From ranch to table, bison is featured dish at Ted Turner's new roadhouse

ATLANTA - Billionaire media entrepreneur and rancher Ted Turner is hoping to create a new empire: a restaurant chain featuring 25 versions of the bison burger. <br> <br> The first Ted&#39;s Montana Grill opens in Columbus, Ohio, in mid-January with a menu offering bison with avocado, bison with jalapenos and even bison with fried eggs, cheese, ham, bacon and mushrooms. <br> <br> Nine more restaurants are to open in the next year in Baltimore, Denver, Atlanta and Nashville, Tennessee, among other locations. <br> <br> The 63-year-old Turner is considered the nation&#39;s largest bison rancher, with 30-thousand animals - one-tenth of the U.S. herd - scattered on 1.75 million acres in the West. The chain will buy bison from a cooperative that includes Turner&#39;s 14 ranches and about 300 other bison producers. <br> <br> John Bauer, a former marketing official in the industry, says Turner&#39;s venture is unlikely to immediately boost the beleaguered bison market. <br> <br> The saloon-style roadhouse will also offer chicken, beef, fish and ``comfort food,&#39;&#39; with entrees priced between seven and 12 dollars. <br> <br> Turner is funding 80 percent of the new venture, while George McKerrow - founder of the Atlanta-based LongHorn Steakhouse restaurant chain - will supply industry expertise, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported in its Sunday edition. <br> <br> The taste of bison has been compared to the taste of a lean cut of cow, but bison has less fat.