Jackson, Wyoming - The Bird "Old School Bar And Kitchen"

I was lucky enough to go on a 3000 mile road trip this past Summer. On my way back home I stopped through Jackson, Wyoming for the first time. I am now definitely a fan of Jackson, and would like to return one day. Always on the hunt for the good food where ever my travels take me, my crew and I ended up at The Bird. Just a mile or so outside the center of town this spot has just what I like. They call themselves an "Old School Bar & Kitchen". They serve high quality meats and fresh products. The Bird has an array of burgers to choose from all coming on an English muffin bun. The bar is stocked with plenty of booze and good beers. Actually this place encourages you to let loose and get drunk. They say that they are about the only place left in Jackson where just about anything goes. Not only does this place have great food, and a great atmosphere. If you end up having too much to drink, they will drive you back to the center of town in "The Bird Booze Bus". This is a great idea for them to attract more customers. My dinner was enjoyed with friends and family on a huge deck with an amazing view. I couldn't have asked for a better time. See you again soon Jackson, Wyoming!

The Dirty @*&% Burger at The Bird in Jackson, Wyoming

Pitman Farms Visit- Mary's Air-Chilled Chickens

 I had the pleasure of visiting a couple amazing chicken farms and a poultry processing plant in April down in Fresno County. The Pitman family oversees the farms and runs all operations at the processing plant. This family is truly dedicated to the quality of the poultry they produce. They now have the largest air-chilled chicken facility on the Westcoast. If you are not familiar with the term "air-chilled" you should be! (Air-chilled chicken link) This term is relatively new to most Americans. The European Union has made this a mandatory process 15 years ago, while the US has barely scratched the surface of transitioning to this. I don't want to get into detail of the standard water-chilled systems we use in the US, but they are gross!


Whole Foods Market partnered with the Global Animal Partnership to better animal welfare practices. They developed a 5-step rating system to determine how chicken, cattle, and pigs are raised. With this system you are able to see how the animals were raised before you make your meal purchase.

If you would like to know more about this 5-Step Animal Welfare Rating system here is the link:
5-Step Animal Welfare Ratings

These are some pictures of the living conditions of a step 3 chickens

These are some pictures of the living conditions of a step 5 chickens (Rhode Island Red Chickens)

 7 day old baby chickens

 Pitman Farms Processing Plant

From the air chilled process to the beginning of butcher processing.

 So the next time you eat chicken for dinner, think about the quality of life the chicken had and the process it went through to reach your plate? Do they meet your standards?

Saturday... Breakfast on the Bay

Fried Chicken Breakfast Sandwich w/ 

Fried Egg, Coriander Aioli, and Fresh Peppercress

 Here's the wonderful breakfast I had this morning while enjoying the view of the Bay with an old friend.
This sandwich is from 4505 Meats out of San Francisco. They have high quality meats and an extremely tasty menu for a farmers market.

4505 Meats Website
 4505 Meats @Farmers Market

Creminelli Fine Meats - Salumi!!

SALUMI - A generic term for deli meats in Italy.

These are the days when I love my job! I had the pleasure of meeting a true Italian salami maker by the name of Cristiano Creminelli. I was at a work meeting where we had a sampling of some of the finest salted pork charcuterie/deli items I have ever had. Cristiano came straight from Italy to produce different traditional artisan style salamis and sausages for Americans to enjoy. By using the best pork and spices available, the highest quality products are created.

To be honest, when I tried the pancetta, it just melted in my mouth with deliciousness. The other items I tried had unbelievable mouth feel and texture that was way superior to deli meats I have tasted on the market. I know there are some great salumi products that come from some smaller producers around the country that compare to the Creminelli product. But the scale that this gentleman is going to take his company is far beyond any artisan charcuterie producer today.

 If you are interested, check these links out!

 Creminelli Web Page

 The Roots Of Italian Salami: Creminelli Fine Meats Video

A Shanghai Delicacy, Hairy Crab!?

Have you ever seen or even heard about a hairy crab?? Chinese people go crazy over these little hairy crustaceans. This fresh water creature is native to parts of Korea and China. The hairy crab is also known as the Dahza crab or Chinese mitten crab.  

I had this particular crab in Shanghai while I was on visit in October of 2008. My friends and I took a train from Shanghai to Wuxi. There we met up with my a local friend and toured the only city that I visited, that I actually consider beautiful in China. I mean beautiful in a environmental sense. Wuxi was on a huge lake, surrounded by lots of trees. The air, roads, buildings were much cleaner, and people seemed more environmentally conscious. We ended up getting about a dozen of these little guys and brought them back on the train to Shanghai. When we got back to our apartment our in home helper cooked them up for us. I had no idea how these were traditionally prepared.  She was so amazed that we had these crabs that she had never tasted before, and let alone have a dozen in right in front of her. 

These are a delicacy in this region of China from about September into December. Traditionally these are delicately steamed and then complimented with ginger pieces in a sweet vinegar. These crabs are completely different than what I'm used to back at home. For starters, the size is not the same. I'm used to huge Alaskan King Crabs, or local Dungeness Crab. But then I realized these are not salt water crabs, and that they are fresh water and about the size of my palm isn't too disappointing at all. Secondly, these little guys were a little more difficult to eat because of their size, and being covered heavily with tiny hairs didn't make the situation very pleasant. But as soon as I cracked open my first claw, dipped it into the vinegar, and savoured my first piece I was hooked. I now knew what all the hype was around this crab. The difference between the salt water and fresh water was very clear. The perfectly tender crab meat was so sweet and succulent it made me look at crab in a whole new light.