June 2018 Feast Magazine by Feast Magazine

Housemade INTRODUCING OUR

RIGATONI BOLOGNESE

We start with housemade rigatoni, using fresh toasted cracked black pepper in our pasta dough. Served over our savory, slow braised bolognese, made with ribeye, local G&W sausage, fresh garlic and San Marzano tomatoes, finished with pecorino cheese. ENJOY FOR LUNCH OR DINNER. Complimentary Valet Parking. 2

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Câ&#x20AC;&#x2122;MON, JOIN THE TEAM

#SQUADGOALS KALDISCOFFEE.COM/CAREERS Inspired Local Food Culture

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feastmagazine.com

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june 2018

from the staff

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from the PUBLIsher

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dIgItaL content

| 12 |

feast tv

Farm to fork What’s online this month Wood Fire

dIne

| 16 |

on trend

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where we’re dInIng

| 19 |

one on one

| 20 |

one on one

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In season

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one on one

Innovative growing methods Caffetteria Modern Café & Marketplace, Firecracker Pizza & Beer, Greek Belly Julie Truong of DD Mau Jinho Eom of Love Sushi Apricots

John Gordon Jr. of BoysGrow

drInk

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on trend

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one on one

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where we’re drInkIng

| 31 |

one on one

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the mIx

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on the sheLf

Botanical cocktails Sherry Raleigh-Adams of Gateway Custom Malt Tie & Timber Beer Co., The W Karaoke, Brookside Barrio Daniel Bauer of Kaw Point Meadery Roasted-tomato Margaritas What to drink this month

shoP

60 66 72 Table of conTenTs phoTo of chef rex hale’s sea scallop crudo wiTh wild pennycress, chamomile, chickweed, whiTe shoyu, dehydraTed beeT GinGer, Turmeric and chile (p. 60) by rolf rinGwald coVer phoTo of Green ThickeT farm (p. 76) by TraVis howard

family roots

in perryville, missouri, david bohlen and his family are growing unusual and in-demand vegetables for top st. louis chefs at bohlen family farms.

Perennial Pioneers

scientists in kansas and missouri are partnering with researchers around the world to explore a new frontier in agriculture.

home free

nearly a decade ago, the Thang family arrived in the u.s. after fleeing persecution in their native myanmar. Today, they’ve found their own version of the american dream through farming.

out in the thicket klaire and caleb howerton of Green Thicket farm in springfield, missouri, share unexpected farm-fresh flavor through their pop-up dinner series.

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shoP here

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get thIs gadget

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one on one

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cULInary LIBrary

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shoP here

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artIsan ProdUcts

Messner Bee Farm A plant-monitoring app and produce-saving bags James Forbes of Old North Provisions On Vegetables by Jeremy Fox Seedz Provisions Honey Belle Farm honey and Pam’s Hot Peppers

cook

| 44 |

| 46 |

heaLthy aPPetIte

Greek-style shrimp with seared tomatoes and peppers mystery shoPPer

Chive blossoms

| 48 |

qUIck fIx

| 50 |

sweet Ideas

Fresh herb and shaved fennel salad with honey-lime dressing One-bowl candied ginger-blueberry crumb cake

Volume 8

| Issue 6 | June 2018

Vice President of niche Publishing, Publisher of feast Magazine

Catherine Neville, publisher@feastmagazine.com

sales

director of sales

Angie Henshaw, ahenshaw@feastmagazine.com, 314.475.1298 account Manager, st. louis region

Jennifer Tilman, jtilman@feastmagazine.com, 314.475.1205 account Manager, Kansas city region

Pete Nicklin, pnicklin@feastmagazine.com, 785.431.8025 sPecial Projects editor

Bethany Christo, bchristo@feastmagazine.com, 314.475.1244

eDITORIal senior editor

Liz Miller, editor@feastmagazine.com Managing editor

Nancy Stiles, nstiles@feastmagazine.com digital editor

Heather Riske, web@feastmagazine.com Kansas city contributing editor

Jenny Vergara st. louis contributing editor

Mabel Suen editorial intern

Lauren Smith fact checKer

Danielle Lacey Proofreader

Erica Hunzinger contributing Writers

Christy Augustin, Gabrielle DeMichele, Pete Dulin, Amanda Elliott, Ana Elliott, Natalie Gallagher, Rose Hansen, Becky Hardin, Hilary Hedges, Lauren Miers, Brandon and Ryan Nickelson, Lillian Stone, Jenn Tosatto, Jessica Vaughn, Shannon Weber

