Crop Rapport: Loudoun Flavor

Posted by The Editorial Desk / Wednesday, December 29th, 2010

(Image: iStock)

Not all winter farmers markets require that you bundle yourself up like an Inuit hunter in order to take advantage of the freshest foods of the day.

Just ask any of the 1,200 (and counting) customers who prefer to do their shopping at mousepoint via Loudoun Flavor–a virtual farm stand stocked with locally sourced victuals.

Loudoun Flavor boasts approaching three dozen producers–including local wineries, farms, and artisan food and crafts makers–in its homegrown supply chain, the majority of which are indigenous to Loudoun County.

Market manager and Herban Avenues founder Laura Davimes said they’ve made a few exceptions for superlative outside producers (Bakemm Bagels, Shenandoah Joe Coffee Roasters, Mountain View Dairy Farm) but stressed that their preferred pecking order remains “Loudoun first, surrounding counties second and Virginia third.”

Quality, however, goes a long way towards trumping mere proximity.

“For us quality includes certified organic ingredients, fair trade beans, etc. and these vendors have a philosophy that is in line with our market mission,” Davimes said of high standards to which market vendors are held. “Our market food is what my family is eating every week so I (selfishly) want it to be fantastic.”

Though certain vendors naturally shine a little brighter during different times of the year–Mom”s Apple Pie Bakery reportedly enjoyed a spike in blackberry pie sales after Southern Living paid them some lip service this June, Stoneybrook Farms’ tomatoes were fast movers in July and poultry farms made a killing in November–Davimes said most Loudoun Flavor vendors stick with the program year-round.

Consumers, likewise, are welcome to shop at will.

“We are happy to bring you one loaf of just-baked bread or three bags full of groceries … your choice,” Davimes suggested, equating the shop-from-home service to “an ‘ala carte’ CSA.”

During the bustling summer months, shopping orders are accepted Monday-Wednesday of each week with deliveries sent to the predetermined delivery points every Friday. Come winter, the market switches to a bi-weekly shopping window but abides by the same order/delivery timeline (shop: Mon-Wed, collect: Fri). Newcomers can try out the site for free, while repeat customers will eventually be prompted to consider shifting to an annual membership ($25 per year) via email “reminders.”

That fee covers all the expected administrative costs–”everything from ink to ice,” Davimes explained–and also includes invites to special events (farm tours, movie nights, Made in Loudoun Gift Fair), free samples and sporadic discounts.

Oh yeah, and then there’s Tomato Fest:

This past summer, Davimes et al. took it upon themselves to celebrate all things toma-toh by sharing their favorite vine-ripened creations with complementary pairings poured by Corcoran Vineyards and Chrysalis Vineyards.

“People bought bruschetta and baguettes and sat down with their wine, or took home a bag of tomatoes and garlic and a recipe to make their own. It was alot of fun,” Davimes said of the roving food and wine soiree. “Next year we will hop to three or four vineyards with our fest.”

On the the agenda for 2011: securing a trusted seafood vendor. And adding more pick-up sites in outlying areas (Davimes called out Fairfax, specifically).

Meanwhile, Davimes plans to continue fighting to keep LoCo as green as can be.

“Loudoun should be D.C.’s Countryside and not D.C.’s next over-developed commuter bedroom community. If we get lazy about preserving the best of Virginia’s farmland now, it won’t be there,” she warned.

* Loudoun Flavor’s next ordering window opens Monday, January 3.*

–Warren

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NoVA’s Winter Farmers Markets

Old Town Alexandria Farmers Market • 301 King St., Alexandria – Sat, 5:30-11 a.m.
Arlington Farmers Market • N. 14th St. & N. Courthouse Road, Arlington – Sat, 8-noon
Clarendon Farmers Market • 3100 Wilson Blvd., Arlington – Wed, 3-7 p.m.
Del Ray Farmers’ Market • E. Oxford & Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria – Sat, 8-noon
Falls Church Farmers Market • 300 Park Ave., Falls Church – Sat, 9-noon (Jan-Mar); Sat, 8-noon (Apr-Dec)
Fredericksburg Farmers Market • George and Prince Edward Streets, Fredericksburg – Mon-Sat, 7-6 p.m.; Sun, 12:30-4 p.m.
Leesburg Farmers Market • 20 Catoctin Circle S.E., Leesburg – Sat, 8-noon (May-Oct); Sat, 9-noon (Nov-Apr)
Smart Markets – Oakton • 2854 Hunter Mill Road, Oakton – Sat, 10-2 p.m.

