How to Be ‘Car-Free’ and Love Life

Posted by Geoff Nelowet / Monday, April 30th, 2012

Arlington Encourages all to Leave Their Wheels At Home.

by Lorin Drinkard

With thousands of commuters clogging up the roads of Arlington in gas-guzzlers, it’s no wonder that Arlington County’s Commuter Services (ACCS), through the Department of Environmental Services, has branded walking/biking/Metro riding/mass transit as the new hip way to travel about town. 

Take Matt Smith, for example: an Arlingtonian who gave up driving for a month and blogged about his experiences through the county’s Car-Free Diet Skeptics Challenge. Fast forward eight months and Smith, winner of the second season’s challenge, is now “Car-Free Matt,” the red-bearded host of a five-minute online sketch comedy show, featuring former contestants and his girl. 

“Let’s get this show off the road” is the tagline for “The Car-Free Diet Show,” in which Smith and friends share everything from better uses for a parking spot (yoga, anyone?) to a watermelon wearing helmet and mustache to represent noggin protection gear while biking. 

In addition to the show, ACCS promotes its BikeArlington initiative, launched in 2010, as a means to reduce carbon footprints and promote public transportation in the county. 

The community response? “By promoting ‘Car-Free Diet,’ we’re able to take 40,000 cars off the road every single day,” reveals Chris Hamilton, ACCS’s bureau chief, in “Gone With the Keys” (Episode 1). Capital Bikeshare docking stations dot the city with 24 more to be added this spring. Maps of color-coordinated walking, biking and bus routes, plus bike maintenance classes and easy transit tips, are free and aplenty. Will car-free be this year’s craze? Only time will tell.

 

April 2012

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GREEN ESTATE

Posted by Rebekah Lowe / Thursday, April 26th, 2012

Going green has never looked so big.

By Lynn Norusis

Clifton residents Ronald and Cheryl Hubbardhave put their $12.5M home—full of green amenities—on the market. Ronald, president of C&H Associates, who has worked on the design and building of a handful of embassies and high-end homes, designed the home to run as efficiently as possible.

With Argon low-e windows taking the space of 240 spots, radiant floors for heating and cooling running off three geo-thermal systems, and recycled tires acting as roofing cover, the 27,000-square-foot home runs a monthly heating bill comparable to a home one-tenth its size.

But eco-friendly amenities are not the only thing to love about this home—inspired by European architecture—nestled off Braddock Road. Family was at the forefront in Hubbard’s mind when he began the design in 1998. The home offers four identical levels including seven bedrooms, seven full and two half baths, two full kitchens, three wet bars, an elevator, a sauna, an indoor pool, five fireplaces (with a potential of 13) and an art gallery. Outside, the property has 3,000 feet of space consisting of patios and two ponds (where all the drainage from rains runs) linked by a bridge.

“I wanted to design something that would last forever in both design and look, but also the way it is built,” explains Hubbard. “With contemporary architecture, 10 years from now, people aren’t going to get it. One hundred years from now people will get the intent [of this house].” / www.cliftonchateau.com

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Have Your St. Paddy Cakes + Eat Them, Too

Posted by Lorin Drinkard / Tuesday, March 13th, 2012

With the great Irish holiday approaching, are you ready for all things green? We’re talking leprechauns, party beads, parade floats, men marching in kilts, funny wigs, shamrocks, beer, sweet treats and more.

Read the rest of this entry »

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Sweet Greens

Posted by The Editorial Desk / Friday, September 23rd, 2011

Fast food used to be all about the burger. You’d head out for a quick bite, maybe go to McDonald’s or Wendy’s and grab something quick, easy, and usually greasy or loaded with carbs and calories.  Well no more.

Lately there has been a surge of healthy options for people on-the-go. McDonald’s is offering more salad and grilled options; Wendy’s has a slew of healthy(er) side options from their “healthy living” menu; and at almost every restaurant you can now see their nutritional information and, therefore, make better food choices.

But one of the greatest “fast-food” options I’ve seen lately is a little place called Sweetgreen.

Sweetgreen is the answer to the new era of healthy fast-food- and that phrase is no longer an oxymoron. They offer delicious, all-natural salads and refreshing frozen yogurts, complete with local, farm-fresh ingredients. Yes, that’s right- farm-fresh ingredients. Every day they post on a black board the local farms from which they are sourcing their organic produce throughout the seasons.

You can choose from one of their own creations- like my favorite, the Santorini (chopped romaine with roasted shrimp, feta cheese, grapes, fresh mint, chickpeas; topped with a cucumber basil yogurt dressing & a fresh lemon squeeze.) Or create your own from any of their yummy ingredients. If you do it online, they automatically calculate the nutrition for you as you go so you know exactly what you’re putting in your body.

Not in the mood for salad? Any of their salad creations can be made into a healthy wrap on whole-wheat pita.

Not only are they offering healthy and fast lunch options, but all their proteins are hormone and anti-biotic free, all of their packaging is 100 percent plant based and compostable (this includes their bowls, cutlery and beverage cups) and certain stores even have solar panels built into their roofs!

As if you needed more reasons to dine there, the food is actually extremely good.

