If you’re looking to sink your canines into some first-rate, locally raised beef, make a beeline to Roxy Restaurant & Bar, where owners Ron and Terri Gilliland offer steaks, braised short ribs and burgers sourced from their very own herd. In addition to operating this popular restaurant (and Roxy’s sister, Lucca Restaurant & Bar in midtown), the Gillilands own Lucky Dog Ranch in Dixon, where their Angus cross cattle are raised on open pasture “from birth to harvest.” The cattle graze freely on green grass, alfalfa, barley and oat hay, and are never given any antibiotics, growth hormones or stimulants. When it comes time to “finish” the cattle for slaughter, they are offered a (free choice) selection of goodies, which include brewers’ grain from Sudwerk brewery in Davis, almond hulls, oat hay, alfalfa and molasses.
If you want to taste the “slightly rounder flavor profile” of Lucky Dog Ranch’s beef, tuck into the restaurant’s fabulous 8-ounce Flat Iron steak, crowned with melty-sweet caramelized onions and a rich, fragrant herb butter. Served up with a bowl of roasted root vegetables, this is a deeply satisfying (and thrillingly local) meal.
