farm to table Archives

Trost’s Do Texas

February 19, 2015 by theblogbloom.com 7 Comments

Adam and I try to take a long weekend to a new city each year just the two of us. While we love a week at the beach and our weekend trips to Chicago, going somewhere completely new and experiencing the history, culture and, of course, food of a neat city has become one of our favorite things to do.

The idea for this trip is thought to be an end of harvest celebration because Adam’s work hours are crazy long throughout the late summer and into fall. By November, we just want to be together.

Last year we went to Denver and another year we checked out DC right before Thanksgiving. But, this year harvest ran long and before we knew it, it was Christmastime and we didn’t have a free weekend to plan a trip.

So, instead of a “Post Harvest Trip” we kicked off 2015 with a long weekend in Austin, Texas!

It was hard to choose a destination, but after a few conversations with friends and some Pinterest research, we booked flights and lined up accommodations at The Driskill Hotel for a weekend in the middle of January.

The Driskill is a historic landmark in Austin and has elements that showcase the city’s culture.

It also couldn’t have been more perfect for our stay.

The moment we walked through the doors we were impressed. The lobby was STUN-ing. The staff’s hospitality game was on point. Every single employee we encountered was incredibly kind and helpful. The bar was swanky with a bit of Texas flare. (Proof of this? A massive Longhorn adorns the fireplace and the bar is complete with decorative revolvers.)

And the food.

Oh. My. Gosh. The food.

Before getting to town I had read that hotel is home to an award winning restaurant, The Driskill Grill. At The Driskill Grill, the chef sources fresh ingredients from local growers and meat from farmers in central Texas to create his continually changing chef’s menu.

I made reservations at The Driskill Grill for our first night in town and both of us opted for the six course chef’s menu of the night.

It was spectacular.

Each portion was paired with a glass of wine (Note: This is a little dangerous. This means there are six glasses of wine…) and were just the right size leaving us satisfied yet excited for more.

It was tough competition, but we dubbed the seafood course our favorite. The scallop was like butter and it was deliciously paired with a cauliflower puree.

We also had a great breakfast at 1886 Cafe and Bakery, right in the hotel’s lobby, the morning we left.

The cafe was adorable complete with ornate, yet rustic pieces that made me feel like we had stepped back in time. The cafe also sources local ingredients. I had a phenomenal bacon and gruyere quiche which was served with a salad while Adam had “The Hangover” omelette which packed the right amount of heat for my spice loving man.

We can’t say enough great things about The Driskill… but don’t worry, we did leave and see the city!

Austin’s “claim to fame” is that it is the live music capital of the world, hosting festivals throughout the year that bring in major musicians and lots of newbies. It seemed like almost every bar is equipped with a stage and plenty of space to hold a crowd. Many of these stages, and even the bars, are outdoors as the weather is typically pretty mild.

But, of course, the bitter cold Midwest just HAD to follow us. The weekend we were in Austin, temperatures barely reached 30 degrees and a misty freezing rain fell. So much, but not all, of the live music was cancelled.

It didn’t stop us from having a great time exploring the city. Here are a few of our favorite stops and restaurants from our trip.

The Lyndon B. Johnson Museum at The University of Texas: First of all, UT is really neat. Adam and I enjoyed walking the grounds and checking out the Greek neighborhood.

The university’s library is also home to LBJ’s Presidential Museum which was wonderful. We spent hours in this museum and I felt like I learned a lot.

There were lots of different pieces of memorabilia from his presidency as well as the time period. So much happened during his presidency from the start when he unexpectedly found himself as the nations leader after JFK’s assassination to the Great Society to the war in Vietnam. I was captivated the whole visit.

Whole Foods: Yes. I can easily go to Whole Foods in Indiana. (Okay, actually… easy is relative. The closest one is about 45 minutes away.) But, it’s not every day that I can go to the flagship, numero uno, so big it takes up a whole city block, Whole Foods.