I know, I know, you’re thinking, “Come on! At the end of the day, salad is salad.” And you’re right- almost. Sweetgreen offers so many options and different ways to eat it that you’ll be taken aback by how much salad can surprise you. Whether it’s a squeeze of fresh lime to brighten it up or candied walnuts and toasted parmesan chips for that little extra crunch- they find a way to made salad un-boring.

Visit their website (it’s loaded with cool facts and even a blog!) for more information. Locations in Reston and Ballston.

Here’s a list of the local Virginia farms that provide Sweetgreen with all it’s great produce:

Lois’ Produce (Montross, VA)
Mountain View Farms (Loudoun, VA)
Crown Orchards (Batesville, VA)
Parker Farms (Oak Grove, VA)

… and outside VA (but still pretty close!):

Firefly Farms (Garrett Ct, MD)
Spring Valley Farm & Orchard (Morgan Ct, WV)
Hummingbird Farm (Ridgely, MD)
Bear Mountain Orchards (Aspen, PA)
Godfrey Farms (Suddlersville, MD)
Bell & Evans (Fredericksburg, PA)

– Jennie Whistler

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Farm Fresh

Posted by The Editorial Desk / Thursday, March 19th, 2009

While many restaurants now seem keen on doing whatever they can to green their image, a handful of true believers have made sustainable dining—based on seasonal cooking, local ingredients and respect for the environment—a hallmark of their hospitality program.

These folks get it. And once you eat there, you will too.

Text by Warren Rojas / Photography by James Kim

Restaurant Eve
110 S. Pitt St., Alexandria; 703-706-0450; www.restauranteve.com
Average entree: Over $31 ($$$$); Open for lunch Monday — Friday, dinner Monday — Saturday

For chef/restaurateur Cathal Armstrong, going green doesn’t stop at menu planning.

The impassioned toque—who has built a career around showcasing the finest local ingredients and surrounds himself with culinary artisans (bakers, charcuterie-makers, mixologists)—has spent the past few years orchestrating numerous changes designed to raise eco-awareness across his budding hospitality empire (Restaurant Eve, Eamonn’s, The Majestic).

In spring 2007, he turned Eve’s enclosed courtyard into a makeshift garden. Last fall, he jettisoned bottled water (Armstrong estimated that he was spending roughly $3,000 on designer H2O each month) in favor of the Natura purification system, and now offers self-bottled still and sparkling water to Eve patrons free of charge (Majestic’s now online; Eamonn’s goes Natura next).

He’s done away with caustic cleaning agents and harsh detergents (organic cleansers, only), tinted the window in Eve’s Bistro to help better moderate the temperature/slash cooling costs and urges employees to power save wherever possible (switching off lights, disconnecting dormant peripherals, etc.).
Armstrong still cherishes the memories of working alongside his father in the family garden, bonding time that firmed up not just his family ties, but also his affinity for the land.

“The pleasure of the garden was the quality of the food,” he said, noting that his father never used modern buzzwords like “environmental impact” or “sustainability” because those guiding principles were simply understood.

Today, Armstrong honors that tradition by demanding the highest-quality ingredients from a handpicked network of suppliers revered for their wholesome products. His key distributors include: Tuscarora Organic Growers (produce), Davon Crest Farm (specialized field produce and greenhouse micro-greens), Polyface Farm (pork, eggs, chicken), Pipe Dreams Dairy (goats milk cheese, milk), Chapel Hill Farm (Randall Lineback rose-veal), as well as Huntsman Specialty Game & More (exotic meats).

To boot, Armstrong has nurtured relationships with his most prized providers that extend far beyond merely signing a few documents or ticking items off an order form.

When Davon Crest was forced to move in 2005, Armstrong and his employees hightailed it over to the Eastern Shore plot and helped DCF founder David Lankford physically relocate the entire enterprise to its new home. “We often have a sit-at-the-bar midnight discussion about what we’re going to grow for the next year,” he said of the friendship he’s forged with Lankford. Likewise, Armstrong used to make the nearly seven-hour, roundtrip trek to the Shenandoah Valley to personally inspect his orders—“If we ever have chicken on the menu, it’ll be from Polyface,” Armstrong stressed—from “grass farmer” Joel Salatin.

Meanwhile, Armstrong still ventures out to local farmers’ markets to see firsthand what’s available each week.

As for his own farming abilities, Armstrong said planting the Eve garden was more about helping his own chefs reconnect with food than creating steady food stock.

“As an educational tool, I think it was hugely successful,” he said. “You pick it, and you serve it. It tastes better.”

According to Armstrong, last year’s haul included: spinach and Swiss chard, “plenty” of rosemary and bay leaf (enough to sustain Eve), acorn squash, “a few” onions and some thyme (thrived early, but eventually died). This year, he’s planted garlic (“It’ll be interesting to see how that works,” he stated) and hopes to broaden their composting efforts.

Tracking down fresh seafood, however, remains a constant struggle.

“Most of the fish I buy has a significant carbon footprint because it comes from New York via FedEx,” he said regretfully, quickly adding, “[but] as chefs, we have to go with the best quality.”

