Irish Beef

I'm sure the title has confused you, honestly it was hard to type for me as well...I'm a huge proponent of American beef not only because well my family raises it but also because I just flat out think it tastes better than beef I have had in other places. BUT that leads me to this short discussion about Irish beef. About a month ago I had the opportunity to go to Ireland for the first time on a quick business trip. By quick I mean 48 hours on the ground quick but it was great because in 48 hours we got to see and learn a lot about the country from our customers and also by asking people at the hotel, restaurant and local pubs (because well it is Ireland and you have to visit at least one pub while you are there...which is actually a funny story but I'll reserve that for another time).

Since we were in a rush the day we landed we tried a culinary Irish treat called McDonald's. I don't eat McDonald's often, honestly only if it is my last resort when I am over here but I have to admit I was curious if it was similar to the US version and sure enough it was, I'm impressed with their branding and consistency across the pond. But the one thing that caught my eye immediately was the tray liner promoting that the beef in the McDonald's burgers were 100% Irish beef grown by Irish producers and they introduced you to them via the tray liners.

And this billboard as we drove through Cork, Ireland.

I thought it was pretty cool of them to support their local producers and make sure that the consumer knows where that meat is coming from and it reminded me of a post I did last summer about HyVee promoting local producers who supplied fruits and vegetables to the produce area.

I did have another experience with Irish beef while in Ireland from a great restaurant in the heart of Dublin owned by an American with Irish decent. The steak was top-notch, but I'll still take a good ol' American piece of beef any day.