aRT

art director

Alexandrea Povis, apovis@feastmagazine.com contributing PhotograPhers

Zach Bauman, Angela Bond, Keith Borgmeyer, Ana Elliott, Teresa Floyd, Becky Hardin, Stuart Heidman, Travis Howard, Sean Locke, Jacklyn Meyer, Anna Petrow, Drew Piester, Jonathan Pollack, Rolf Ringwald, Jennifer Silverberg , Mabel Suen, Brad Zweerink

FeasT TV

producer: Catherine Neville production partner: Tybee Studios

DIsTRIbUTIOn To distribute Feast Magazine at your place of business, please contact Thomas Norton for St. Louis, Jefferson City, Columbia, Rolla and Springfield at TNorton@post-dispatch.com and Jason Green for Kansas City at distribution@pds-kc.com. Feast Magazine does not accept unsolicited manuscripts, photographs or artwork. Submissions will not be returned. All contents are copyright © 2010-2018 by Feast Magazine™. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use in whole or in part of the contents, without the prior written permission of the publisher, is strictly prohibited Produced by the Suburban Journals of Greater St. Louis, LLC

feastmagazine.com

jun e 2 0 1 8

For the “Wood Fired” episode of Feast TV, I had the chance to climb aboard Balkan Treat Box food truck with Loryn Feliciano-Nalic to learn the secret behind her perfect wood-fire-baked somun. She’s just one of the fired-up folks you’ll meet in this episode, which you’ll find on feastmagazine.com and on your local PBS station.

publisher’s letter

n my travels (which are pretty extensive now that I’m constantly on the road for tasteMAKERS), I have found that people who didn’t grow up on or near farms often don’t really understand much about them. In our collective search for convenience and lower costs, our food system has evolved to the point where we can avoid thinking about how products get to the grocery store. With meat neatly wrapped in plastic, bright and unbruised fruits and veggies piled artfully for maximum visual impact, and processed food cheaply and easily available, we’re removed from how those ingredients got onto our plates in the first place. The slogan “No Farms, No Food,” coined by the American Farmland Trust, is a reminder that everything we eat starts at a farm, and that’s why we dedicate our June issue every year to taking you out into the field to meet our local farmers. At Green Thicket Farm in Springfield, Missouri, Klaire and Caleb Howerton watch over a diverse brood of goats, rabbits, quail, cows, sheep, hogs and other critters. They operate a CSA, and last year began inviting people out to the farm for dinners made with their meat and produce. For a very reasonable $45, you can sit in the Howerton’s repurposed garage and get to know them as you get a taste of what was grown mere feet from your dining chair. Writer Lillian Stone takes you to Green Thicket on p. 76. In the St. Louis area, David and Mark Bohlen are taking a different approach. At Bohlen Family Farms in Perryville, the brothers are growing everything from totsoi to turnips, and they experiment with multiple varieties of one veggie to see which one they, and the chefs who are their customers, prefer. I’ve run into David more than once at a restaurant as he was leaving the kitchen after dropping off a delivery. He’s cultivating more than beautiful produce: He’s cultivating

relationships with chefs that are pushing him in innovative directions. Turn to p. 60 for managing editor Nancy Stiles’ visit with the Bohlens. New Roots for Refugees is working with refugees from across the world who have been resettled in the Kansas City area. Through the program, Far and Joseph Thang, who are from Myanmar, learned not only what and how to grow in our Midwest climate, but also how to run a sustainable farm business. Launching Victoria Gardens allowed the couple to stay connected to their agrarian past as they create relationships in their new community. Writer Natalie Gallagher introduces you to the Thangs on p. 72. Finally, senior editor Liz Miller explores the experimental side of farming in her feature on Kernza on p. 66. Kernza is a perennial variety of wheatgrass that scientists hope can help to change the way we farm grains, which typically are annual crops, like wheat. By shifting to perennials, we can lower the need for tilling and save water resources that are drying up in many parts of the world. We often think of farming as a vocation driven by tradition, but there are many ways that farmers are pushing us into a more sustainable, delicious and connected future. I encourage you to head to your local farmers’ market or invest in a CSA share. By connecting to where our food comes from, you’ll find you’re connected to more than just the food itself. Until next time,