Every morsel attests to that guiding principle.

Chesapeake Bay rockfish arrives pan-seared, its skin fired to a bronze crisp, the gossamer flesh beneath tasting of clean, juicy meat. A cushion of polenta (smacks of sweet corn and brown butter) escorts nuggets of sweet, plump lobster to the seafood carnival, while lightly sauteed Swiss chard (wonderfully flavorful) is more interested in playing along than stealing the show.

Polyface pork gets the gourmet barbecue treatment courtesy of snappy Pommery mustard and Kerrygold butter-slathered toast. The slow-roasted swine emerges awash in mustard and smoke, crowned by a crunchy slaw.

Hot house greens lay the foundation for a scorcher of a meal involving piquant red onions, shaved fennel, tongue-teasing champagne vinaigrette and the tastiest fish fry (chubby fingers of flaky sole rolled in panko crumbs, baked to golden brown and streaked with whole grain mustard) this side of Eamonn’s.
Overall, Armstrong believes conscientious dining is slowly evolving from trend to mainstream lifestyle choice.

“The demand has changed, and is changing rapidly, to what’s greener/fresher/more healthy,” he said of his patrons’ dining expectations. “That’s so thrilling.”

American Flatbread
43170 Southern Walk Plaza, #110, Ashburn; 703-723-7003; www.americanflatbread.com
Average entree: $13 to $20 ($$); Open for weekend lunch, dinner daily

According to Janice Vasko, opening American Flatbread’s Ashburn Hearth was very much a matter of necessity.

“I’m from New England. I’m used to eating things from farmers’ markets,” she said of her genetic predisposition toward just-plucked-from-the-earth eating.

Which is why, when she moved her family to Loudoun County over a decade ago and found nothing but fast-food franchises, she and husband Scott hatched a plan to bring some sort of healthful alternative to bear.

When they stumbled upon American Flatbread, they knew they’d found the perfect match for both their self-employment and nutritional needs.

Since opening in June 2007, Vasko has committed to intimately connect the eatery with the community.

Their pizza oven was fashioned from the surrounding red clay soil (an exercise that should prove particularly challenging when they attempt to open a second location in Clarendon later this year). Recycling includes poaching old pizza boxes, as evidenced by the Ski Line Pizza Express (a pizza joint near Snowshoe Mountain, W.Va.) logo emblazoned in one carryout container. A custom mural depicting local farms, wineries and assorted agricultural producers graces an entire wall of the otherwise modestly appointed main dining room.

And Vasko goes out of her way to hire local teens, providing many with their first taste of disposable income as well as a penchant for seasonal dining.

“We like to give kids their first jobs,” she said, adding that when they arrive, new hires may not have even heard the term “locavore.” But by the time they leave, Vasko said many develop an appreciation for sustainable agriculture and heightened food awareness in general.

What are Vasko’s main teaching tools?

Why, fresh foods, of course.

She estimated that roughly half their food stock comes from local sources, including producers like: Oak Spring Dairy (cheese), Fields of Athenry Farm (lamb, chicken, eggs), Baker Pork (assorted pork products, barbecue sauce), Cherry Glen Farm (artisan cheeses), Green Alchemy Herb and Mercantile Co. (fresh herbs, teas), Moorenko’s Ice Cream (ice cream), Woodtrail Farm (pork sausage, grass-fed beef) and Blue Ridge Dairy Company (fresh mozzarella).

Taking things to the hyper-local level, their apple pie dessert is made by Broadland’s resident Laurie Edeline—whose teenage daughters also happen to work at the restaurant.

“We support the local bounty of the season,” Vasko attempted to hammer home.

To that end, chef Dave Biber heads over to the Leesburg farmers’ market most weekends to help fill in their produce gaps and to stay abreast of the current harvest.

That connectivity allows Biber to take the lead on seasonal specials, which equals out to at least one new meat and one vegetable offering every few weeks. Static offerings include their signature New Virginia sausage flatbread, while a country ham-and-apple flatbread has hung around for roughly six months.

Vasko suggested, meanwhile, that the short shelf life of most specials actually helps drive sales, since customers quickly learn that eating seasonally means snapping up favorites as soon as they arrive.

“It’s about getting introduced to new specials, new products,” she said of her most devoted clients’ willingness to broaden their palate with each subsequent menu change.

“Basically, it becomes a trust issue,” she said. “They know Dave’s going to create something new that tastes phenomenal.”

Amen to that.

Mission figs stuffed with tangy chèvre, blanketed by savory country ham and drizzled with tart balsamic are a triple play of organic bliss.

A just-fired flatbread (these oval gems are thin, but never want for fresh toppings) covered with roasted chicken, crispy bacon (dominated nearly every bite) and caramelized leeks (so daringly sweet) puts garden-variety pizzas to shame.

Describing an equally artful pork-shoulder flatbread as mere pizza would be downright insulting to the kitchen crew and utterly disingenuous on my part, considering the bounty of flavors encountered in each bite. The pleasantly scorched crust (smoky overtones, firm delivery) plays host to an epicurean medley of spicy-sweet pulled pork (bathed in zesty chipotle barbecue sauce while still remaining perfectly true to its innate piggyness), crisp white onions, sauteed kale (the colorful cabbage adding some visual splash to the mouthwatering feast) and slivers of fiery poblano peppers (charred green veins of waiting heat creeping just beneath a flowing skin of coppery mozzarella).

