Diner serves emu all the time

By Jordan Bartel : The Herald-Sun

chh~heraldsun.com

Jul 4, 2003 : 6:32 pm ET

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PITTSBORO -- At first glance, it looks like a traditional country café, like any seen dotted along the highways that weave through small towns.

But a giant stuffed emu on the front porch and a tiny sign with an emu that reads, "Out of the shadows comes the new red meat," lets hungry patrons know that they're in for something different.

The Vista Point Market and Emu Café, located between Apex and Pittsboro near Jordan Lake, opened in January, specializing in emu meat and products.

It offers traditional roadside fare -- burgers, hot dogs, and ham sandwiches. But owner Dennis Cook calls this the "classic" menu. Everything on the menu, including sausage, steak and the specialty, kielbasa, can also be served "Jurassic" -- with emu meat.

The emu is thought to have originated in Australia roughly 80 million years ago.

The first customers of the day, three men from a nearby construction site, decide to go classic. "They're traditionalists," Cook says as he quickly shuffles to the back kitchen to make their sandwiches.

They sit at one of four wooden tables next to the market displaying various emu products, and glance over at a sheet standing upright in the center that provides basic information about the benefits of emu meat. One of the three glances up at a picture of an emu.

"I don't know about this emu thing. You could get their DNA in you or something," he says with a laugh and a birdlike squawk.

Cook said unfamiliarity with the emu sometimes makes customers a bit wary of his restaurant.

"First timers come in and say, `OK, what's an emu,'" Cook, 50, said. "But I've never had anyone complain or say they don't like it. They all love it and come back for more."

Cook and business partner Rick Dixon started their unique business after both were laid off from their jobs at Nortel in the Research Triangle Park. Dixon, who has suffered from heart problems, was looking for healthy alternatives to his diet.

He soon became a devotee of emu, which is 97 percent fat free and drastically higher in protein than other meats. Four-ounce emu servings also have lower cholesterol, 65.2 milligrams compared to the 81.6 milligrams in turkey and the 72.8 milligrams in chicken.

A four-ounce serving also provides greater amounts of iron that all other meats -- 5.6 milligrams. The same size serving of beef provides 2.4 milligrams of iron, and of chicken only 1.6 milligrams.

"There are many times when I wish I can go down to the heart center and ask them why they aren't doing this, why they aren't telling patients about emu meat," Cook said.

Cook and Dixon started the business, RAD (short for Rick and Dennis) of North Carolina, exclusively on the Internet, but soon the pair found the two-story wooden building, which was a former convenience store mostly serving Jordan Lake. They converted it to an emu restaurant and market.

"There's a huge educational process involved with this business," Cook said. "The emu really hasn't been marketed, and most people in cities don't know anything about it, so I've made it my mission to educate."

Informational papers, leaflets and handouts about the emu decorate the market, which sells several emu-based products. Lip balm, dietary supplements, hair spray and even a tanning accelerator are fortified with emu oil, which contains high quantities of healthy Omega 3 and Omega 6 oils.

"There's so many healthy benefits in emu oil that few people realize," Cook said. "It's a natural anti-inflammatory, a natural pain reliever. The emu oil helps your body like a lubricated engine helps your car."

Cook and Dixon receive their emu meat from Twin Creek Farm and Emu Ranch in Asheboro, and their various emu oil health and beauty products from Emu Products Management Incorporated, based in Oklahoma.

According to the N.C. Emu Association, formed in 1994, the North Carolina emu industry is booming. It's estimated that 5,000 to 7,500 emus are raised on about 500 farms in the state.

"This is just really fun for me," said Cook, who raises two of his own emus, Fred and Ethel, whom he considers his pets. "It is really interesting to see it grow and tell the public about it."

Along with the meat and beauty products, the company's Web site also sells emu leather products -- wallets, boots and purses.

"See this belt," Cook says as he points to a light-brown belt around his waist that resembles snake or alligator leather. "Yep, it's emu."

Around lunchtime, a regular David Sogg, walks into the market and orders his usual "Jurassic" meal -- a big bowl of emu chili.

"Emu meat really is a pleasant substitute for ground beef," said Sogg, a maintenance worker at nearby Jordan Lake who feasts on the emu offerings once or twice a week. "I'm kind of picky about what I eat. McDonald's, Hardee's -- that stuff just doesn't get along with me. But I love the lean red meat of the emu."

Cook busily prepares the chili underneath a sign that reads "Emu -- the other red meat" and another proclaiming the lunch special of the day, emu steak sandwich with lettuce, tomato and cheese. He said has plans for his new business and has currently been exploring options to promote his product.

"The problem is that, if you want to distribute the meat in chains, you usually have to be a corporate vendor," he said. "But I've been looking into independent chains and even catering."

Cook said he plans to continue providing unique emu-based products and thinking up creative emu dishes, in the hope that the emu's time will come.

"I think we've worn out the cow and pumped it full of everything we can think of," he said. "It's time to move on."