Dining at J. Broussard’s restaurant in Columbus, Miss., Peachie Dornan fell in love at first bite when she ate her first hamburger made with Neola Farms ground beef.

The special menu item featured beef from a cattle ranch more than 200 miles away in Tipton County near Brighton.

“It is a gourmet hamburger,” said Dornan after a couple more bites of the $15 sandwich. “It has the flavor of a fine filet.”

The flavor wasn’t hurt by Chef Beth Rogers’ fresh-baked Kaiser rolls and garnishes of Gruyere cheese, sautéed mushrooms and caramelized onions. But Rogers is quick to point out the star of her burger is the 8-ounce meat patty.

“We’ve been selling it out every time we have it,” said Rogers, who also periodically offers Neola Farms ribeyes, New York strips and tenderloin.

Rogers even held a meeting recently with her staff to acquaint them with the Tipton County-raised meat.

A flier given to diners explains that Neola Farms “is a unique farm outside Memphis” that specializes in “100 percent Black Angus prime dry-aged” beef raised on an organic diet, free of steroids and hormones.

Customers and chefs like Dornan and Rogers are Neola Farms’ bread-and-butter, so to speak.

Owners Mike and Charline Lenagar have purposely targeted patrons and proprietors of upscale eateries. Some of Memphis’s finest restaurants serve their beef: Tsunami, Felecia Suzanne’s and Restaurant Iris, among them.

“This is our 15th year and our sales have doubled every year,” said Mike Lenagar. “We’re amazed at it.”

Through that decade-and-a-half, the Lenagars have bred a high-quality line of Black Angus cattle, carefully tracking and recording their results as they maintain the bloodline through successive generations.

Today, they generally run about 115 head on half their 200 acres near Brighton; corn for feed is grown on the other half of their parcel. They also contract with local farmers for additional corn and grow-out of the cattle.

Lenagar estimates he will slaughter 100 steers, weighing about 1,250 pounds each, this year. Beef destined for commercial sale must be processed in a USDA-inspected slaughterhouse; Neola Farms beef is processed by Fayette Packing in Hickory Withe, the only USDA-approved facility in West Tennessee.

The fully dressed carcasses weigh 725-750 pounds.

“That’s the perfect size for the marbling,” said Lenagar.

The marbling – fat running through the lean – and dry aging are key to what Rogers’ flier describes as “superior steak with a rich buttery flavor and a tender bite.”

“The old folks say, ‘This is the meat my daddy used to bring home,’” Lenagar said.

Aside from restaurants, the Lenagars sell their beef at the Downtown Memphis Farmers Market when it’s open on Saturdays, at a couple grocery stores (Miss Cordelia’s and Trolley Stop Market) and from their home.

“Many people want to come and see the farm,” Lenagar said.

Those making the trek are rewarded with a 10 percent discount; Neola Farms ground beef runs $4.80 per pound before the discount, while ribeyes cost $18.50 a pound and New York strip, $16.50.

“We just lowered the price on all our steaks,” Lenagar said, explaining that the depressed economy has affected sales. “The lesser cuts are moving. We were collecting steaks around Christmas.”

Still, the customers keep coming – and, like first-timer Dornan, they are growing in number. The Columbus resident decided that, in the case of a Neola Farms burger, $15 is not too much to spend, considering the quality.

“It is a delicacy, just delicious,” said Dornan. “The way I love hamburgers, heck yeah, I would buy it again.”