Not one to be outdone by its fire-breathing barbecue brethren, crumbled Virginia sausage seeks solace amid a mellower mix of wild mushrooms and shaved fennel (low-key pork and meaty mushrooms are the real palate-pleaser, here).

According to Vasko, some locals claim their kids are already spoiled for commercial dining.

“Parents who are regulars are already getting it,” she said of the healthful eating philosophy at the heart of Ashburn Hearth.

Chipotle
Multiple NoVA locations; www.chipotle.com
Average entree: Under 12 ($); Open for lunch and dinner daily

Who says fast-casual cuisine can’t be forward thinking?

Certainly not Chipotle regional director Phil Petrilli.

According to Petrilli, Chipotle has remained on the vanguard of sustainable dining ever since Steve Ells, who graduated from Culinary Institute of America, opened his first burrito shop in 1993—largely because of Ells’ “food with integrity” mantra.

That vision includes purchasing and serving only humanely raised (no confinement), hormone/antibiotic-free animals that have been fed an all-vegetarian diet.

“This is not something that we jumped on a bandwagon,” Petrilli insisted. “We are leaders in this.”

Sure enough, Chipotle purchased over 52 million pounds of naturally raised meats from all across the country in 2008, tapping nationwide providers like Niman Ranch (pork), Bell & Evans (chicken) and Meyer Natural Angus (beef), as well local suppliers like Polyface Farm (pork) and Parker Farms (jalapenos, bell peppers).

Petrilli said he helped broker the Charlottesville-Polyface deal after participating in Polyface founder Joel Salatin’s buying clubs.

“I’m a staunch believer of what he represents for food systems,” Petrilli said of Salatin’s holistic approach to land-animal management.

So far, a single Charlottesville store purchases around 300 pounds of pork (10 to 12 hogs) from Polyface per week—often to the detriment of Salatin’s individual clients. “I haven’t been able to get a pork shoulder from Joel for the past six months because Chipotle buys up everything he’s got,” he said, adding that negotiations are already underway to see about adding Polyface free-range beef to the next phase of the project.

“Hopefully, what we’re creating is a model for other businesses and family farms to follow,” he said of the mutually beneficial farm-to-restaurant arrangement they brokered down in the Shenandoah Valley.

According to Petrilli, Chipotle is determined to serve 100-percent naturally raised meats at its more than 800 locations. So far, they’ve managed to make all their chicken and pork offerings naturally raised across the country, with beef hovering around the 50-percent mark and organic beans bring up the rear at around 30 percent. Along those lines, the company pledged in 2008 to purchase at least 25 percent of at least one local produce item from small- and mid-sized farms in each region, with that amount set to rise moving forward.

Not that they draw the line at what goes on your plate.

Petrilli said new stores recycle as much building material as possible, stressing that the interior is always made with recycled everything (glass, brick, steel). Menus proudly tout their acid-free, 100-percent post-consumer waste pedigree. Recycling caddies are affixed wherever possible—though a Chipotle spokesperson stated that landlords often broker different waste-management contracts, which can limit recycling opportunities.

“We are constantly testing every manner of green products and practices,” the spokesperson said of their uphill battle to make the most of everyday waste. “It is a process.”

But in the end, it’s really all about the food.

Red tomatillo salsa delivers a respectable amount of heat, revealing a mixture of pureed tomatoes, hot peppers, garlic and cumin (kinda sticks ya at the end) that is saucy without being runny.

As promised, I can actually taste the individual ingredients of a bulging carnitas burrito (firm grains of herb-laced white rice, chilly-smooth sour cream, carefully shredded, well-seasoned roast pork, buttery-rich homemade guacamole, zesty snippets of corn, onion and peppers, as well as flashes of basil, paprika and parsley).

Steak tacos are remarkably spicy (beef braise brings the zesty), the generous chunks of peppery beef reigning supreme over soft tortilla shells stuffed with their signature blend of shredded jack and cheddar cheese, chopped Romaine lettuce and gobs of sour cream.

Beef barbacoa is just as pleasing, delivering cumin-y meat that partners well with the tasty bacon-laced pinto beans (savory pods dissolve when you bite into them), the outstanding guacamole (populated by meaty chunks of real avocado, a spritz of lemon and the zing of ground jalapenos) or any combination of all three.

Need a quick change of pace? Order your favorite item but have them swap in the chili-lime vinaigrette salad dressing (a little smoky, mostly sour and plenty intriguing) for the traditional salsas (you won’t regret it).

All told, Petrilli suggested that their food would fetch triple the price at a white-tablecloth restaurant based on the strength of their ingredients alone.

Still, Petrilli said that Chipotle prefers to keep costs low so that everyone can enjoy a gourmet meal, even on the go.

“We do all of this ultimately … because we know this makes the food taste better,” he stated.