And, surprisingly it never hit me that Adam had never been to a Whole Foods until we walked through the doors to the amazing Downtown Austin Whole Foods.

“This is an event!” Adam exclaimed.

Oh it was. It really was. It was my Disney Land. My Heaven. My happy place.

The selection was great. There were individual stations like pizza and barbecue where you could get lunch, not just the typical deli/salad bar.

And the beer aisle was out of control.

It was a long, refrigerated tunnel with automatic sliding doors. Inside, I didn’t recognize one label until I spotted a bottle of cider from an orchard less than five miles away from my parents home on the west coast of Michigan.

24 Diner: Located just across the street from Whole Foods so it made for a good brunch spot the morning we visited the flagship store. It was Saturday morning, so it was busy. Adam and I opted to sit at the bar versus wait for a table which worked out just great.

The bartenders were busy popping bottle after bottle of champagne for mimosas but Adam and I both decided to do Bloody Mary’s instead. In addition to breakfast cocktails, the bartenders were also whipping up massive milkshakes that looked super tempting.

I mean really, when was the last time I had a milkshake…?

For food, I chose a tomato and goat cheese frittata topped with a lightly dressed arugula salad. I loved the combination of the warm, gooey frittata and the crisp, spiciness of the arugula. I will be remaking this one this spring with my own arugula. Adam had a loaded hash topped with a sunny side up egg. After seeing the massive regular portion he went with the half portion which was plenty of food.

As we ate and I thumbed through the copy of Edible Austin I picked up at Whole Foods we noticed the diner pays tribute to the various local farms they work with on the wall just behind the bar. Locally sourced food was HUGE in Austin.

Rainy Street: It was really rainy the night we went to Rainy Street, but our Uber driver assured us that this isn’t normally the case. Rainy Street is an area of the city where old bungalows have been refurbished into fun restaurants and bars.

We were headed to the unique part of town to have dinner with a fraternity brother of Adam’s at Bangers, a restaurant with a large variety of sausage and beers on tap. Bangers almost looked and felt like a cabin with it’s long wooden tables and cozy atmosphere. It has a huge backyard, which must be great for live music.

Our next stop on the street was Icenhauer’s, a bar with a little bit more of a urban, glitzy feel. Icenhauer’s features unique cocktails that are all named after girls. I asked if they made a “Claire” and they told me they could! It wound up being a gingery cocktail, similar to a Moscow Mule, but worked well as my first name is VirGINia.

One of the most “weird” places we went to in Austin was on Rainy Street. It was an entire bar made of shipping containers and was appropriately named “The Container Bar.”

The State Capitol: When they say everything is bigger in Texas, they are talking about a handful of different things. Steaks, cowboy hats, trucks… and the State Capitol building. It is huge.

The Texas State Capitol is the largest of all the fifty states and surpasses the National Capitol by nearly fifteen feet.

We joined a great, free tour that was incredibly informative and took us through the rotunda and up to see the Senate and House of Representative’s rooms. Everything from the chandeliers that spelled “Texas” in marquee lights to the eight pound, ornate “Texas” door hinges was over the top and very “Texas.”

Eastside Cafe: Being the investigator that I am, I did a bit of research before our trip and was really excited to check Eastside Cafe out. It was just on the other side of the interstate from the university so we had to get an Uber to get there, but it was worth it.

Eastside Cafe was a cute old home that had been transformed into the restaurant. Tables were placed in different rooms of the house so it didn’t feel crowded and were decorated in the way that made you feel like you were actually at someone’s home.

But what I really loved was the fact that Eastside Cafe had a huge garden and pastured chickens right in it’s back yard. The greens, produce and hen’s eggs are used right in the restaurant. It really doesn’t get any more local than that!

I ordered the Spinach Eggs Benedict while Adam picked the Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict.

He is a sucker for lox.

I’m a sucker for a place where the eggs in my breakfast may have been laid that morning.

