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Love Is a Cattle Field from

SERVING IT UP: O'Brien went from playing tennis to selling beef.

Alex O'Brien wasn't sure what he'd do with tennis. “I was ranked No. 5 among juniors in the United States, but I was just a pusher,” an unaggressive player, or what he compares to a “human backboard.” “I was pretty small and didn't know much about the game. I don't think I would have been a pro unless I went to Stanford.”

Things worked out all right for the na-tive of Amarillo, Texas. O'Brien ascended to the No. 1 doubles ranking in the world in 2000 and won the U.S. Open men's doubles title in 1999 with Sebastien Lareau. O'Brien credits then-Cardinal coach Dick Gould, '59, MA '60, and his assistant (now coach) John Whitlinger, '76, for shaping him into a successful player. “[Gould] taught us the joy of competition. . . . He helped me a lot with my tennis and everything after tennis.”

SERVING IT UP: O'Brien went from playing tennis to selling beef.

The “everything after tennis” began in 2001 when O'Brien retired from the Association of Tennis Professionals tour. O'Brien's family has been in the cattle business for four generations—in 1927, Alex's great grandfather, Will, made one of the biggest cattle purchases in U.S. history up to that time, according to the Amarillo Globe-News. “I wanted to be a part of the family business, but I also wanted some independence from my father,” O'Brien says. Their company, Texas Beef, provides meat for wholesaler JBS Swift. Alex O'Brien decided to sell Prime (top grade) steaks directly to consumers over the Internet.

They are not the only Internet purveyors of gourmet beef. But because O'Brien's family ranch provides the meat, he controls the steak from “ranch to retail. I thought that was a great way to add value to the family business.” He began his company, Littlefield Ranch, two years ago with less than $10,000. Within six months the business turned profitable, and the steak has earned the plaudits of everyone from tennis legend Pete Sampras to HBO executives and cattle nutritionists.

Starting an Internet business was pretty new for the athlete. Stanford buddies were able to help out in that respect, explaining the intricacies of online advertising, promotion and search optimization. But beef is old hat for O'Brien. “I grew up working on our ranch: branding and cutting the cattle, giving them shots and taking care of them,” he said. “When I was 8 years old, I started working with my dad, sorting cattle. I spent days working the gate and putting the animals on pasture.”
—DAN WEIL

Succulent, Juicy Steak Online

Dancing Blue Seal / September 21, 2009

Blog - Food, Eating and Cooking

Those who have been somewhat following this blog over the last three years would know that I tend to veer towards a more carnivorous appetite. Steaks, good quality steaks have a always a special place in my heart and I was recommended the Littlefield Ranch from a friend of mine. Apparently, they provide premium Texas steaks shipped across the USA. Being quite an avid online shopper myself, I thought, "Why not? Let's try some online steaks". The package arrived within the delivery date and was packed quiet nicely.

Within the first outer box was a smaller one packed within styrofoam walls and dry ice. Despite having arrived on an afternoon on a rather warm day (after a 2 day transit mind you), the steaks and dry ice were all still very nicely frozen. So far, everything was pretty good, they even provided me with a little stick which measured the doneness of the steak, however, that was broken on arrival but no biggie for me really.

The packaging was good but I'm no sucker for pretty packaging. The proof of their product lies simply in only one thing; their steak. After thawing one of the fillet mignons for 24hours in the fridge and letting it rest out for a bit more to obtain room temperature, I rubbed on a bit of sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper and sealed off the edges in high heat on a cast iron skillet. I then threw the rest of it into my oven to roast on high (450degF). Took it out once it was medium rare, and let it sit for about a minute before putting my blade to it.

Ooh, this was so tender that my steak knife pretty much just glided through it. Normally I'm not a fan of fillet mignon but this was the cut my friend recommended and it was indeed very good. Succulent and juicy despite being frozen; this tasted extremely fresh. This was good online steak, now I'm keen on trying the other cuts; especially the ribeye which looked pretty nicely marbled on their website.

Prime Time for Steak Lovers

The Wall Street Journal / July 16,2009

By Katy McLaughlin
katy.mclaughlin@wsj.com

For years, Brian Wong, a 25-year-old technology consultant in San Jose, Calif., longed to buy USDA prime beef. He had tried it at an expensive steakhouse, but whenever he looked in supermarkets or at Costco for the beef with the Department of Agriculture’s highest grading, he was told they didn’t carry it.