Hunter’s Head Tavern
9048 John Mosby Highway, Upperville ; 540-592-9020; www.huntersheadtavern.com
Average entree: $13 to $20 ($$); Open for lunch, Tuesday — Sunday, dinner daily, Sunday brunch

The sleepy Upperville streets must seem light-years away from her previous life in Silicon Valley. Yet Cisco Systems co-founder Sandy Lerner continues to innovate in her own special way: this time, by breathing life back into rare livestock breeds via a carefully constructed dining circuit.

Today, Lerner sits atop a virtually self-sustaining food chain that includes: Ayrshire Farm (livestock), Hunter’s Head Tavern (restaurant) and the Home Farm Store (retail).

After spending 30-plus years as a vegetarian, Lerner said she decided to start Ayrshire Farm in an effort to preserve a handful of rare heritage breeds that seemed destined to otherwise disappear from the local ecosystem.

“By creating a dining environment that showcases the intense and varied flavor of these heritage breeds, it is a small but direct step in saving them,” she reasoned, warning that, “if there is no market for these beautiful animals, they will disappear.”

Granted, slaughtering animals in order to save them might seem hypocritical to some, but Lerner has the fiercely loyal clientele and thriving livestock to prove her seemingly counterintuitive plan is actually working.

She estimated that the farm is home to around 800 Highland/White Park beef cattle, around 20 to 40 rose veal calves—proudly pointing out that Ayrshire has been named the first certified humane veal farm in the country—400 Gloucester Old Spot hogs (orchard pigs), 2,000-plus chickens and perhaps 1,000 turkeys (in season). In any given month, she said they probably only slaughter around a dozen steers, lamb and veal calves.

Lerner stressed that they raise and slaughter all the poultry delivered to Hunter’s Head and the Farm Store right at Ayrshire. The farm also produces the brunt of the pork (save for the some bacon) and supplies the majority of the beef (some purchases outsourced to other local humane/rare breeds cattlemen), while lamb is purchased from neighboring Over the Grass Farm, and sustainable seafood is acquired as needed.

“We are able to quit buying from the commercial suppliers as the breed stock on the farm is now at a level that we can fulfill the majority of our needs,” Lerner said of the blossoming farm-to-fork project, her first hospitality venture ever.

Her commitment to humanely raised meats and heritage breeds means that if they run out of something, it’s simply pulled from the Hunter’s Head menu. Sure enough, stragglers who wander in toward the end of the dinner rush tend to be greeted by “Sold Out” warnings scrawled atop the daily list of featured items, whereas the kitchen crew tracks their own dwindling stocks by ticking off depleted specials on their “86 board of doom.”

The pub menu features most of their dining staples (a Welsh rarebit fashioned from swirled cheese, beer and onions; homemade burgers accompanied by an absolutely thrilling British mustard), while the “farm table” board chronicles seasonal offerings ranging from crab Florentine soup to asparagus, pimento and brie tarts to cinnamon-roll bread pudding.

Lerner said their fish-and-chips plate remains their reigning champion (seven years and counting) in terms of total sales, with the Ayrshire burger logging in at second place (also seven years running). Other local favorites include: baked chicken, pot roast, Guinness beef stew and veal scaloppine.

“We have customers who come just for the organic beef liver and onions,” she said of one age-old standard long since dashed from most conventional menus.

Though certainly nostalgic, the menu does make room for fresh interpretations.

Baskets of crusty, sour dough-like pub bread (produced by an artisan baker in Maryland but “finished” in the Hunter’s Head ovens) flanked by tins of sweet cream butter prove hard to resist—even for veteran staff. “It reminds me every morning, when I try to put on my pants, how much I really like this bread,” one bartender sheepishly admitted while rubbing his round belly.

Organic meatloaf summons an impressive hunka meat bolstered by carrots, onions and a tantalizing medley of heritage meats unfettered by any extraneous filler.

Piping hot turkey potpie sports a flaky biscuit crown that is more air-puffed buttermilk than cornbread rich. Beneath the surface reside gorgeous hunks of white-meat turkey, as well as carrots, onions and asparagus (quite prominent) sloshing around in a soothing cream broth.

And though the town probably boasts more retirees than new arrivals, Lerner said she gets her share of food-savvy young families that seem to understand the importance of rearing their own children on humanely raised foods.

“The Gen-Xers will spend a little more upfront on better food, as opposed to spending more later in health care and environmental restoration,” she said of the progressive eaters she sees filing into the dining room on any given night.

Food Matters Cafe
4906 Brenman Park Drive, Alexandria; 703-461-3663; www.foodmattersva.com
Average entree: $13 to $20 ($$); Open for lunch and dinner, Tuesday — Sunday, weekend brunch

As if cooking to the calendar weren’t enough of a commitment to sustainable dining, Food Matters Café chefs/owners Tom and Christy Przystawik decided to add another layer of transparency to their operation by granting customers access to their professional Rolodex.

Having established roots as a neighborhood eatery, the Przystawiks last year launched the Food Matters Community Supported Agriculture (FMCSA) program.

