first time in america

[littleElefant]

In a couple of days I m going to fly to america, I have never traveled that far so I m very  exited and also a bit nervous. I will be in Philadelphia for 2 days and in Savannah, Georgia for 7 Days. I don't know what to expect food wise there. Could anybody give me some advice where I can buy my rawpaleo food . I know there is this whole food grocery chain everywhere in the US. Can I buy grass fed beef there or in other shops and organ meats and marrow and fat. Good fat is most important for me. Or is there a farmers market where I can buy good meat and fat. And is there a place where I can buy coconuts? And are there restaurants where I can eat rawpaleo foods? If there are any paleo people in the savannah area I would love to meet them.

[eveheart]

Welcome for your first visit to the US!

For a week's visit, Whole Foods Markets is a good-enough option. Yes, you could also find a local farm for higher quality and lower prices, but that's a lot of hunting around for a quick visit.

A good companion for travelers is the website http://www.yelp.com. You can search for things like grass fed butchers, seafood markets, farmers markets, etc, to find user reviews. You probably won't find a lot of raw leads, per se, but you will get some idea of what shopping choices are nearby.

[TylerDurden]

There isn't much one can do if one is staying only for a few days. How about these websites:-

http://www.eatwild.com/products/georgia.html

http://www.pickyourown.org/GAfarmersmarkets.htm

My solution when travelling abroad is to stick to coastal fish-markets and buy the cheapest raw wildcaught seafood there is(eg:- raw live mussels, raw live oysters, raw squid/octopi), plus the occasional expensive item like raw swordfish. Of course, the mussels and oysters require additional metal items to prise them open(an oyster-knife and a nut-cracker for the mussels seems enough for me). Since Savannah, Georgia seems to be by the coast, this might be an option.

Another option I use is to go to a Japanese sushi restaurant(not a bar!). These will often have at least one large sashimi(raw fish) option.  Of course, one has to check and make sure that they are not rip-off nouvelle-cuisine-like restaurants where they charge you hundreds of dollars for a  mere 25g of food! Nobu's in London was a nightmare......

[eveheart]

Another option I use is to go to a Japanese sushi restaurant(not a bar!). These will often have at least one large sashimi(raw fish) option.  Of course, one has to check...

The typical American sushi bar is usually a safe bet for sashimi. No rip-offs, minimal theatrics. Well, if the restaurant is trying to be a happening joint with a young drinking crowd, the sushi chefs might act like they are Ninja warriors and shout short victory phrases in Japanese every time a customer buys them a shot of sake. If you really look carefully at their precision knife work, you realize that it is all a show and these guys are focused, sober entertainers.

[sabertooth]

Whole foods can work as a last resort when all else fails,

Whole foods in my town use to get Georgia beef, and I thought it was much better than the local stuff it was replaced with.

I agree with Eves suggestion.......you can look up Butcher shops ahead of time and call around to see if they could put any fat or marrow bones aside for you.

[TylerDurden]

Well, if the restaurant is trying to be a happening joint with a young drinking crowd, the sushi chefs might act like they are Ninja warriors and shout short victory phrases in Japanese every time a customer buys them a shot of sake. If you really look carefully at their precision knife work, you realize that it is all a show and these guys are focused, sober entertainers.

Well, I guess everything is different in the US(well, er, more vulgar/ostentatious!). In the UK, mostly, except for Nobu and the godawful processed-sushi bars in London et al, in sashimi restaurants   I just met traditional Japanese families who  in a very routine and in a very dignified manner  fed an almost wholly Japanese clientele who were similiarly very quiet and obedient in the traditional Japanese manner.

[littleElefant]

Thank a thousand times for your advice evehard, sabertouth and Thler. I checked all the links and options and I m surprised how much gras fed beef and bison and lamb sources are in the USA. Seems to be the paleoparadise. Here in France it is very difficult to find 100 % grass fed animals, it was very difficult to find a reliable source. I think you are right, Evenhard, just for a couple of days whole foods will be good enough. There is a big wholefoodstore just 10 min from the hotel. I saw that there are even some restaurants with grass fed burgers, thats amazing, perhaps I will try them.Yes Tyler, I think I will mostly stick to wild clams and fish and oysters as you suggested and for the fat I hope to find marrow bones or very fatty meat at whole foods.
What about pastured eggs in america, are they really not grain fed?
I will be one day in London before going to america. Is there a place where they sell grass fed beef in London?

