In case you were as unaware as I was, this is in fact #CowWeek. At least according to Modern Farmer magazine. Which happens to be on of my favorite publications. So I decided it was finally time to share the photos from one of my quick trips this summer. This one was a day trip from Austin to Melvin, TX and back with a bunch of media friends for my client Jacoby’s. Which if you haven’t already, you should totally go check out Jacoby’s for the patio alone. Scroll to the end of the post for some killer views. BUT back to cows. Melvin, TX is about 2 hours north-west-ish from Austin. More west than north. You might pass through if you were going hunting or maybe on a trip to West Texas. Out in Melvin. there is an amazing family, The Jacoby’s, who are doing some really cool stuff with ranching, cattle, feed and oh, yes they have this wonderful cafe. The whole premise of this, is that from this family and little town, came Adam Jacoby, who just opened his own version of Jacoby’s in Austin. Since a lot of you will hopefully make it to Jacoby’s in Austin, I thought I would share some of Melvin with you. First stop on the day trip was the cafe for some lunch.
We started off with the chicken fried steak. Yes, I loved it. Duh. You can get this same one in Austin too.
Next up was some Jacoby’s beef. The great thing about Jacoby beef is that the Jacoby family raises all their own cattle, they even grow their own feed, and all they serve all that up in their own restaurants. So basically, no else touches the beef until you eat it. Kinda of a cool concept.
And there were winaritas. These were lovely, especially next to the crispy onion rings.
We finished it all off with the coconut pie. It was so cute, the girls who were waitressing, also make all the desserts. Definitely a team effort at Jacoby’s. It was so cute to see how they came up with the recipes and wanted to know how we liked everything.
After lunch we were off to tour the property and see where all the seed is processed and how the feed is made and stored.
Adam and his Dad, Jason Jacoby, who started Jacoby’s Feed & Seed in 1981.
Connected to the cafe is a store, where they sell different household parts, chicken seed and oh yes ice cream. Apparently they used to house the ice cream case in the cafe but never sold any really. (I mean I can see why if it was sitting next to those pies and cakes!) But after moving it into the store, they now sell more Blue Bell than ever.
A lot inside the grain house, I think that is the proper term, not 100% here. 
Despite all the things you hear about grass-fed beef, if you feed an animal right, then grain fed is ok. Plain and simple, if a steer only eats grass, then it takes them much, much longer to reach maturity. Thus costing the rancher quite a bit more. But cattle whose diets are supplemented with grain, reach maturity faster and are often healthier. No, I am not talking about feed lots or big box store beef, totally different. You’ll see below that these cattle gets lots of time hanging around in the grass and sunshine.
After the tour of the feed and seed, cafe and store, we headed out to take a look around Melvin. Many of the parts you see at Jacoby’s in Austin came from Melvin. There is tons of reclaimed barn wood, tin and even a vintage sign from the old town square.
Next we got to head out to the ranch and see all the cows. I had been waiting for this part all day! Some of the cows can be a bit shy, so Mr. Jacoby enticed them with some treats for us.
This is definitely my favorite shot from the whole trip! I would say that me and the mama cow had a moment, but you can decide for yourself. Then it was time to head back to Austin for a quick happy hour and tour at Jacoby’s.
The private dining room is gorgeous and no doubt will be booked solid this season.
The best pimiento cheese ever. EVER. Hands down. The smoked gouda really puts it over the edge I think. Try it for yourself and see what I mean.
Punch service is a thing at Jacoby’s and it comes in these gorgeous hobnail pitchers and cups. Such a fun way to start the evening. And if you love hobnail as much as I do, you can purchase some in the mercantile at Jacoby’s in Austin.
Anything with fresh dill gets me. I could eat at least a dozen of these little beauties.
Here is the reclaimed tin I was talking about.
Oh and the views. Be sure to take a little stroll out to the bluff to see this!
[…] fun meals this week that I wanted to share! The above? Well that would be yer Saturday brunch at Jacoby’s! I went with my friend last Saturday and had the best start to the weekend! The weather was a […]