Guilt-free Local Restaurants

Harvest Welcome to Harvest, St. Louis’ home of Seasonal Market Cuisine. We have always been very proud of the quality of our food. We use well-marbled beef, non-endangered fish, and sustainable agricultural products. When available, we purchase many of our products from organic sources. Our products are brought in fresh, not frozen, and yes, we make all of our vegetable, beef, fish, and chicken stocks from scratch – never from a canned base. As our patrons, it is important for you to know that we are cooking not only with fresh, flavorful ingredients in our kitchen, but with the environment in our minds. We strive to excel at “slow food” here, and hope that you will enjoy our daily efforts to combine sustenance with artistry, flavor, texture, and craft. $$$

Cardwell's at Plaza Frotenac With a special devotion to local, seasonal ingredients, our carefully crafted menu boasts the heart of comfort food and the flair of culinary innovation. We believe in ample portions, hearty flavors and lively table conversation. Our menu changes daily to offer guest the season’s best flavors and freshest ingredients. $$

The St. Louis Originals is a collaborative of independently owned and operated restaurants and culinary innovators committed to uniting the energies of local restaurants and celebrating the food and friendship that’s indigenousness to St. Louis neighborhoods.

The Farm Bill

The Farm Bill is a very important piece of legislation for anyone interested in the topic of food and the environment. Lizzy provided a link to the Chef's Collaborative that contains an article which has compiled resources to learn more about the Farm Bill.

Why should chefs care about the Farm Bill? Read all about the
implications ofthis big piece of legislation and how it could
impactchefs’ abilities to purchasethe local and sustainable
ingredients they value.

Job Offer: Teaching Position

A program planner for Meramec Community College in the Continuing Education Department sent me a job opportunity for an instructor to teach some courses related to sustainable eating, healthy food preparation, etc. If anyone is interested let me know and I can put you in contact with her.

Mexican Food

I have only found three tolerable* restaurants in St.Louis that serve Mexican Food. I'm pretty hesitant to eat at Mexican food places here because I know it will probably not live up to my expectations. I have yet to find gooood flour tortillas in this city.
* I'm from San Antonio so if I will eat Mexican food here that means it is pretty good.
**This list is just for my own indulgence, I am not sure whether they get their food responsibly. I will check into it.

Mi Ranchito (on Kingsland one block North of Delmar) I always get the grilled veggie fajita's and they are fantastic. The tortilla's are their downfall. I thought the enchilada's were pretty terrible, probably mostly because of the tortilla. The atmosphere is great for a fun night with friends and pitcher Margaritas.

Canyon Cafe (in Plaza Frontenac) This is a chain (aka bad, don't do it, down with the man) restaurant that is a little more pricey. It isn't authentic at all, but it is still pretty tasty. I enjoy the strongly seasoned chips.

Senor Pique's (on Manchester a few blocks west of 141) This place is authentic and delicious. It tastes very Mexican, meaning not the tex-mex that I'm used to. The chips and salsa aren't anything special, and the flour tortillas are not homemade, but the corn are. The enchiladas were very good, and I think that is usually a decent indicator of how the rest of the food will be.

The Burning Kumquat Farm Party

A collective of Washington University students are starting a campus farm called the Burning Kumquat. The first planting season will be next semester. I stopped by their Farm Party today to meet some of the members. I was happily surprised to see such a large turnout. If you are a Wash U student I'm sure they would love to have more people volunteer to farm next semester.

You can read the Wash U. Student Life article about the farm here.