So when Mr. Wong saw a cut labeled USDA prime at Costco—selling for $9.99 a pound—he was so startled that he knocked on the window of the butcher department. “I asked them, ‘Is this a joke? Is it really prime?’ ” Mr. Wong says. The rib eyes he bought were the real thing: They were “more tender, more juicy” and more “delicious” than any other steaks he has cooked, Mr. Wong says.

Mr. Wong experienced a phenomenon steak lovers are observing across the country: High-end beef that was once available mostly at steak houses and fine-dining restaurants is increasingly showing up in retail butcher cases. Two years ago, the only way most home cooks could get their hands on beef varieties such as USDA prime was to buy them in a gourmet store or by mail order, which could be as expensive as a steak-house dinner. But now, not only is steak-house-quality beef easier to find; in many cases, it is selling for little more than standard supermarket meat.

Shira Kronzon/The Wall Street Journal

The cause: a severe contraction in steak-house dining. Many top steak houses specialize in serving beef that’s ranked USDA prime, a grading given to between 1% and 3% of the country’s beef that designates the meat with the most marbling—the tendrils of fat running through meat that enhance its flavor and texture. As steak houses expanded over the past decade, they and other high-end restaurants bought nearly all the prime beef available. Amid growing competition in the past few years, many restaurants branched out into serving other specialty steaks, including Wagyu, from the breed of cattle used for Japan’s highly marbled Kobe beef, grass-fed beef, which has a reputation for being healthier, and brand names such as Niman Ranch.

But this year, high-end steak houses, which depend largely on expense-account dining, have suffered single- and double-digit declines in same-store sales, according to restaurant consultant Technomic. So restaurants are buying a lot less fancy beef, leaving more of it for home cooks.

Two weekends ago, Ray Juskiewicz was at Seattle’s Metropolitan Market when a special caught his eye: Snake River Farm’s Wagyu beef, on sale for $14.99 a pound. That struck Mr. Juskiewicz, a 47-year-old computer hardware salesman and avid weekend cook, as quite a deal: The only other time he had bought Wagyu beef, he had paid more than $40 a pound. He bought the steaks, seasoned them with coarse salt and black pepper, and grilled them over high heat.

“They were amazing. Very juicy, with a very buttery flavor to them, incredibly tender. You didn’t really need a steak knife,” says Mr. Juskiewicz. Though he usually finishes a steak with a pat of compound butter, which has herbs or other ingredients mixed in, he didn’t garnish the Wagyu, preferring to let its flavor stand alone, he says.

Other people cooking extremely marbled beef would do well to follow Mr. Juskiewicz’s approach, says Steven Raichlen, host of public television’s Primal Grill and author of “The Barbecue Bible.” Such meat needs little adornment: just a sprinkling of coarse salt and freshly ground, coarse black pepper and quick cooking on a hot grill.

By contrast, grass-fed meat, which comes from cattle that haven’t been fattened on grain towards the end of their lives, rarely earns the prime grade because it tends to be less marbled. But it can have a more complex flavor, with herbal notes that reflect the grass diet, and it is also healthier than corn-fed beef, with more omega-3 fatty acids and less saturated fat. This meat benefits from a sprinkling of melted butter or olive oil. For the ultimate garnish, Mr. Raichlen recommends making a cup of aluminum foil, filling it with a piece of beef fat, and placing it over a cooler part of the grill until it melts. Pour a little liquid fat over a cooked steak for a beefy enhancement, he recommends.

Given a choice between cuts of USDA prime beef, Mr. Raichlen says he would choose a New York strip or a T-bone in order to take advantage of the firm meat, which tastes lush and juicy when well-marbled. But take a page from top steak houses and don’t bother buying prime tenderloin, or filet mignon. This cut is only slightly marbled, so buying prime barely changes the eating experience.

Rib eyes, which are very rich, can be too fatty when they come from Wagyu beef, but they are the perfect choice for grass-fed beef, Mr. Raichlen says. The best way to showcase the concentrated, beefy quality created by dry-aging is to choose a T-bone or porterhouse. These cuts include a piece of filet, which becomes more flavorful through the dry-aging process.

