Lots of good things have been posted up here, most of it right on the button. You can raise a few head (always need more than one for social reasons as keeping cattle happy and stress free = better meat). You want good fences, as the saying goes: Good fences make good neighbors. All it takes is having a couple of frisky feeling 500 lb. steers frolicking through your neighbors garden to make for a 'long' day.
Feeding is very important: depending on the age of the animal and how you're getting it, grass and hay base feeding with increasing amounts of grain/silage put on the pounds. Having space for the animals to move around is important as they need exercise to build good muscle and keep them from getting sloppy fat. We always finished our calves on grain (oats) or a mix of oats and field peas.
The only reason I talk about this is that the people that say you should visit your Extension Agent are correct. They'll have the best information on what's available locally and they might even be able to take a look at where you're planning on feeding the animal to give you some hints. Personally, I'll echo some that say checking out FFA / 4H programs locally and going that approach supports local youth and agricultural programs.
On breeds: Dairy breeds are bred for just that, producing milk. Bull calves are byproducts, most of the time and are better sources for veal as younger = more tender. As beef breeds go, one is really as good as another. I'm partial to black angus, but that's because we raised them for so long.
Grass fed / grain finished for the win!
As a rule, go for a beef breed, forget hide color and focus on how they're fed, treated, and raised. That's what we do, by the way. Raise them. They're babies and we raise them up for one purpose and it's a great thing, knowing where your food comes from and the process. Good luck to you if you decide to jump in.
By the way, the glossy hide look comes from being healthy and getting a great diet, we used to refer to it as being 'all slicked up', and their is nothing prettier!!!
