With all the ridiculous excuses to raise prices as a result of COVID how can beef tenderloin be $7.99 lb. at Spartan-Nash stores?

Having left West Michigan now for about six months, the semi annual Family Fare tenderloin sale was not exactly top of mind as we leafed through the various grocery store adds. For some reason, Alice decided we needed to explore Busch’s which is a Spartan-Nash supplied store. When we got there, she noticed in the flier that Busch’s had whole beef tenderloins for $7.99 per pound ( I assume Family Fare had the same deal this week). I’m a bit of a skeptic. I almost won’t eat ground beef or any kind of beef on sale. I can still remember the ghastly news coverage images of dead (from mad cow disease) dairy cows being dragged into the slaughter house. It is hard to get that sort of thing out of ones head. Consequently, we’ve had our ground beef custom ground at Northside Market in Ludington for the past 15 years. So, when I see $7.99 tenderloins, I shudder. At the same time, with all the respectable butcher shops now charging $25.99 lb. or more, I’m curious. So, against my better judgement, we bought a whole tenderloin at Busch’s here in Ann Arbor.

I dressed it out and with the pound of tendon, sinew and fat I made an awesome quart and a half of beef stock. Being a pretty lanky tenderloin, I cut the sizeable “tail” into two nice packages of pieces just right for stir fry. With the remainder I made a nice little roast, six very nice fillet mignons and four tournedos. Not bad for $47.00. So, tonight was the test with the large end of the loin that I made into a roast (Better Homes and Gardens FALL Recipes) accompanied by or maybe superseded by scalloped potatoes with blue cheese and roasted garlic from David Lebovitz’ My Paris Kitchen.

It was a wonderfully delicious dinner. The potatoes were spectacular. And, no the tenderloin was not quite the same quality and not quite as “melt in your mouth tender” as the tenderloins we’ve purchased at Northside Market, but, it was very good and not tough. Like most of the civilized world, I think we need to recalculate our opinion of what is good. Forty years ago, the French accepted that you need a sharp knife to eat a steak. I think that might be where we are now.

So, on an opposite note, I am always looking for the least expensive wine with the most specific appellation. And, at Busch’s Alice comes up with what I would have argued (there is no sense arguing with Alice) was over priced based on celebrity, a bottle of 2018 Francis Ford Coppola Director’s Cut Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon CA $18. What can I say? It gives the consumer exactly what they want. It is indeed a good wine; far brighter and fresher than most other Cal Cabs, more like a very young Bordeaux, with a level of class that doesn’t go unnoticed. Best of all, it has a balance that does go unnoticed. Having worked in the restaurant business, I can tell you this is the ideal wine. You order it, it is just right in every way, it goes down very quickly, you order another bottle and the fact that it isn’t terribly expensive, if you’re in a group, you order another bottle. As service staff, I can relate to the “ca-ching-ca-ching” aspect. I hate to be so cynical but this is exactly what I used to refer to when I was a salesman as a money machine. What’s not to like? Very pretty fruit, bright fruit no less, in the nose, a balance of fruit flavor, acid, tannin that is optimal; just plain delicious yet not too obvious just enough incognito to require another sip. As a staunch supporter of value wine, I’m not completely on board, but it sure is good!

Enjoy in Good Health,

A Brian Cain, the Michigan Vintner