“We have a lot more variety than if you were just picking up from one farm,” Christy said of their all-inclusive program, noting that they began in 2008 with eight families and finished that year with 25 (a 300-percent increase). This year, over 30 families have already chipped in the $21 per week required to secure their half milk crate full of nature’s bounty.

Sounds like a lot of locals got wise real fast.

Tom said the restaurant deals with a wide variety of distributors at different times throughout they year, including: Tuscarora Organic Growers (organic fruits, vegetables), Rosetta Angus Beef (beef), Lyon Bakery (baked goods), Pipe Dreams Dairy (artisan cheeses) and Rappahannock River Oysters (aquaculture seafood).

The Przystawiks also tend a pair of personal plots in a community garden on Capitol Hill that has yielded: wild flowers (used to decorate the tables), mixed herbs, chili peppers, radishes, beets, spinach and arugula.

Tom estimated that in season, which is during the months of May through October, he’s able to harvest about 75 percent of the restaurant’s regular herb stocks from the community garden.

And while he’d certainly love to keep all organic all of the time, Tom said real-world concerns often trump his shopping ideals.

“Those of us who want to do the local thing … would like to inventory things through canning or freezing. But that requires some investment of time, money and space,” he said of the logistical constraints with which he wrestles on a daily basis.

Factor in additional obstacles like bum growing seasons, labor-intensive items (fresh peas are meddlesome because they rarely come pre-shucked) and just plain hard-to-find local delicacies (think mushrooms, ramps and fiddleheads). Tom said sometimes shelling out cash for exotic ingredients is the only viable alternative.

“I know we all struggle with that, because it’s difficult decisions,” he said of the thin line between compromising his personal philosophy with coordinating the best possible meal for his patrons.

“We’ve never said that we source EVERYTHING locally,” he stipulated. “But we try to.”

The flipside of FMC’s mission, then, is to instill in staff and customers an appreciation for what’s coming next.

“Anticipation is more exciting than the actual product,” Tom said of the waiting game that is seasonal cooking. He noted that after seeing nothing but root vegetables the past few months, he’s keyed up to enjoy fresh strawberries and asparagus this spring.

“Just knowing the things that are coming in season … when it’s their time, I get excited about them,” he said.

Overall, Tom said patrons seem to be of two minds. “There’s people who just want to have a meal. Maybe they’re glad to know [about the locavore focus], but it doesn’t affect their buying decisions,” he suggested. Others, however, seem “very excited” being able to ostensibly trace everything on their plate back to its place of origin.

“It makes them feel like they’ve learned more about us, and [they] appreciate it,” he said.

Staff members are just as likely to get in on the act. This is evidenced by servers who unabashedly promote the chefs’ connection to local producers and actively campaign for guests to further investigate the pleasures of sustainable dining.

“You might as well have grown it in your garden and sauteed it in a pan at home,” one enthusiastic server gushed while describing the simplicity of their straight-from-the-fields philosophy.

More often than not, the food follows suit.

Zesty ground chorizo and jolly butternut-squash nuggets (bright orange cubes bursting with sweet) liven up brown butter-soaked penne like nobody’s business.

A hearty seafood chowder arrives chock full of carrots, silky-smooth celery root, Yukon gold potatoes, tender scallops and savory bites of haddock.

Homemade fennel sausage is as big as a burger and twice as flavorful, but battles for attention amid a cacophony of accompaniments (toasted oat roll is slathered with sweet mustard on both sides, while the sausage remains buried beneath both sauerkraut and caramelized onions).

Meanwhile, Christy reiterated that anyone is welcome to join FMCSA—whether they frequent the restaurant or not.

“We really don’t have a limit for the number of people we can do this for,” she suggested.

(March 2009)

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The Green Living Room

Posted by The Editorial Desk / Friday, December 12th, 2008

Eye-catching Curb Appeal

By Jennifer Shapira

Experts say there’s a developing trend in outwardly expanding living space. The comforts of home now extend to both front and backyards, in an effort to maximize and enjoy surroundings.

Northern Virginians are embracing lush landscapes, in part because outdoor living encourages togetherness and relaxation and appeals to those seeking to spend quality time with their families and friends.

The home’s exterior is now viewed as a popular space for entertaining, said Abby Buford, spokesperson at Lowe’s Home Improvement. “We’re seeing more furnished courtyards and decks instead of bare or neglected decks. And backyards that are gardens, instead of wide, open spaces.”

Outdoor living has become much more elaborate, said Lisa Ladson, project designer at EXPO Design Center in Fairfax. “With Virginia being fairly temperate, you can extend the time you spend outdoors,” she said. “When we go about designing these spaces, it’s typically based on the family’s lifestyle.”

The pace of life today is generally a busy one, Alexandria interior designer Karen Luria said. Even when people take vacations they want to relax. And they often want to recreate that feeling at home, inside and out, with plush furnishings and eye-catching landscapes.

Front yards in particular are enjoying a renaissance, said Luria, who’s happy to report the revisit. There’s a sense of return to the community in chatting with neighbors and taking the time to breathe in fresh air. In the 1950s, she noted, “people used to take walks after dinner or have a drink on their front porches.” After all, a morning coffee or evening cocktail becomes infinitely more interesting on a hand-crafted stone or wooden bench.