There were many other places that we loved like Jo’s Coffee, The Bullock Museum, Perry’s Steakhouse and Stubb’s Barbecue… All fun, just not enough room or time to mention them all!

And, there were many places we didn’t get to that we would love to see next time we are in town like Franklin’s Barbecue, Justine’s, Uchi for -apparently- out of this world sushi, or one of the major festivals in town like SXSW or Austin City Limits!

Any suggestions for our trip next year? We are thinking either Portland or Seattle.

… And, maybe we will actually get a picture together on that trip!

“Where We Are” by Claire

November 20, 2014 by theblogbloom.com 3 Comments

So, where are we?

Thanks to Adam’s last post and the last year and a half of blogging you know we have moved on from our initial “Rookie” gardener status.

We have grown from eight to twenty four garden beds in garden that now produces food three quarters of the year. We also can and freeze our homegrown vegetables to eat throughout the winter. We have our cute, free range hens and now raise pastured meat chickens each fall.

But, it’s not just the garden that has grown.

In just the last couple weeks there have been a few clear indicators that we may have even moved beyond the “novice” gardener status that we thought we were just a few months ago. We know we still have so much more to learn to even begin to be considered an expert, but we just might be flirting with whatever it is that is in between “novice” and “expert.”

Last week, I went back to Purdue and spoke to undergraduate Hospitality Management students about their career goals, answered questions about classes that I found valuable, and even reviewed a few resumes.

Surprisingly to me, many of the students I spoke with were very interested in local food. They wanted to know of Farm to Table restaurants and argitourism destinations that might be offering internships. I didn’t know about any specific internships, but I was able to rattle off a handful of restaurants, companies, markets and farms or wineries in the region that they could look into.

This opened up a really good conversation about the shift in the food service industry and how responsible sourcing or even growing food is becoming a common component of restaurants and food service management companies. Something that even my company has discussed. The students were receptive and excited.

Then, over the weekend, a young man who is working on an incredibly creative food delivery concept stopped by my house to drop off his product for me to review in early December. His company, Fresh Artistry, has partnerships with local butcher shops working with Hoosier meat producers, local vegetable growers and Indiana chefs to put together recipes and all the components of a delicious, restaurant style meal.

While here, Adam and I asked him about his business, how he got started and made his connections. We knew many of his connections and we even began to talk about the potential future of the company. He has reached out to bloggers like me in Indiana to help build his customer base through our like-minded readers, but after hearing about his company Adam knows we could help more. Our knowledge and goals for sustainability and growing the most food as possible on our land had Adam’s wheels turning like crazy.

And just in the last forty eight hours, an old friend and sorority sister who I hadn’t spoken to in years reached out for help trying to understand words like “organic,” “natural” and “local” better. She was curious to know if organic really is better for you and why Adam and I grow our food.

I could explain strong, real answers to her and was even able to point her in the direction of materials to learn even more.

I have surrounded myself with people who are driving locally grown food in Indiana. Adam and I have networked with people who are growing vegetables and raising pastured animals. We have read books, magazines, blogs, articles and watched YouTube. We are now very well informed.

To the point that growing food, raising animals, and all the great people who are doing things like this are things that I not only hold intelligent conversations about, but that I can get other people excited about.

I initially started this blog as a creative outlet, but knew in the bottom of my heart that there was, and still is, a piece of me that wanted to influence people. To make them passionate, informed to make the best food choices possible and to be inspired to cook more. By becoming a good reference for people I know that I am on the right path towards that goal.

And I love that this is where we are.

Hive and Honey Photography

Eating Like a Local at The Local

May 28, 2014 by theblogbloom.com 1 Comment

Both Adam and I work for small businesses, so we don’t have traditional 401K’s, matching or life insurance programs that larger corporations offer. We know these things are important so we have made a connection with an investment company out of Indianapolis and have started making plans for retirement.

We meet with the investor reps about once every six months in Indianapolis. These meetings are typically over two hours long and full of, what seems like, really big decisions.