Or click here for our full list of local farmers markets.

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Crop Rapport: Smith Meadows Grill

Posted by The Editorial Desk / Wednesday, December 22nd, 2010

Ever been roaming the stalls at your local farmers market and wondered, “Why didn’t I bring my oven/grill/any cooking conveyance with me?”

You are not alone.

Medical researcher cum sustainable dining evangelist Abdur Rashid said he and Smith Meadows Farm owner Forrest Pritchard never could understand why folks would be asked to come spend their hard-earned money on locally produced, seasonal foodstuffs only to then be sent out into the commercial wilderness of fast food joints for sustenance.

Enter: Smith Meadows Grill

The pop-up eatery–which appears Saturdays at Courthouse and Sundays in Takoma Park–unites locavorism and immediate gratification, providing the farmers market faithful with nutritious nibbles sourced from many of the surrounding vendors.

“We saw a niche … and we wanted to eat,” Rashid said of the impetus for co-founding the mobile kitchen this past April.

Their immediate mission is, naturally, to showcase the full range of Smith Meadows burgeoning product line (they serve up everything from pasture-raised meats to free-range eggs to homemade pastas). But in Rashid’s macro view, the Grill helps strengthen the bond between all local producers and patrons by ingeniously weaving agriculture and commerce into one-stop shopping.

“You can literally look across the way and wave to the person who grew the lettuce in your sandwich,” he said of the reach-out-and-touchable supply lines that make the Grill menu possible.

According to Rashid, all the proteins (beef, pork, lamb, chicken) are sourced from Smith Meadows Farm, as are the signature empanadas (savory and sweet), ham biscuits–Smith Meadows kitchen aide Linda McCarty said she prepares between 75-150 of her “heart healthy” country-style sandwiches (based on a recipe provided by her father’s cardiologist) each week–and rotating soups.

Grilled items (burgers, wraps, sandwiches), however, are often embellished with specialty ingredients plucked from neighboring vendors, including: Fields of Grace Farm (cheeses), Endless Summer Harvest (lettuce), Bon Matin Bakery (croissants), Potomac Vegetable Farms (produce), Toigo Orchards (apple cider).

Based on their preliminary research into competing food trucks, Rashid said everyone just assumed that their grass-fed burger and all-beef half smoke would be the driving forces for repeat business. But whether it be because of the early hours (Rashid et al. are usually on sight each Saturday by 5:30 a.m. to get the Grill primed for business) or perhaps a more health-conscious clientele, the breakfast wraps–wheat or corn tortillas filled with everything from scrambled eggs to pesto–have fast emerged as proven crowd pleasers.

“Folks like being able to grab a nice, hot sandwich,” he said of the simple but satisfying eye-openers.

For Rashid, the Grill remains very much a work in progress. He floated ideas for some new menu items (chilis, heartier soups), but stressed that, in the end, it’s really all about fulfilling both the physical and intellectual curiosity of the customer.

“Maybe they come for lunch … and they kind of get a whole new insight into this ‘new’ food,” he said of his tasting-is-believing proselytizing.

Amen to that, brother.