Other factors have contributed to the wealth of fancy beef at stores today. For one thing, specialty ranches expanded their herd sizes during the steak-house boom. Three years ago, Snake River Farms in Boise, Idaho, decided to enlarge its herd of 7,000 cattle. Back then, more than 90% of Snake River’s Wagyu beef was sold to restaurants. Today, the herd is 10,000 strong, and retail stores account for a third of sales.

Niman Ranch beef was one of the first ingredients to be identified by the name of the rancher or farmer on top restaurant menus in the 1990s. Its cachet derived from the beef’s taste and the company’s humane ranching methods, as well as the product’s rarity at the time. Two years ago, the company expanded its herd size fourfold, says executive vice president Jeff Tripician. Now the beef is in “thousands of retail stores,” Mr. Tripician says.

Whole Foods Market Inc. has been able to lower the price of its beef because home cooks looking to save money have started buying more ground beef, roasts and other cuts from various parts of the cow, says Theo Weening, head of meat purchasing for Whole Foods. That enables the company to buy more whole animals, allowing it to sell all the parts for a lower price, he says. In the Rocky Mountain region, Whole Foods recently had a sale on grass-fed ground beef for $3.99 a pound, Mr. Weening says. He also says the store has sold New York strip steak for $8.99 and $9.99 a pound in recent months, about $5 per pound cheaper than normal for the store’s standard beef.

Indeed, across the spectrum of beef varieties and grades, prices for “steak-house cuts” such as tenderloin, porterhouse and rib eyes are down by 3% to 12%, depending on the cut, from last year, according to the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. Wal-Mart, under the Genuine Steakhouse label it rolled out to all stores last April, is selling USDA choice-grade meat. Prior to Genuine Steakhouse, Wal-Mart sold mostly select-grade meat, a less marbled variety.

Food aficionados around the country have been buzzing online about steak-house beef at retail. Frank Deis, a 64-year-old biochemistry professor in Highland Park, N.J., found it “terribly frustrating” to hear from his friends in wine-appreciation discussion groups that they were finding USDA prime beef at Costco when he couldn’t. He dropped notes in the Costco suggestion box asking for the meat and complained to the store’s butchers. Then, one day in December, Mr. Deis found prime beef—at $8.99 a pound.

“At that price, why should I buy anything else?” says Mr. Deis, who puts his biochemistry background to use by aging whole loins of beef. He cuts it into steaks, grills it to rare, and serves it with a selection from his 1,000-bottle wine cellar.

“Man, oh man, it couldn’t be any tenderer” he says. “You chew it with your tongue.”

Former Star O’Brien Opens Premium Steak Business

Alex O’Brien, former No.1-ranked doubles player and winner of the US Open men’s doubles title in 1999, has made the transition from the green grass of Wimbledon to the tall grasses of the Texas plains. His new company, Littlefield Ranch, offers USDA-Prime Texas steaks to individuals and corporations on the web at www.littlefieldranch.com.

In 1927, Will O’Brien, Alex’s great-grandfather brought 10,000 cattle to Amarillo, Texas, Alex’s hometown and headquarters for Littlefield Ranch. Alex’s father, Bill, continues the tradition, running Texas Beef, the family’s ranching, farming and cattle-feeding company, which raises more than 200,000 cattle a year.

Alex, a 37-year-old Stanford University graduate and president of Littlefield Ranch, is bringing some of Texas Beef’s quality prime steaks directly to the consumer. All cuts are aged for at least 14 days.

O’Brien’s customers include tennis legend Pete Sampras and sportscaster Rich Eisen. Sampras says that after eating at top restaurants around the globe, “Never have I had a tastier steak than Littlefield Ranch.”

http://www.racquetsportsindustry.com/articles/2008/02/industry_news_38.html

O'Brien excelled at every level of tennis

Panhandle Sports Hall of Fame

By Lance Lahnert
lance.lahnert@amarillo.com

Tascosa graduate Alex O'Brien, shown during a 1991 tennis match, was a four-time All-American for Stanford and was part of three NCAA titles.

To think the career of the greatest tennis player in area history started with aspirations like every little brother has growing up.

Man, I just want to outdo that big brother of mine.

