“Farm-to-table” is a concept that's been embraced by restaurants. But what does that term really mean?
“People are very interested in ‘where does my food come from?’” said Jill Silva of The Kansas City Star.
As the locally-sourced movement has grown, so has the variety and quantity of food available in area restaurants.
And because farm-to-table depends on what chefs get from the farmers, some dishes won't stay on a menu for long.
From upscale places to a fast-casual drive-thru, KCUR’s Food Critics search out the best farm-to-table dishes in and around Kansas City.
Here are their recommendations:
Jill Silva, The Kansas City Star:
- Blue Bird Bistro was an early restaurant committed to farm-to-table. One of my standby menu items is the green curry with seasonal farm-fresh vegetables and organic coconut milk (and add Campo Lindo chicken).
- Renee Kelly’s Harvest. I recently had a microgreen and beet salad that was outstanding, along with socca bread with a duxelles of locally-grown Trammell Treasure mushrooms and Green Dirt Farm’s Woolly Rind sheep’s milk cheese. Renee keeps a garden on the grounds and seeks out local farmers.
- The Farmhouse. I stopped in recently for lunch to see what was on the menu and enjoyed a curried carrot soup with chili oil. The carrots were from Gibbs Road Farm. I also had a peach and blackberry salad with a champagne vinaigrette.
- If you’re not looking for a sit-down dinner, try The Sundry or Howard’s Grocery, Café and Catering; they’re more grocery-oriented although they do have food. The Local Pig is another that very much works with farmers in order to have the best quality meat and game.
- The Sundry has made a commitment to local farms and artisan producers. The salads, soups and sandwiches change often. I like their chicken tikka bowl. They also have daily specials and a grocery store with local meats, vegetables and other artisan food items. Friday is pastrami on rye: Barham Family Farms brisket that’s brined and smoked in house and served with grain mustard.
- I also love the savory Danishes at Ibis Bakery. Three favorites: rhubarb, foraged nettle and goat cheese (both served in May), and one with lightly dressed microgreens (served in June).
- Sheridan’s Unforked is one of my favorite fast-casual farm-to-table concepts. Love the tacos and street corn. One of the few socially responsible concepts with a drive-thru. The farmers they use are GAP certified, meaning they adhere to Good Agricultural Processes.
- During the school year I’m always excited to see what is growing in the Broadmoor garden and how the students turn the bounty into real dishes for diners to enjoy at the Broadmoor Bistro.
Charles Ferruzza, The Pitch:
- Plate Restaurant takes local vegetables and local purveyors seriously. Suppliers include Stony Crest Urban Farms, Green Dirt Farms, Ibis Bakery. It may be the noisiest restaurant in Kansas City, and it’s certainly the smallest … it’s not an elaborate menu, but it’s a good menu. They have a lot of stuff from Powell Gardens, and I think that’s kind of impressive.
- Renee Kelly’s Harvest. Very fresh ingredients. I think Chef Kelly is a very thoughtful and talented chef who uses whatever is in season in an artful way.
- Story Restaurant: Beautiful, creative presentation of fresh produce and locally-sourced meats and poultry. Great chef-owners … Chef Carl Thorne-Thomsen is like the Michelangelo of suburban restaurant owners.
Jenny Vergara, Feast Magazine:
- Green Dirt Farm has opened a new creamery that serves as their local cheese tasting room, retail shop and snack stop. You can purchase any of their sheep’s milk cheeses or enjoy a sandwich made from Hearth Bread Company breads, Hank Charcuterie, KC Canning Co. pickles and preserves. You can also sample wines from local Missouri wineries (like Vox Vineyards or Terra Vox) or a glass of Boulevard. They also sell scoops of their ice cream. I like the "Join the Club" sandwich, which is made with roast turkey, crumbled bacon, pickled green tomatoes, mayo, greens and Farm to Market farmhouse toast.
- Room 39. Chef Ted Habiger and his culinary teams have always had a strong commitment to sourcing and using local farmers for almost everything on their menu. Ted has always listed the farmers he uses on every single menu. Now, they are introducing and celebrating those farmers by hosting a monthly dinner club called the Second Helpings Supper Club, featuring different ingredients from farmers. The first one hosted Crums Heirlooms tomatoes. $39 for a three-course chef-prepared dinner made of farm fresh ingredients is a heck of deal.
- You’ll have to road trip to enjoy the farm-fresh cuisine that chef Liz Huff delivers at Catalpa, her restaurant located in Arrow Rock, Missouri. Located about an hour and 30 minutes from Kansas City, Arrow Rock is a historic Civil War town with a cute downtown. With 25 seats total in this small home, Liz is putting out gourmet meals that are driven by the seasons and what her local farmers are bringing her. Local mushrooms covered in panko breadcrumbs and fried, served with a peppercorn sauce, local free-range ducks or chickens, tomato salads … she even grows all of her own fresh herbs in a massive system outside the back door of the restaurant.
- Justus Drugstore. You simply cannot talk about farm-to-table without including our original foraging chef, Jonathan Justus. At his restaurant in Smithville, his entire menu is a love letter to Missouri and the animal, vegetables, fruits and grains that grow naturally in this area. He can take a humble ingredient and elevate it. The menu is never published because it changes so frequently, and he and his culinary team labor over each and every ingredient to make sure that you are getting the most flavor from every dish (which also extends to their cocktails).
- Novel. Chef Ryan Brazeal and his girlfriend/new pastry chef Jessica Armstrong write an homage to local ingredients with their menu. Ricotta gnocchi has eggplant, zucchini and heirloom tomatoes. The pork toast is topped with peaches, jicama and pecans. Using local farms, like Prairie Birthday Farms or Thane Palmberg Farm, means that if something is no longer available to purchase, it comes off the menu and then the hunt begins for the next seasonal ingredient to replace it.
Listener recommendations:
- West Bottoms Kitchen. The BLFGT is to die for; it’s a BLT with fried green tomatoes and it’s served on homemade bread.
- Howard's Café sources local vegetables, fruits, chicken and pork!
- Stony Crest Urban Farm periodically has farm-to-table dinners.
- The farm dinners at Kurlbaum’s Heirloom Tomatoes. They work with local wineries sometimes.
Jen Chen is associate producer for KCUR's Central Standard. Reach out to her at jen@kcur.org.