–Warren

**The Smith Meadows Grill will be absent from the Courthouse farmers market throughout the holidays, but will return on Saturday, January 8.**

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NoVA’s Winter Farmers Markets

Old Town Alexandria Farmers Market • 301 King St., Alexandria – Sat, 5:30-11 a.m.
Arlington Farmers Market • N. 14th St. & N. Courthouse Road, Arlington – Sat, 8-noon
Clarendon Farmers Market • 3100 Wilson Blvd., Arlington – Wed, 3-7 p.m.
Del Ray Farmers’ Market • E. Oxford & Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria – Sat, 8-noon
Falls Church Farmers Market • 300 Park Ave., Falls Church – Sat, 9-noon (Jan-Mar); Sat, 8-noon (Apr-Dec)
Fredericksburg Farmers Market • George and Prince Edward Streets, Fredericksburg – Mon-Sat, 7-6 p.m.; Sun, 12:30-4 p.m.
Leesburg Farmers Market • 20 Catoctin Circle S.E., Leesburg – Sat, 8-noon (May-Oct); Sat, 9-noon (Nov-Apr)
Smart Markets – Oakton • 2854 Hunter Mill Road, Oakton – Sat, 10-2 p.m.

Or click here for our full list of local farmers markets.

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OitF Returns to NoVA this Fall

Posted by The Editorial Desk / Monday, March 22nd, 2010

(Image: Turtle Rock Farm)

The Outstanding in the Field bus will roll back into town this September (9/10 – 9/12) for a trio of farm-to-fork extravaganzas hosted by Ayrshire Farm and Potomac Vegetable Farms.

Local toques recruited for the 2010 tour include:

* 9/10: Vidalia chef RJ Cooper;

* 9/11: Ayrshire Farm chef Rob Townsend (check out his tribute to Sicilian chard in our April issue); and,

* 9/12: Vermilion chef and three-time OitF contributor Tony Chittum.

Tickets for each dinner are priced at $220 per person and will go on sale this Saturday (3/27) at 11 a.m.

–Warren

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Juno Talks Turkey

Posted by The Editorial Desk / Monday, March 8th, 2010

I don’t get a lot of celebrity ads.

For instance, it’s beyond me why Cisco has hitched their wagon to Ellen Page. Is she a closet networking genius?

I mean, at least get one of the faux dorks from The Big Bang Theory or Attack of the Show’s Olivia Munn if you want to appeal to both casual observers and Interweb cognescenti.

Page, however, comes off as refreshingly blunt in some recent Take Part spots:

(Video: Take Part)

The advocacy campaign seeks to build on the popularity of Oscar-nominated Food, Inc. by challenging people to take full responsibility of their eating habits and challenge the status quo of commercial food production.

To that end, Page also weighs in on healthy school lunches and local farmers markets.

Activist eating?

Now, that’s something an indie film starlet MIGHT know something about.

–Warren

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Sound Dining vs Soda Technology

Posted by The Editorial Desk / Monday, July 20th, 2009

Something tells me these California teens–just listen to the squeals of delight as they poke and prod this font of high fructose corn syrup–would gleefully trample the new White House garden for a single drop of raspberry Coke:

(Video: YouTube)

–Warren

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Al Fresco Dining Deluxe

Posted by The Editorial Desk / Wednesday, April 15th, 2009

Sustainable dining fans can get their fill of grassroots grazing this Labor Day when the Outstanding in the Field folks take over Ayrshire Farm for a trio of guest chef-driven dining extravaganzas.

(Photo: Outstanding in the Field)

The gallivanting gourmets have tapped local toques Anthony Chittum, Bryan Moscatello and Rob Townsend to lead guests on culinary treks across the NoVA landscape. Each chef will be expected to tap into their network of local produce suppliers, protein wranglers and grape growers to orchestrate regionally expressive meals of their own making.

A Neighborhood Restaurant Group spokesperson said chef Chittum is still mulling his menu options, but stressed that the seasoned OitF leader–Chittum hosted a dinner with the group last year down in the Northern Neck–is looking forward to showcasing some of his favorite farms and getting better acquainted with the full range of Ayrshire Farm products (“That is a new relationship for us,” the NRG aide said).

Tickets for each night run $189 per person, with seating expected to be capped at 120 seats per evening.

According to an OitF organizer there are just over a dozen tickets left for Townsend’s dinner (Saturday, September 5 at 3 p.m.), around 30 slots for Chittum’s dinner (Sunday, September 6 at 3 p.m.) and an undertermined number of seats available for Moscatello’s dinner (Monday, September 7 at 3 p.m.).

–Warren Rojas

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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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