“My brother Blake was my hero growing up, and he definitely was my impetus for getting going and picking up the racket,” Alex O'Brien said. “I can remember sitting on the side and watching him play tennis when I was little and thinking, 'I want to do that.' ”

Did he ever “do that.”

Rod Searcey / Stanford Athletics

Inductee No. 148: Alex O'Brien

Why Selected: His accomplishments include high school state championships in doubles (1987) and singles (1988) at Tascosa; three NCAA team titles as a four-time All-American at Stanford; captured the "triple crown" of NCAA tennis - singles, doubles and team title - with Stanford in 1992; won the singles crown in the 1996 Pilot Pen International; captured 13 doubles titles on the ATP Tour; appeared in four Grand Slam doubles finals, winning the 1999 U.S. Open; played for the U.S. five times in Davis Cup competition; played on the U.S. doubles team in the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

Today: Lives in Los Angeles (plans to move back to Amarillo during the next year) and is CEO of Littlefield Ranch (sells prime steaks nationwide). He also is president of The Bank of Commerce.

Induction Ceremony: 2 p.m. Sunday at Amarillo College's Ordway Auditorium.

O'Brien, the 148th inductee into the Texas Panhandle Sports Hall of Fame, reached the pinnacle of tennis at all levels - high school, college and professional. His career included state titles, NCAA gold medals, a Grand Slam doubles crown, playing doubles with Pete Sampras and displaying his skills on the world's most storied courts - Wimbledon's grass in England, the French Open's clay in Paris and the U.S. Open's hard courts in New York City.

“To be honored like this by your hometown, it's just an incredible feeling for me,” O'Brien said. “It's such a cool deal to be able to celebrate our great sport of tennis. I'm getting honored for doing something I considered fun.”

One can't grab a cup from the kitchen cabinet or pull out a yardstick to measure greatness. But taking a deep breath, then talking as fast as you can, doesn't begin to get you through O'Brien's list of accomplishments.

When the man who spent 38 years coaching tennis at Stanford and won 17 national titles calls you "the fiercest competitor I've ever seen" - as Dick Gould did of O'Brien - that registers on the greatness scale. Gould also coached John McEnroe.

During O'Brien's career, he was known not as the person with the most prolific athletic talent but as a player who always displayed class and fought for every point. And he never forgot his Amarillo roots, having his hometown announced next to his name and opening the Alex O'Brien Youth Tennis Foundation to encourage young area players.

O'Brien's list of accomplishments: high school state championships in doubles (1987) and singles (1988) at Tascosa; winning three NCAA team titles at Stanford; capturing the "triple crown" of NCAA tennis - singles, doubles, team title - with Stanford in 1992; winning the singles crown in the 1996 Pilot Pen International; capturing 13 doubles titles on the ATP Tour; earning the world No. 1 ranking in doubles; appearing in four Grand Slam doubles finals, winning the 1999 U.S. Open; representing the U.S. five times in Davis Cup competition under coaches Tom Gullickson and McEnroe; playing for the U.S. doubles team in the 2000 Sydney Olympics; induction into the Stanford Hall of Fame.

O'Brien has many fond memories of his career, such as playing in - and winning - the adult division of the Amarillo City Men's Championship when the racket he was swinging as a junior high student seemed almost as tall as he was.

His name permanently inscribed on the U.S. Open men's doubles championship trophy. O'Brien had reached Grand Slam finals three times before Sept. 10, 1999, at the U.S. Open, but the other three ended with him as a runner-up.

“We had been in two Australian Open finals and another U.S. Open final, and I was beginning to wonder if wasn't meant to be,” O'Brien said. “When you win the U.S. Open, it gives you a little validation that I was a legit player and grabbed a part of history.”

“My name's on that trophy, and now I can torture my daughter one day and show her my name on that trophy,” he added, laughing.

Another experience touching O'Brien's heartstrings was the honor of playing for the U.S. in five Davis Cups and at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

“The Davis Cup was incredible,” O'Brien said. “To play for your country and represent your country, there is really nothing like it. It's just a whole different ballgame when you play for your country.”

O'Brien said he remembers the victories and good times but said the losses molded him into a successful businessman.

