Local Spotlight: Jolie Vue Farms

WHAT: Farm-fresh meats, delivered right to your doorstep. That's right -- beef, pork, poultry and eggs. It's an all-organic, ecologically sound, raised-with-love virtual meat market that arrives as regular as a newborn baby once per month.

Honi and Glen Boudreaux have agriculture in their blood. Honi's father never once bought his family's produce at the store; the inspiring urban gardener supplied it all -- and then his wife canned the surplus for winter eating along with the fruits of the fall crops. And then there's Glen, whose grandparents were dairy and veggie farmers outside of Lake Charles. They were organic before organic was cool, raising five healthy children on an agricultural oasis where they avoided synthetic chemicals of any kind.

So you see? Glen and Honi were destined to enhance our concept of natural. They purchased their farm near Brenham in 1989 and named it after Glen's grandparents -- except they translated "Fair View" into the French, paying homage to their joint heritage. Then they immediately began the arduous process of restoring native grasses, educating themselves on naturally raised livestock and organic farming. They even attended a weekend seminar at Polyface Farms in Virginia. Don't know the name? Polyface is owned by Joel Salatin and his family, the original pioneers of the grass-fed movement here in the U.S. Today the Boudreaux family runs a small but profitable business that marries their family traditions with their own passions, and you can taste the expertise.

The Boudreaux believe that both taste and nutrition are enhanced with fresh meats raised the way nature intended. As they like to point out, "Our farm doesn't do chemicals, and our animals don't do drugs." There is no chemical runoff from Jolie Vue into our streams, creeks and rivers -- which ultimately deposit into the Gulf; just fresh, naturally filtered rain water. And Jolie Vue is the very essence of local -- they employ local workers and send business to local butchers, all to feed local customers.

WHERE: Jolie Vue roamed the farmers' markets until 2003, when they caught the eye of Monica Pope. Their goods have been on the menu at t'afia ever since. Today Jolie Vue offers a fantastic CSA business (click here for instructions), and business is booming with local restaurants. In addition to t'afia, you'll find their wares at The Grove, Feast, Catalan and Cullen's Grille.