Chalk it up to curb appeal, but there’s no doubt homeowners are now investing more in such features as manicured entryways, paved stepping stones and artistic brick walkways. The result? More spaces, small and large, to feel at home.

Mitch Picciano and Karen Sandburg of Oakton know a thing or two about decor. The two have always prided themselves on the interior of their 1970s contemporary home. But Sandburg always hated the drab exterior. On a trip to Venice, she was inspired to send an email to the eponymous home makeover show on HGTV.
“The good news is, they picked our house,” Sandburg said. “The bad news is, they picked our house because it was so ugly!”

Because of her interest in mosaics, Sandburg commissioned an artist friend to cover the home’s lamppost and front steps with pieces of the hand-painted tiles. To keep the theme going, they chose durable flagstone and flecked the walkway, as well. Her neighborhood’s integrity in mind, Sandburg wanted something new and different that could also be seen from the street. “They are just little jewels! It looks so cool!” she said.

Sandburg exhibits the enthusiasm feeding the current surge in outdoors interest, said Kathleen Litchfield, president of Petro Design/Build. “Curb appeal (makes) people want to get out of their cars and into the front yard.”

When it comes to a home’s entryway, it’s not just about the traditional tall evergreens greeting you at the front door, she said. “You know them; they look like soldiers,” she observed of the trees, pointing to their branches as breeding grounds for her biggest pet peeve: spider webs. Overgrown or uncared-for shrubs can be equally burdensome, as well as dangerous. They’re an obvious hiding spot for people and bugs alike, and can automatically drop a home’s resale value. “Checking the energy and the flow into the front door, it has to be exciting. It’s not just about shade or privacy.”

Litchfield recalled one home where the client requested a patio but already had a walkway that was 50 feet long. A patio can be a front-door hub, she said, but an attractive portico can serve as a guide, offering protection from rain and other outside elements. She also recently completed the transformation of a non-functional driveway into a useable one. And Alexandria resident Omar Abdul-Baki had no idea his home’s surroundings were so rich in annuals and other mature plants and trees before Litchfield hauled 50 azaleas out of the ground, swaddled them in burlap and watered them as needed throughout the eight-week job. They were transplanted and now thrive in their new landscape.

Patio Push
People are moving away from decks, and there is a shift now toward patios and walkways, said Steve Rosko, project sales manager at EXPO Design. “We’re seeing that decks confine space. People want to open up their whole backyard with an eating area, a sitting area,” he said, adding that patios are now spilling naturally into walkways and flower beds.

Mark Whitfield, senior product manager at Richmond-based Luck Stone Corp., said when it comes to foundations, there are loads of new colors and new finishes. He pointed to a limestone product called Scabos that is “practical and unique in its color.”

The spectrum, which used to focus on traditional browns, tans and golds, has further expanded to include charcoal gray, brick red and vibrant gold. Such bold colors provide the perfect transition from outdoors to in, serving as a few seamless steps from the patio to the sunroom.

In addition, cobblestones can create a nice effect as a patio border or an accent surrounding the landscape, Whitfield said. For do-it-yourselfers, there’s patterned flagstone. Cut on five sides, it offers the look of solid stone, but makes for an easy installation.

Slip resistance is often the finishing touch to the perfect patio built of stone or material that is durable and not likely to chip. Rubberized mulch is another alternative, said Doug Brock, manager of Betty’s Azalea Ranch in Fairfax. Made from recycled tires, it’s a good play surface for children.

Take A Seat
Accent benches have found their way into front yards. For a formal look, try bluestone, sandstone or limestone, Whitfield said. In the market for something more natural in appearance? Select weathered fieldstone for its patina, covered in moss or lichen. Or go one step further and choose boulder from a quarry. Stone slabs can serve as garden features that are just as eye-catching as some of summer’s brightest blooms.

But if plush seating is your fancy, you’re in luck. “Outdoor furniture now has the look of indoor furniture, but with weatherproof materials,” Buford said.

Outdoor living spaces are being finished with couches, chairs, coffee tables, dining sets and outdoor rugs. In keeping with comfy interior couches and pillows, the pieces often include details like piping, cording and fringe trim. Loveseats and sofas puffed up 4 inches thick can entice just about anyone to slink off to a garden hideaway.

From stainless steel to wrought iron or classic wicker, outdoor furnishings now exist to create any look and feel homeowners seek. According to Doug Peppler, furniture company Agio’s vice president of sales, “Five, 10, 15 years ago people bought five- or seven-piece dining sets, stuck in an umbrella, and that was it. Before that, there were $10 white resin chairs. That sufficed as patio furniture.”

From the concept of outdoor chat areas have emerged spaces of “bold, deep seating,” and “wonderfully comfortable cushions,” Peppler said. But you don’t have to break the bank to create such settings. Even today’s mass market tables and chairs consist of better materials, he said.

Thought, time and consideration are also being put into small-space pieces by the design industry. Condos with micro-balconies have different needs than mansions with several acres of estate. “We make these enormous seats with deep seating,” Peppler said, but settees and small dining sets are also important.