“I feel like I really learned a lot about life in tennis and learned a lot about the battle,” O'Brien said. “If you look at my tennis career and playing on what I call 'The Real Tour,' I think I won 13 times in doubles and one time in singles. I was fortunate to win other titles in smaller tournaments, but not on the legit tour.”

“So I got my butt kicked a lot. That's a lot of weeks going out and losing. But I think it was good for me. It made me realize all you can do is the best you can do that day. You try and learn from your losses and remain resilient ... it's made me tougher in the business world and realize you are going to have your defeats. You just have to keep plugging away.”

“I think the people who are the most successful and do well just keep trying. That education on the tour and travelling around the world and meeting the people I met was an invaluable education.”

No doubt, big brother is proud of little brother in the O'Brien family.

http://www.amarillo.com/cgi-bin/printme.pl

Article from Tennis Magazine

As many of you know, TW likes to help out anyone in the tennis community at-large, in any way we can. Hey, we're all in this together, right? Also, it's good to know what other tennis folks are up to, especially when they are no longer high on the radar - that pertains to friend and neighbor who have moved away as well as to pros and former pros.

So today we have news from that exceptional doubles player, Alex O'Brien. You remember Alex - he was ranked as high as No. 30 in singles and No. 1 in doubles. He played Davis Cup for the US on five occasions, and he won the US Open doubles (with Sebastian Lareau), and a main tour singles at New Haven in 1996. His fondest memory is playing Davis Cup doubles with Pete Sampras in 1999, vs. Australian, in the sweltering 95-degree heat at Longwood Cricket Club, just outside Boston. The Aussies had a great team led by Lleyton Hewitt and Pat Rafter; in fact, Alex and Pete earned the only point for the US in the doubles, overcoming Mark Woodforde and Sandon Stolle in five tough sets.

But O'Brien's most cherished moment is his singles win at New Haven, of which he said, "I worked all my career to be a singles player, I really tried, but in the end I was a better doubles player, plain and simple. New Haven validated all that work for me, though. After I won that title, I stopped worrying about my self-worth."

I worked all my career to be a singles player, I really tried, but in the end I was a better doubles player, plain and simple. New Haven validated all that work for me, though.

That seems a very frank and honest admission, from someone who had a reputation as a good guy. These days, Alex mostly in Los Angeles, where he works as COO of a banking enterprise. He maintains his friendship with Pete Sampras (they often play three-on-three basketball games together, although the poker games in which Pete plays are a little too rich for Alex's blood).

Here's something y 'all may not know: Alex and his siblings, a brother, Blake, and a sister, Katherine (both of whom were state tennis champs) grew up partly on a little family spread, Littlefield Ranch. There's nothing like 58,000 acres to roam around on when you're a little kid, although the O'Briens pups were pretty much devoted to the much smaller piece of real estate represented by a tennis court.

"We were 'the tennis shoe cowboys, " Alex told me. "We showed up at the Ranch to work cattle as kids and we usually came in our tennis shoes. The cowboys would say, “howdy girls” to my brother and me. . . It only made us stronger." Alex

Well, it turns out that Littlefield Ranch has developed a side business (easy to do, when you run an enormous cattle herd) selling premium steaks via mail order. And while Alex was telling me all this, he suggested that we run a little contest for TennisWorld readers. The contest is simple; if you get both answers right you will go into a pool from which the name of the winner will be drawn. We will acknowledge the winner here at TW after he or she is chosen.

Meanwhile, feel free to order steaks from Lit Ranch for your New Year's celebration. Maybe we can come up with some other contest or consideration for TW readers in the future.

Feel free to post a comment for Alex, below.

Please visit Peter Bodo's Website and read his other articles at Tennis Magazine

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Former Tennis Star Alex O’Brien Offers Prime Steak to Connoisseurs Over Internet

Alex O’Brien, former No.1-ranked doubles player and winner of the US Open men’s doubles title in 1999, has made the transition from the green grass of Wimbledon to the tall grasses of the Texas Plains. His new company Littlefield Ranch offers USDA-Prime Texas steaks to individuals and corporations on the web at www.littlefieldranch.com.

With his family in the cattle business for four generations, starting Littlefield Ranch simply meant the continuation of an 80-year family tradition.