By the end, we are both pretty brain fried and really ready for an adult beverage.

After our last meeting in early May we decided to have dinner at The Local Eatery and Pub on the north side in Westfield.

We first went to The Local a couple months ago with Adam’s sisters and their friends and spouses. I was coming from a catering event so I was running late. That night the rest of the group waited for me to order entrees but did order a few of the many appetizers and drinks.

I was rushed and a bit frazzled as I arrived because I felt bad that everyone was waiting for me, but I was able to see The Local’s laid back, rustic and simple vibe as soon as I got the table.

Beers, sodas, and some cocktails were served in mason jars. And, the cheese board, complete with seasonal fruit, brie, prosciutto and crostini, was served on a large butcher block.

That night, Adam ordered the chicken on a wire, which was free range local chicken with a fried egg. Adam has become a huge fan of any thing topped with a fried egg. We have done them on burgers, salads and I would love to try it on pizza.

I had the pulled turkey sandwich. It was slightly spicy thanks to the chimichurri sauce, but well balanced with melted smoked Gouda cheese.

I loved the feel of the place and we all had a great time.

This most recent visit, when it was just the two of us, I had more time to take it all in.

That is, after I ordered a glass of chardonnay… my mind was still thinking numbers, the dollars we need to save if we were to live until 95 and about what would happen if one of us were to become disabled, handicapped or worse.

… Chardonnay clears those things from the mind and makes it everything better.

I was able to notice and appreciate the large chalkboard displaying the local farms featured on the constantly changing specialties section of the menu.

I was also able to learn more about the story of The Local. The restaurant opened in 2011 and is located near many of the popular suburbs of Indianapolis like Carmel, Westfield and Noblesville. The Local’s goal is to support and feature local farmers and artisans in order to build a strong local economy. They also love to be a part of the Farm to Table genre because it helps to reduce their environmental footprint.

Their website lists their farm and artisan partnerships and the menu explains their relationships and passion for Farm to Table.

In addition to my wine and Adam’s local Sunking beer, we ordered the baked goat cheese.

(If you are new here… Hi! Welcome and thanks for reading! And, just so you know, I like cheese… a lot.)

It was great. The cheese was baked with roasted garlic cloves and olive oil and served with toasted bread to put the slightly melty cheese spread on.

Adam ordered the same sandwich. He loves it. It looked great and is always on The Local’s menu. He also loves their homemade buns.

I ordered the seasonal specialty which was a white fish with beans, oyster mushrooms and a ramps sauce. I was sold on the entrée thanks to the ramps.

My parents are part of a tiny CSA near their home in Michigan. I say “tiny CSA” because it’s just one farmer, but my mom has always loved natural food and local farmers. It’s only natural that she has developed connections with this grower. At Easter, Adam and I were up at my parent’s home on the coast of the lake and she had received her first CSA from him of the season.

Ramps were in this first CSA. I had never seen or tasted ramps, but they are really interesting.

Ramps are sort of a leek, onion, and garlic combo and can be found in the spring. They are technically a wild onion but they look similar to a green onion and have a garlic odor. In cooking, they are pretty versatile. They can be cooked in any recipe that calls for green onions or leeks. My mom even just tore some up and put it in a spring green salad at Easter.

The dish was wonderful so I asked the waitress where the ramps were from. She didn’t know, but said she would find out. However, the girl didn’t come back to our table with any answers.

And, that’s my only minor complaint about this very unique and influential restaurant. They list which farms they partner with, but don’t say what is local and what comes from one particular farm or another. If it was my place, I would make sure the staff was prepared for questions and knew about the food they were serving. Or, at least had points of reference in the back of the house if a question was asked so they could easily find the answer.

But, everything else was excellent on both our visits. The staff was friendly and accommodating. The atmosphere is a perfect combination of rustic and approachable for the everyday. The food was great.

The Local is a great place in Indy that is making a great effort to support the community and local farmers. I am proud and eager to support a restaurant that makes this kind of effort.

