Over the New Year’s break we had the opportunity to drive up to the north part of the state and visit some of our friends up there. We also got to make new friends with Bill and Nicolette Niman in Bolinas, near Point Reyes.
Bill Niman with Steph from the Linkery
Although Bill is the namesake of Niman Ranch, the Nimans split with Niman Ranch fairly recently in order to go all the way with sustainable, high-quality farming. Now they raise cattle, turkeys and goats on their many acres of pasture near the ocean, and they market the meat under the name BN Ranch.
We served some of their goat late last year and we were very impressed by the quality. It turns out that the Nimans brought the goats in because they’re highly compatible with cattle — the goats actually make the pasture more productive for raising beeves. We didn’t get to see the goats because they spend part of the year in Oregon, and had just left.
We did get to see the cattle and the turkeys.
The Nimans were very gracious hosts and fun to get to know. Nicolette’s bound galleys had just come in for her upcoming book, too, that was neat to see. I’m looking forward to reading it. We late ate some of their goat at a fantastic Point Reyes restaurant, along with Tomales Bay oysters and some great mead.
We’ll have BN Ranch goat on the menu soon you can try it. I will update.
I gotta say, I don’t personally know Bill Niman but I love what he’s doing, and what he’s done, to change the way we raise and celebrate meat. Glad to hear you’re carrying his goat. One more reason to visit you when I (hopefully finally soon) come visit San Diego this spring.
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