[eveheart]

What about pastured eggs in america, are they really not grain fed?

When they use the word "pastured" in the US, it can mean many things or nothing at all. Seriously, I think that a concrete parking lot would qualify as "pasture" if you put a hen on it. Ask questions about feed if you think you've found good eggs. If you do find real pastured eggs, buy them!

Here are other egg ideas:

Check on www.eatwild.com for a local egg producer and ask about their practices.

Look on http://savannah.craigslist.org/search/sss?sort=rel&query=eggs to find small producers who are selling their own eggs. You can email all the egg sellers and ask them about their eggs.

[littleElefant]

Very interesting Links, thanks again Everard, you have so many good food sources in America, so I can relax and enjoy my holiday, I m not going to starve in your country

[TylerDurden]

I will be one day in London before going to america. Is there a place where they sell grass fed beef in London?

Trouble is I have no idea what day you will be in London. The best LFM market where lost of grassfed or wildcaught meats are found is Marylebone. However, you may be lucky to find an LFM farmers' market that has what you want on a relevant day. Here is a relevant website:-

http://www.lfm.org.uk/markets-home/

[littleElefant]

thats an interesting website, tanks Tyler. If I find Irish beef in the supermarket, would  it be most likely grass fed also?

[TylerDurden]

thats an interesting website, tanks Tyler. If I find Irish beef in the supermarket, would  it be most likely grass fed also?

I have no idea. Allegedly, new zealand lamb from the supermarkets is grassfed but I cannot be sure..  I used to always buy raw wild game or raw wildcaught seafood in the UK whenever possible. I settled for raw leg of lamb from one stall at Marylebone farmers' market because it tasted way better than the so-called "grassfed" meat on offer from other stalls. Sometimes one has to rely on taste. As regards the lamb, the white fat tasted wonderful whereas I never liked the white fat on official grassfed meats/organs.

I used to visit my family's cottage in Donegal, NW Republic of  Ireland. There were tons of sheep all over the coastal hills but the farmers never bothered to slaughter or shear them, as I recall. They just left them to graze outside in appalling weather and counted them once or twice a year in order to get hold of the crucial annual EU farm subsidies. Such a waste of good meat, as the sheep were not given vast amounts of medicines and just grazed on wild heather and other herbs, there being not much grass around. Their meat must have been of the highest grade yet they made no use of it. No idea, though, as to whether the rest of Ireland is like that.

[littleElefant]

Sometimes I can get new zealand lamb here as well, it is very inexpensive then but there is not a lot of fat on it. Worse case is to eat carry gold butter I think or avocado. I m not sure about avocado though, because of the high amounts of omega 6 if you eat a lot it might cause inflammation as well

[TylerDurden]

Avocadoes were a lifesaver for me during my raw vegan/fruitarian days. As a temporary source of fat they should do. Other than those LFM markets, a search online should lead you to various fishmongers in your area in London. Some of them deliberately prefreeze all their catch, not just chilling them, while many mostly offer farmed fish, but most have at least some fatty wildcaught seafood available such as raw mackerel, raw kingfish or raw swordfish etc.

[littleElefant]

For me as well, Tyler, Avocados have been a staple during my raw vegan years. Now I m not sooo exited about them any more. Always when I get back to my old habits, eating more and more vegetables, fish and plant fats, I mean coconut and avocado, I lean out and physicaly I m back to me as a raw vegan, looking like a typical raw fodist, very thin with my veins visible and I look weak. If I go back to more meat and take meat fat as my first fat source I look healthier and plumper even with  the same weight and I feel calmer, more stable.  Plant fats in a low carb or Keto context  never seems to work for my body