Catherine Neville

06.18 drew piester Columbia, Missouri, Photographer “After getting to know Amanda Elliott over the past year and working with her on various projects, we were both stoked to team up and create content for Feast. We met up at Amanda’s home for the photo shoot, which made the experience a little more special and personal, and allowed Amanda complete creative control over food styling for the dish photo. Her kitchen is beautiful, with plenty of natural light, making the dish look its best. Experiencing everything come together in this vibrant and beautiful shrimp and seared-tomato dish was the perfect way to end the afternoon and wrap up our first column for Feast.” (Healthy Appetite, p. 44)

Your Biggest & Best Events

amanda elliott

summer 2018

Columbia, Missouri, Writer “I’m beyond thrilled to be Feast’s new Healthy Appetite columnist. I absolutely love highlighting delicious and feel-good foods. This month, I’m sharing a recipe for Greek-style shrimp. After doing some research, I was fascinated by our local Missouri shrimp farmers and the fresh product they’re raising. For the recipe, I wanted to nod to the Mediterranean, where seafood is always in abundance. This light, flavorful dish is perfect for summer, and I hope you enjoy making it in your own kitchen as much as I did.” (Healthy Appetite, p. 44)

Ces & Judy’s food has been served and enjoyed all over St. Louis for the past 36 years. We are excited to be the exclusive caterer at St. Louis’ newest premier venue, The Venue at Maison du Lac, opening this summer. Head to our website to find out more about hosting a wedding, private event or corporate celebration at The Venue. Our delicious food also travels! Check out our sample menus to have Ces & Judy’s Catering at a venue of your choice.

c e s & ju dy ’ s c at e r i n g • w w w. c e s a n d j u dys . co m 1 0 4 4 0 g erm a n b lv d • st. lo u i s , m o 6 3 1 3 1 • 3 1 4 -9 9 1- 6 7 0 0

rolf ringwald St. Louis, Photographer “When I headed out to Perryville, Missouri, to capture David and Mark Bohlen at Bohlen Family Farms, it started out as any other agricultural photo shoot that I’ve been on. As we walked around the farm and talked about the magazine feature, I found myself being brought into their world, being educated about the plants they grow and their backgrounds. I ended up coming away with more than just pictures, but a true sense of their passion. David and Mark are extremely knowledgeable and beyond inviting – so much so that they asked me to grab lunch with their family for what they called the best $3 hamburger, and they were right. A big thank you to the Bohlen brothers for a truly great experience.” (Family Roots, p. 60)

lillian stone Springfield, Missouri, Writer “Klaire and Caleb Howerton are so impressive. I first visited Green Thicket Farm shortly after they launched Dinners at the Thicket back in 2017, and I was immediately charmed. I’ve enjoyed keeping up with the Howertons as they gain recognition in the local food scene, which is why it was so fun to chat with them one year after the launch of the dinner series. They’ve created something pretty spectacular. I’m continually impressed by the ways they’re educating locals about sustainable agriculture – especially considering that we’re the same age and I have yet to master deboning a chicken. I will also admit to frequent fantasies about that homemade ravioli.” (Out in the Thicket, p. 76)

Backyard BBQs Just Got Better Q39 offers mouth-watering catering packages for any occasion. Visit Q39KC.com/catering Contact us for more information: Shannon@Q39KC.com

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STL

WESTPORT PLAZA IS ST. LOUIS’ ALL-IN-ONE DINING DESTINATION

6/9

muSic + Wine FeStival Sat., June 9, 5 to 10pm; free; Carondelet Plaza, 176 Carondelet Plaza, Clayton, Missouri; 314.290.8466; claytonmusicandwinefestival.com

The city of Clayton, Missouri, announces the fourth-annual Music + Wine Festival on the evening of Sat., June 9, at Carondelet Plaza, east of Hanley Road. Along with live music, the festival will feature wine from regional wineries and food available for purchase. In addition, live street entertainment will take place throughout the festival.