In 1927, Will O’Brien, Alex’s great grandfather, closed what may have been the biggest cattle deal in U.S. history to date. He brought over 10,000 cattle to Amarillo, Texas, Alex’s hometown and headquarters for Littlefield Ranch. Alex’s father, Bill, continues the tradition, running Texas Beef, the family’s ranching, farming and cattle feeding company, which raises more than 200,000 cattle a year.

Alex, a 37-year-old Stanford University graduate and president of Littlefield Ranch, decided to add value to the family tradition by bringing some of Texas Beef’s quality Prime steaks directly to the consumer. Littlefield Ranch’s philosophy is to keep it simple, offering only the big three premium cuts (rib eyes, strips, filets) to steak connoisseurs around the country. All cuts are aged for at least 14 days, guaranteeing a tender and tasty steak.

Littlefield Ranch is able to offer a higher quality steak because of its integrated supply chain. Texas Beef buys animals of consistent quality from suppliers with whom it has long-term relationships and feeds and takes care of each animal with time-tested efficiencies.

Alex, a 37-year-old Stanford University graduate and president of Littlefield Ranch, decided to add value to the family tradition by bringing some of Texas Beef’s quality Prime steaks directly to the consumer.

Littlefield Ranch’s quick success has surprised even O’Brien. “When I started the company, I would never have dreamed that it would grow this rapidly simply from word of mouth,” he said. “This is a true testament to the quality of our product and the loyalty of our customers.”

Littlefield Ranch steaks can provide the centerpiece for any meal from a casual dinner for two, to a family celebration, to a corporate outing. In a continuation of the family theme, Alex’s wife Meg provides some recipe ideas and cooking tips on the web site.

Littlefield Ranch Prime steaks are popular holiday gifts not only for friends and families but for large corporations, including HBO. HBO executive Sloan Kennedy said, “We were looking for a unique gift to say thank you, and Littlefield Ranch corporate gift certificates created quite a positive reaction among our clients.” O’Brien’s customers also include celebrities, such as tennis legend Pete Sampras and sportscaster Rich Eisen. Sampras, who holds the men’s record for most Grand Slam singles titles, says that after eating at top restaurants around the globe, “never have I had a tastier steak than Littlefield Ranch.”

The beef world gives its nod to Littlefield Ranch as well. Texas cattle nutritionist Abe Turgeon said, "we absolutely loved the steaks -- tender, juicy and full of flavor. They exceeded our expectations. Delivery was prompt. We liked the little thermometer as an added feature, and I especially liked the brochure describing a bit of history on the product. We will be ordering more in the future.”

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'The World's Greatest Athlete' Eats Littlefield Ranch Steak for Dinner

2004 Olympic Silver medalist and 2005 World Gold medalist Bryan Clay looks to Littlefield Ranch to get his red meat intake. Clay understands the importance diet and chooses Littlefield Ranch to satisfy a rigorous diet and a craving for great steaks.

March 30, 2007 -- In general, the title "World's Greatest Athlete" belongs to the current decathlete that is number one in the world. At this moment it is indisputable that Bryan Clay is the world's best decathlete and therefore holds the title of "World's Greatest Athlete." Littlefield Ranch CEO Alex O'Brien is very proud to gain the endorsement of such a top caliber athlete, "Bryan Clay eating our steaks and beef in general is a real boost to our industry and more specifically to the quality of the Littlefield Ranch product."

Bryan has always been a fan of high end steaks and when we saw an opportunity to team the World's greatest athlete with the World's best steak provider--it was a perfect fit.

There has been a long debate on what types of food will best help an athlete trying to fuel his/her body to become the best. The high carbohydrate diet of the 80s and 90s has been supplanted the high protein Atkins Diet. Clay believes that a high protein diet is essential to peak performance, "A top quality steak is a perfect place for me to get protein. The alliance with Littlefield Ranch gives me the comfort of knowing that every time I want a high end restaurant quality Prime steak it is there for me. Before I was getting my steaks from the grocery and I was not able to find the same quality and consistency that Littlfield delivers."

Clay's long time friend and trainer Stephen Bienko saw an opportunity with Littlefield Ranch that was hard to pass. "Bryan has always been a fan of high end steaks and when we saw an opportunity to team the World's greatest athlete with the World's best steak provider--it was a perfect fit."

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