How Does Your Garden Grow?
Everyone wants four-season appeal when it comes to plants, said Robert Woodman, landscape designer at Merrifield Garden Center. While the effect can’t be achieved with one plant, the possibilities are endless with mixed planting. “I often use evergreens like supporting actors,” Woodman said. “Their job is not to be front-liners, but rather to show off their companions.

“One expression I have heard is a ‘living calendar,’ where you get excited because in the middle of February your witch hazel is getting ready to flower.”

Popular tree choices in Northern Virginia include crisp white or magenta crape myrtles for their summer flowering, bark coloration and overall shape. Virginia’s state tree, the dogwood, is a favorite for its shape, hues of soft pink and white and resistance to disease.

Experts agree that landscapes have to be low-maintenance. Even if you love plants and love to garden, it’s not realistic to put in plantings that require a team of round-the-clock workers.

And even low-maintenance greenery takes work, Brock warned. The first year for any plant, tree, shrub or lawn requires constant maintenance until it’s established, he said. There’s no way to tell if a plant is drought-tolerant until it’s experienced its first year and its first full weather cycle. Constant care is required: “People want to go on vacation and leave their plants,” Brock said, but for that first year, “it’s just like going on vacation and leaving the kid at home.”

Creating an area of seclusion with plants can be difficult, but is often what’s desired in this population-dense region. Renatta Holt, a second Merrifield Garden Center landscape designer, said if homeowners don’t have the property to screen out neighbors with plantings, they should put in something pleasant-looking. The human eye will see what it wants to, and stop there.

It’s another good argument for mixed planting. Should a storm fell a tree or a disease take its toll, it’s easy to plant something else in that spot. And from a general design point of view, Woodman said, one should think of the landscape like scribbles on a heart monitor. “In the medical world a flat line isn’t good … It’s the same in planting design.”

Outdoors Aglow
Nightfall can be the best time to highlight a landscape. Spotlighting a front stoop’s container garden of culinary herbs, or illuminating a koi pond from below lets homeowners show off their favorite outdoor features. At once a gorgeous addition and conversation piece, a soothing, backlit water fountain can cast a radiant glow onto guests mingling at a cocktail party.

“Dramatic outdoor lighting can create magic when specimen plants or architectural features of the home are accented,” said McLean interior designer Barbara Hawthorn. And then there are the added benefits of safety and security.

Consider going green with solar-powered, low-voltage lights and motion sensors. Light the stone walkway to the front door, the backyard garden path, or dine under an umbrella’s solar bulbs. More playful touches that are party-perfect include tiki torches, candles and decorative strings of lights.

Lighting is aesthetically essential, Buford said. “It not only offers functionality and improves the safety of the home at night, but it can add depth and beauty to the landscape.”

Overall, the best advice experts are able to offer is to retain the home’s original environment. The style and the materials should complement the home, not contrast. If you live in woodlands, respect their integrity and consider embellishing with stones and boulders. Think about your home’s inner and outer workings. Creating an outdoor life and design is important, and the feel has to be right for you, Litchfield said. After all, it’s home.

What Made You Decide to Do the Work?
Oakton homeowner Karen Sandburg describes the process

What made you do the job?
The trees we started out with 13 years ago were not thriving. We had a front walk of pavers, and the ants had burrowed into the sand. The roots of the trees had come through, so the front walk was dangerous. We knew we had to do that.

What was your overall vision, drive and reasoning behind the project?
I wanted to have a front yard that invited me to go into the house, and I wanted to incorporate mosaics into the whole project.

Why and how did you want to take part in the process?
I’m a hands-on person. We took out all the old landscaping, and my daughter and her friends created the mosaic inserts on the walkway. We used the techniques that Bonnie Fitzgerald (of Maverick Mosaics) taught us. I’ve never seen a custom lamppost that’s been mosaic-ed!

How do you feel about the finished product?
Merrifield’s Robert Woodman listened continuously. I told him I wanted year-round color and low maintenance. I wanted plants that seemed very natural to the woodland setting, as well as having some pizzazz. We couldn’t be happier with the end result.

What suggestions do you have for others?
The design landscape doesn’t just have to be about plants. When people redo their front yard, they put in a bench, or a pot. Instead of that, we actually incorporated artwork into the landscaping. It’s another way of creating interest and distinctiveness.

Resources

Lowe’s Home Improvement www.lowes.com

EXPO Design 703-691-2433; www.expo.com

Merrifield Garden Center
Merrifield 703-560-6222; Fair Oaks 703-968-9600; Gainesville 703-368-1919; www.merrifieldgardencenter.com

Betty’s Azalea Ranch 703-830-8687; www.bettysazalearanch.com

Petro Design/Build 301-249-9000; www.petrodesignbuild.com

Luck Stone 1-800-898-LUCK; www.luckstone.com; www.charlesluck.com

Barbara Hawthorn 703-241-5588; www.barbarahawthorninteriors.com

Karen Luria Interior Identity Inc. 703-329-6262; www.interioridentity.com

Bonnie Fitzgerald Maverick Mosaics www.maverickmosaics.com

(May 2008)

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