Be sure to do the same if you are in the area!

The Local Eatery and Pub
14655 N. Gray Road
Westfield, IN 46062

http://localeateryandpub.com/

Mile High Eats and “Experiences”

November 23, 2013 by theblogbloom.com 7 Comments

It’s been a bit of a crazy week in North Central Indiana. The National Weather Service confirmed that EF-2 tornadoes came through our county last Sunday, one less than two miles away from our home. Here was the cover of our city’s paper on Monday morning.

I tried to buy a copy but they were sold out across town by the afternoon.

All week long we have heard stories of damage. Driving through town I have seen damage that I really had only seen in photos or on the news.

Fortunately, patio furniture strewn across the lawn was all the “damage” to our home and property.

We also heard stories of where people were during the storm.

Fortunately, we were not in town. (This is major good fortune for my sanity… I would have been freaked out.)

We had just arrived back to Indy from a long weekend in Denver when we heard on the radio that a tornado was on the ground and headed to our little town.

The trip was a bit of a celebration for the end of harvest for Adam, my new job (started this past Monday!), and just for fun!

We chose Denver because it always seems like the spring board to the next place, be it the mountains, California, where ever. We had never really been to the city, so we decided to take a little time to enjoy it.

With nothing on the agenda to do but to be together and relax, we had a great time. In fact, my dear darling “country boy” said that he could live in the city of Denver multiple times throughout the long weekend.

We stayed at a hotel on 16th Street, a major business district downtown that had virtually every major restaurant and store you could think of. We also didn’t rent a car, but it worked out great. Denver has public transportation down. A free bus system runs up and down 16th Street for about two miles making it easy to get to different areas.

We also took the bus from the airport saving us an expensive cab ride. The timing was great and the trip to and from the city wasn’t too long. (We took the AF Bus that had a stop right at the ground transportation area of the airport. Round trip was $20 per person. A cab ride would have been a cool $50 each way.)

Denver gets a bad reputation for having killer winters because we all imagine the snow from the mountains. I was prepared for cold temps, but it turns out we were warm. We walked a lot and did not need a jacket until the evenings. Not bad for November.

Denver is actually similar to a micro climate, protected by the mountains, and boasts over three hundred days of sunshine each year.

(… this alone is something to make a Midwesterner consider a cross county move. Case and point? Tornadoes in November.)

One big thing I really wanted to do while there was seek out a restaurant or two that is locally sourced. I have done enough research on the Farm to Table movement and knew that Denver was a town that values local growers and has proximity to ranches producing fabulous cuts of traditional and unique meats. Plus, I wanted something to write about…

What I didn’t realize was that nearly any restaurant in the city was onboard with the movement. Granted we weren’t going to big chains and did hop off the beaten path, but each restaurant we visited had a blurb on their menu sharing where they source local produce, eggs, poultry, beef, game, whatever, from.

Here are a few of our favorite meals from the trip:

We began with lunch at Wynkoop Brewing Company, Denver’s first craft brewery, after checking into our hotel. Craft beers are now pretty much the heart beat of Denver, but in the eighties it all began here.

We started with a flight of the home brews as we couldn’t decide between all the IPA’s, lagers, and ale’s. My favorites were the Rail Yard Ale, one of the brewery’s best sellers and a seasonal peach wheat.

Starving, as our stomachs were still on east coast time, we also ordered lunch. Adam had the Pork Bahn Mi, an Asian twist pulled pork. I know he choose it because sriracha was listed as a topping. The kid has a hard time saying “no” to anything with sriracha. I had a BLT with thick slices of Denver Bacon, juicy heirloom tomatoes and baby lettuces.

Before going out west, I asked for some Facebook input on must see restaurants in Denver. The resounding recommendation was for a brunch spot called Snooze.

Snooze really came into popularity thanks to MTV’s Real World Denver as the cast always ate there. All the recommendations included a warning that anytime of day you show up, there will be a wait.

