#farm-to-table

#farm-to-table

Just 15 minutes from downtown Charlottesville, Crossroads Inn has been in continuous operation since 1820, though accommodations are more luxurious than they would have been two centuries ago. A charming spot with porch rockers, a fire pit, and a small flock of chickens, it's part of the larger property of Pippin Hill Farm & Vineyards, right next door. Another place with a past is the Clifton, a modern boutique hotel originally built for Thomas Jefferson's daughter and her family.

In the early twentieth century, a community of Italian immigrants started selling fruits, vegetables, and other fare in Portland's Central Eastside, earning it the moniker Produce Row. These Italian American fruit markets and groceries planted the seeds of what would eventually become the city's farm-to-table ethos. Despite the outsize impact of the Italian community on our food scene, however, Portland isn't exactly a Little Italy town, lacking a dense concentration of ristorantes and trattorias.

"Alice Waters annoys the living [expletive] out of me," Bourdain said in a 2009 interview with DCist.

Perhaps it's no wonder then that it's given birth to some of the strongest slow food movements in the country, led by in-state visionaries such as Susan Watkins and Barbara Kingsolver - seriously, Kingsolver's 2007 book "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life" was what got many people, including my mom, into sustainable eating in the first place (it's among the best books for food lovers). With this context in mind, Virginia is, unsurprisingly, truly a mecca for farm-to-table dining.

The recently opened Farmhouse at Descanso Gardens features a summer brunch menu with dishes inspired by seasonal ingredients from local farmers markets and elements of the natural park.

"The personality you see on Instagram, in confirmation emails, in the food, and the dining room is all the same. I'm a human, you're a human, and let's communicate like that. I mean it's not too long before the robots take over."

Menorca, an UNESCO biosphere reserve since 1993, offers a unique farm-to-table experience that attracts those who appreciate authentic local Spanish cuisine.

Nopa wasn't just seasonally inspired and farm-to-table at a time when seasonally inspired and farm-to-table hadn't yet permeated the city. It was a place whose ethos making everything in-house, from scratch and atmosphere were as much of a draw as its damn good Cal-Mediterranean menu and thoughtful cocktails and wine list.

"The magic of Tinder Hearth is the alchemy of Tim Semler and Lydia Moffet, husband and wife Mainers who began their business by selling homemade sourdough bread at local farmers markets and shops."

Petaluma's farm-to-table trend started during the California Gold Rush, supplying essentials like eggs and meat to mining towns and San Francisco, showcasing its agricultural significance.

"We're looking to expand into doing something CPG with farmers, doing more extensive events off-premise and on-premise. We found that we really needed more help and guidance."