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Photo courtesy of Coleman Natural Meats. From left to right: Kenny Coleman, Mel Coleman Jr., Mel Coleman Sr. restaurantculture

to
Ranch
A steak story
by Marc Peacock Brush
Table
 “Consumers tell me that this is
how beef used to taste,” says
Mel Coleman, Jr. “With all-
natural, they begin to develop
a beef palate, sensitive to
The meat came on Thursdays. We loaded it
onto hydraulic pallets and rolled it from the attributes like tenderness,
truck to the walk-in, through a maze of juiciness and flavor.”
storage rooms and tight corridors. This was
Coleman beef, all natural, and it came in
primal cuts, shrinkwrapped inside heavy cardboard boxes. I was just an
apprentice butcher. No one at the co-op let me cut anything more expensive
than a chicken.
Mel Coleman, Jr. wears boots, hat, kerchief—all the makings of a bona fide
cowboy. It’s the right attire. I’m having prime rib with Coleman at the 2007
National Western Stock Show. The horseradish could clean your sinuses, and
Coleman could pass for a conventional rancher, if he weren’t such a maverick.
Coleman Natural Meats created the market for a better, safer beef, entirely
free of antibiotics and hormones. Coleman’s father was the first to ask for, and
receive, an “all-natural” label from the USDA.
From 2002 to 2006, total US beef consumption hovered around 28 billion
pounds per year, give or take a few hundred million. Over the same period,
the retail value of the US beef and cattle market grew from $60 to $71
billion.1 One reason? Careful stewardship of the animals, for higher quality,
more expensive beef.
“Customers should understand the true value of food,” says Coleman. He talks
about price points that honor and respect the ranchers, while still inducing
label-savvy shoppers to buy organic and natural. “It’s all consumer-driven. We
try to connect the consumer with the folks that grow their food. I’ve asked the
farmers and ranchers, and not one of them wants to use chemicals.”
Jesse Ziff Cool owns Cooleatz Inc., a collection of three restaurants and cafés
in Silicon Valley, with a catering operation to boot. She’s a chef, an author,
and a celebrity in the organic movement. Cool recently began buying whole
animals, to introduce new cuts and braising techniques to her patrons. She
sources meat from both local ranchers and
Coleman Natural Meats as a sensible,
functional supply model. “Seventy-five
years ago, we lived in agrarian
communities,” says Cool, from her office in
Menlo Park. “We saw farmsteads out our windows. We still have the right to
meet the ranchers that raise our food.”
At the co-op, we sold Coleman beef, Petaluma poultry, Niman pork and
salmon caught off San Francisco Bay by a fisherman named George. People
liked lean hamburger. They loved all-natural rib-eyes. They bought bags of
butcher bones for their pets at home. During each and every shift at the
counter, a handful of customers would ask me the questions: Where does
this food come from? Who made it? What’s in it? People want to know.
Every steak begins as a living animal subject to husbandry practices. When
talking to ranchers, Cool knows the right questions to ask: How was this animal
raised and treated? Was it huddled with other cows in forced confinement? Was
it fed a vegetarian diet? Were any chemicals administered at any point in the
animal’s life cycle? Wrong answer and she’s gone. “That’s our job right now,”
says Cool, “to ask questions. It’s the safe, sane thing to do.”
Coleman Natural Meats operates a network of smaller ranches that agree to
strict company protocols. A Coleman cow remains free of hormones and
antibiotics from birth, not just prior to rendering. Affidavits follow the animal
around as it’s transported from ranch to table, ensuring compliance with the
family’s exacting standards. The company slaughters in Limon, Colo. and
fabricates at a plant right in Denver. This is where food regulators start to
pay serious attention.
Current labeling practices require natural meat to receive “minimal
processing” and to contain no “artificial ingredients,” except growth
hormones and antibiotics. Wait ... what? This is why Mel Coleman Sr. began
www.diningoutonline.com 13
restaurantculture
the fight for clarity in the definition of all-natural meat, and why
his son continues that fight at USDA listening sessions across the
country. “The more people we make aware of the need for natural
labeling that works, the better,” says Coleman.
From 1995 to 2005, the price per three-ounce serving of beef
increased 45 percent. This compares favorably to 27 percent for
chicken, depending on your point of view.2 “Meat is really hard,”
says Cool. “To put a face behind the product, restaurateurs
struggle with consistency, distribution, and the need to
reacquaint the modern palate to the flavors of natural meat.” As a
cook, Cool insists on serving delicious food, adding only sparse
aromatics to bring forth those natural flavors. Leaner, healthier
cattle tend to produce a different taste. To hear Coleman speak of
it, “Consumers tell me that this is how beef used to taste. With
all-natural, they begin to develop a beef palate, sensitive to
attributes like tenderness, juiciness and flavor.”
