The Buffalo is Outstanding

Maggie and I joined Mac Magruder, his daughter Grace and son-in-law Kyle for the buffalo dinner last night. It was also Mac’s first taste of the buffalo, as he’s just started raising them hoping to sell to restaurants. We were all very pleased. We had:

The buffalo crudo alongside Mac’s beef crudo: both delicious,
buffalo is milder and sweeter.

The pasta—Malloreddus with whey-braised Magruder
bison short ribs: Also great.

and the true test…

Conversation was also first rate, though Mac has plenty to worry about.

They were afraid that they could loose the whole herd to pneumonia due to the Paradise fire smoke. Cattle and particularly sheep are susceptible.

And then for major long term angst, we learned about the Potter Valley Water Project. A portion of the Eel River is diverted to headwaters of the Russian River in Potter Valley via a scheme known as the Potter Valley Project. The Sonoma County Water Agency draws drinking water from the Russian River for sale to several hundred thousand residents of Sonoma, Mendocino, and northern Marin counties. Santa Rosa’s Laguna Wastewater Treatment Plant treats sewage from several communities to tertiary standards and returns some of it to the river by way of the Laguna de Santa Rosa. This entire water system is up for sale—a deal that could not only devastate Mac’s Potter Valley, but also impact Mendocino, Sonoma and Northern Marin Counties. It’s a very big problem.  https://www.pottervalleywater.org

Despite impending calamities, we had a great night.  

A few of these chops left tonight. We’ll then be moving into New York steak cuts of the Buffalo.