Burgers on the beach

Music really does serve as a soundtrack for my life. Within the first few chords of a familiar tune my mind drifts to certain people and places.

But it’s not always about memories. In fact, sometimes words of a song I grew up with paint a picture of a place I’ve never been but I feel like I know.

“Go west young man, haven’t you been told, California’s full of whiskey, women and gold…”

To be honest, I grew up about as far as one can from California, and my perception of Hollywood permeated my idea of the state, leaving little room for cattle in its wake. But I should have known better and quickly learned that, similar to Florida, California had been falsely labeled. There was more to the Golden State than beaches and beauty.

Most importantly, a recent visit to the coast taught me this: there’s more to Californians’ palates, too.

Dana Point, Calif., is just a sleepy marina town a few miles south of the better-known Laguna Beach, but along its coastal plane sits Jimmy’s Famous American Tavern – J-FAT for short.

I walked in with my boots and my “yes sirs” and “yes ma’ams” and found its patrons to be friendly, and more surprisingly, eating beef.

“Certainly there is an element of ‘no red meat, no carbs,’” co-owner David Wilhelm says, stating the media’s a bit to blame. But “despite how people talk, I know what they order, and unedited, they’ll choose beef every time.”

In fact, David tells me the number one selling item on JFAT’s menu is the half-pound cheeseburger. Collectively, five CAB burgers make up 20% of all entrées sold. I didn’t get the chance to try one but I’ll take the recent success and growth of the restaurant (now in four locations since its San Diego debut in 2010; Santa Monica is set for September) as truth.

Maybe it’s a West Coast thing, but I wonder if many in and outside of the state were at one point like me and assumed Californians to not eat as much beef as those inland. As in some way the beaches and mountains eliminate desire for that uniquely tender, juicy flavor?

“You hear lots of chatter about eating lighter, vegetarian and avoiding red meat, but the reality is, in a community like this, these are regular people not unlike those that I grew up with in the Midwest,” David says.

Just thought you’d like to know that your hard work as cattlemen is appreciated – and consumed – from coast to coast.

Thanks for allowing me to tell your story,
Laura

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