I had a hamburger the other night. My father-in-law fired up the
grill, while my mother-in-law added onions, egg and garlic salt to
the ground meat. The cow was raised, butchered and processed
outside of Delta, Colo. The rancher is a family friend. He gave us a
quarter-cow as a gift, explaining to us in detail his husbandry
practices and the nutritious grass diet fed the animal as soon as it
weaned from mother’s milk. Did my burger taste a little gamey?
Maybe. Maybe that’s just my beef palate learning to appreciate
safe, sane food.
1
Background statistics from the US Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
2
Percentages derived from industry statistics from the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.
Cow Palace
The swanky Brown Palace Hotel has welcomed
some wild guests over the years. In 1958, Rex the
horse and his rider, Monte Montana, trotted into the
lobby and up to the second floor to crash a meeting
of the Rodeo Cowboys Association. In 1988, Bubba,
a Texas Longhorn steer, and his owner, Gary Henry,
arrived at the
front desk. And
every year, during
the National
Western Stock
Show, Junior
Livestock Grand
Champion steer
get to spend a
posh day in the
hotel lobby.
14
Choice Cuts by Rachel Levin
Denver’s steak scene
The Tradition
These swanky spots serve USDA prime and Angus corn-fed beef sourced
from Midwestern farms.
At Morton’s, The Steakhouse, tuxedoed waiters roll carts loaded with
steaks and vegetables tableside. Diners can select their own filets or
porterhouses, and traditional sides like asparagus Hollandaise. Page 151.
Prime 121 features classic cuts, yet breaks from convention with Italian-
influenced sides like linguini marinara. Instead of mahogany panels, think
crimson leather banquettes. Page 157. Ruth’s Chris stays true to its New
Orleans roots, offering Creole appetizers and sides like shrimp rémoulade
and sweet potato casserole. Signature cuts are topped with sizzling butter
and served on 500-degree plates. Page 165. Del Frisco’s Double Eagle
Steakhouse, a hotspot for the city’s powerbrokers, has the piping plates and
Cajun accents down as well. Fresh sauces, dressings, breads and desserts are
all made in-house. Page 136. Capital Grille’s certified Angus beef is dry aged
an additional 12-17 days beyond the supplier’s standard. With oversized cuts
like the 24-ounce porterhouse, it’s hard to believe that 40-50 percent of the
beef is lost in the aging process. Page 131.
That’s Entertainment
Great steak is more than just a meal—it’s a lifestyle. These area
steakhouses package the experience in colorful ways.
At Sullivan’s Steakhouse, the backdrop is a 1940s lounge with nightly
live jazz and an impressive inventory of bourbon, single malt Scotch and
cognac. The restaurant features Black Angus beef, cut to order with
classy sides like Lyonnaise potatoes and creamed spinach. Page 172.
Oscar’s Steaks and Cigars, as the name implies, celebrates the finer
points of masculinity with a cigar bar, flat screen televisions and vintage
boxing photographs adorning the walls. Page 153.
All About Adventure
A handful of pioneers turn the steakhouse concept inside out with
inventive menus and Colorado flair.
The Fort, Colorado’s answer to native cuisine, is a culinary history lesson
on a plate with bison, quail and Coleman steaks, served with
southwestern sides—WAUGH! Page 79. Denver ChopHouse & Brewery
and sister restaurant Boulder ChopHouse & Tavern combine classic
steakhouse offerings with brewery fare. All beef is Midwestern grain-fed
certified Angus, but there’s also a Colorado buffalo option. Page 138.
Denver Outpost is ensconced in a restored train depot, and nostalgia
runs high with train-themed photos, big band music and big juicy steaks.
Page 140. 1515 Restaurant, housed in an original 1860s brick building,
offers a slice of Denver’s past with Colorado beef and lamb, as well as
buffalo. Page 116. Trapper’s Chophouse in Parker brings the ranch to the
table by offering diners the opportunity to cook their own steak, buffalo
or venison on a slab of volcanic stone. The meat is seared on one side in
the kitchen, but the tableside finish ensures it remains hot throughout
the meal. Page 197.
What to Wear
From Elvis to Dylan, Reagan to
Redford, Clark Gable to Heath
Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal,
those who love “cowboy chic”
love Rockmount Ranch Wear.
Founder and President Jack A.
Weil is not only the inventor of
the snap-buttoned western shirt.
At 106, he is the country’s oldest
CEO. Visit Rockmount at 1626
Wazee or find your favorite
at Rockmount.com.