading Fast Food Nation and The Omnivore's Dilemma (thanks again, Stan), and when I saw that, and realized I was going to be in upstate NY all weekend, I forwarded the menu to Sam immediately and asked him if he could make the sacrifice and get his hungry self over there to check them out. As it happened, Sam already had a Friday lunch appointment with Otto's partner Roger Garthwaite, and within 5 minutes he had received the e-mail and accepted the challenge. Here's what he sent me:

Well, after dining on two local beef-infused dishes over lunch, I'm ready to report.

Up front; you asked for the first food review I've ever attempted. I'm an Otto's Pub Club member and feel that they do a great job of being creative with their menu and ingredients, let alone the consistently great beer quality and selection. It's ten minutes from my house. I like the place. They also get negative feedback from me when it's warranted. Equal opportunity.

That said, I had lunch today with brewery partner Roger Garthwaite. (I paid, by the way, so whatever integrity I had going in I tried to maintain.) Also on the special board was a beef-barley soup made with "Our Own" cow. This was a cow raised on Otto's spent grain as well as pasture, and it gave its life decently to be a part of "our" diet. I had a gorgonzola burger made from "our own cow" a week or so ago, and I kid you not, it was the best burger I've ever eaten. Rare, by the way, a luxury that shouldn't be attempted with industrial ground meat.

The soup arrived after being recommended with conviction by our server, J.K. Very thick and dark (the soup, not our server), and really delicious with a nice pepper kick at the end. Lots of our own cow in that one.

The sandwich was prepared from beef raised by Northern Tier Sustainable Meats in Troy, PA, a cooperative of family farms paying attention to environmental responsibility. It arrived hot on an oven-crisped, good quality roll. (Though Otto's works with a local artisanal bakery for most of their breads, this was not one of Gemelli's.)

A good base of really tender meat was accompanied by sauteed onions, peppers, and mushrooms. The onions seemed to have more of a presence than the other two. I had asked for provolone cheese, and the steak was served without sauce (sorry Philly fans), which is how I prefer mine. Topped with lots of shredded lettuce and chopped tomatoes, I'd call it a California or garden style (I'd call it an abomination; that kinda stuff don't belong on a cheesesteak!).

The meat didn't appear to have been heavily macerated by spatulas on the grill, a process I generally prefer. Turns out it didn't need it. I find beef raised on grass (pasture and hay) to be more tender than all grain-fed, and this may have been the first cheesesteak I ever had with not one little piece of gristle in that clean, succulent meat. Tasted great, though I'm not sure if it necessarily tasted better or if the tenderness does that much for it.

Cows, as ruminants (critters with more than one stomach), were meant to digest grasses, not grain. Grain consumption elevates the need for antibiotics in the animal, and is part of the chain of "confinement agriculture," where the animal, darn near any animal, is kept in a stall/pen/cage for its entire (or nearly so) life. Grass is the way to go. Live an honorable life, die an honorable death.

The only thing that could have been better would have been more of that great meat, but grass-fed quality comes at a premium. Still, it's definitely worth the price of admission. Otto's participates in the "Buy Fresh, Buy Local" campaign anchored by the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA), and encourages residents and businesses to use local, PA produced ingredients (I do too!). They are also looking into the PA Preferred program administered by the PA Department of Agriculture.

Don't just drink local; take it to a higher plane. Ask your favorite brewpub, pub or restaurant to cook local, too!

Thanks, Sam!