Make your autumn stews or last warm-days grilled burgers out of a different kind of meat. Being less fatty, buffalo or bison meat is a lot healthier than beef. At any rate, it's a taste of the Wild West. Cook it slowly in a heavy red wine, a handful of crushed juniper berries and root vegetables, and you can almost pretend you're eating venison. And pretend you bagged it yourself...after all, it is hunting season.

If you're planning a big enough celebration to rope in more than a few friends to share the experience, A.M. Briggs, a local wholesaler, will sell large cuts of fresh local buffalo retail (along with fresh rabbit, squab, quail and pheasant.) 2130 Queens Chapel Rd NW, 202 832 2600. But I did once spot some at Eastern Market. And you can ask Pam Ginsberg at Wagshal's to get you anything...She loves a challenge.

Should you prefer a bite of buffalo or bison burger or steak, you can order a mailed assortment of frozen cuts from Hidden Dream Farm, 410 442 1791.

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