And there was. A forty minute wait… for brunch… on a Friday morning. I could sense Adam’s patience, or lack there of, so I assured him that everyone said this would happen but it would be worth it.

… A bloody mary also helped my cause.

The bloodys were made with house made bloody mary mix and different hot pepper infused vodkas. I ordered a gazpacho bloody mary and it was fabulous. Adam had a spicy one, of course.

We were made aware our table was nearly ready via text message and headed into the diner.

I think this is the best idea ever!

Looking around the restaurant I knew we were in for some good food. There were huge pancakes, egg plates and french toast that looked more like dessert. Adam and I both opted for savory options versus the sweets.

Chiciquilles for him.

Italian style eggs Benedict for me complete with prosciutto, cheesy hollandaise topped with balsamic and peppery arugula.

Phenomenal.

And totally worth the wait.

Our final night we had reservations at Buckhorn Exchange, per recommendation from my aunt claiming it is “an experience.” She also recommended the Brown Hotel as a great place for a cocktail so we decided to have a drink there before heading to dinner.

The Brown Palace is a one hundred and thirty year old hotel, rich with Denver history as it was one of the first buildings in the city. We took a seat in the lobby as a pianist serenaded the many couples cozied up with martini’s.

After a weekend full of beer, I was ready for a glass of champagne. Adam had a Manhattan.

We had a great conversation about friendships and our good fortune with friends as we admired the exquisite architecture.

As we left, the Brown’s driver insisted he take us to dinner as he was free. We didn’t object to the free ride. On the way he also mentioned that Buckhorn Exchange is “an experience.”

I got a little nervous… What did everyone mean by this?

“It’s just a little guy,” Adam announced as we pulled up to a maybe thirty foot wide building.

The driver agreed but said it was deep and that tables went way back into the restaurant.

This was true. As we followed a waitress back through the narrow restaurant, I began to understand why it was always described as “an experience.”

It was like going back in time into the wild, wild west. The building was warm, tables had red checked table cloths, old framed black and white photos covered the walls… in addition to hundreds upon hundreds of mounted game heads and furs.

A little crazy, yes. But, clearly part of “the experience.”

Our menu’s were designed like a newspaper, explaining the history of the restaurant.

The Buckhorn Exchange opened in the late 1800’s and was a favorite of Teddy Rossevelt. There was even a story about a night in the year 1900 when a masked bad guy held everyone in the restaurant hostage, robbing them of any cash or valuables and injuring barmaids. It really was part of the Wild West!

Entrees included beef and buffalo, like many other restaurants in Denver, but it also included all sorts of wild game including elk, quail, game hens, lamb and duck.

Adam and I both had the night’s special, buffalo with garlic butter and elk with a spiced cranberry sauce. Our meals were also served with a garden salad and starch. I chose smashed potatoes and Adam had a baked potato, two things we never do at home so it was a big treat.

The meal was delish, but what was even better was that it was just a piece of a great night that capped off a memorable weekend together.

Below are links to all the restaurants we tried. Loved everything, but couldn’t write about them all. Check them out on your visit to the Mile High City!

http://www.wynkoop.com/
http://www.lodosbarandgrill.com/ — Located right in the LoDo neighborhood. Great place for a game.

Home

http://www.breckbrew.com/ — Great Buffalo Burgers and Brews by Coors Field.
http://viewhouse.com/ — Awesome patio on top floor with great views of the city. Bottomless mimosas and Bloody Mary’s on Saturdays in addition to a brunch menu.
http://bravapizza.com/ — Similar to a food truck; Mobil stone pizza oven with a two tap kegerator. Great, quick flatbread pizza’s right on a patio on 16th Stree.
http://www.buckhorn.com/

Hotels:

Home

http://www.sheratondenverdowntown.com/

Transportation:

http://www.rtd-denver.com/

… when we go back I am DYING to try The Kitchen and Squeaky Bean! Have you been there?!