BACKSTREET JAZZ & BLUES DINO’S DELI DRUNKEN FISH FUNNY BONE COMEDY CLUB FUZZY’S TACO SHOP GATEWAY NEWSTANDS

6/96/10

HATS-N-STUFF IMOS PIZZA JIVE & WAIL KOBE JAPANESE STEAKHOUSE MCDONALD’S PAUL MINEO’S TRATTORIA

urban groWn FarmS & garden tour Sat., June 9, 9am to 5pm and Sun., June 10, 12pm to 5pm; $15 for individuals, $10/person for groups of four or more, $15 additional for Farm Crawl; 300 E. 39th St., Kansas City; 913.831.2444; cultivatekc.org/urbangrowntour

The self-guided Urban Grown Farms & Garden Tour by Cultivate Kansas City is an opportunity for the community to celebrate and visit the bountiful farms throughout Kansas City. Explore 24 urban farms and gardens that are growing food for your plate, as well as learn more about the diversity of food projects underway, refugee training programs, farm businesses and more.

PLAYHOUSE @ WESTPORT PLAZA SHERATON AT WESTPORT SMOOTHIE KING SAINT LOUIS BREAD COMPANY STARBUCKS TRAINWRECK SALOON WESTPORT SOCIAL

ts za presen a l p t r o p west

Z A L P E H T N O S E I T R A P y, j u n e 2 1

t h u r s d a the lone rangers,

from ic ks s in u r m d e m iv iu l m e s & pr e m a g y t r a select p d u b y b red sponso

Intersection of I-270 and Page Avenue St. Louis, MO 314-576-7100 { westportstl.com }

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STL

6/14

SchnuckS cookS: FreSh herb and Shaved Fennel Salad With honey-lime dreSSing Thu., June 14, 6 to 9pm; $45; Schnucks Cooks Cooking School, 12332 Manchester Road, St. Louis; 314.909.1704; nourish.schnucks.com/schnucks-cooking-school

In this class you’ll learn how to make melting potatoes, potato rounds tossed in melted butter and then roasted in a very hot oven before finishing them with chicken stock. You’ll also prepare a strawberry lazy sonker, a favorite dessert in North Carolina that blends the best of pie and cobbler.

6/21

2018-2019

season

Show Me SerieS KC: a SUStainable Seafood throwdown Thu., June 21, 6 to 9pm; $40 to $75; The Abbott, 1901 Cherry St., Kansas City; bit.ly/2Kwhb86

7-show season ticket package on sale june 4!

©Disney

The Show-Me Series is a culinary chef competition, from James Beard nominees to home cooks, competing for a ticket to the World Food Championships. Each Culinary Passport holder gets local food-and-drink samples at the event, Bite of the Night tasting and voting of each chef’s seafood-centric dish, and more. Insider Culinary Passport holders gain early access and a meet-and-greet with chefs and judges. The Show-Me Series is holding a steak-centric event in Columbia, Missouri, on Thu., June 14, as well as to-be-determined dates in St. Louis and Springfield, Missouri.

November 7-25

September 18-30

STL

6/15

Feast tV taSte & See: farM to table Fri., June 15, 7pm; $15; Public Media Commons, 3653 Olive St., Covenant Blu/Grand Center,

December 26 – January 6

March 26 – April 7

St. Louis; feastmagazine.com/events

Chefs from throughout the St. Louis region will focus on local flavor. Join host Cat Neville; meet the folks behind the farm-to-market movement; and taste produce, meats and cheeses at their peak of freshness – straight from the farm to the Public Media Commons. The event kicks off with live music and will feature segments from Feast TV on two-story screens, interviews with local chefs and live cooking demos.

Jan. 29 – Feb. 10

April 23 – May 5

May 14-26

subscribe to the 7-show season ticket package & you can for swap for one of these specials:

STL

6/30

Swingin’ Under the StarS Sat., June 30, 6:30 to 9:30pm, free; main stage at West City Park,

October 5-7

December 6-9

December 22-23

2232-2292 Old State Highway A, Festus, Missouri; 636.937.6646; cityoffestus.org/festivals-events/swingin-under-the-stars

Join the city of Festus and the Missouri Big Band – under the direction of Joe Pappas featuring vocalist Joe Scalzitti – for a free evening of music. Attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs, blankets, coolers and picnic baskets.

March 12-17

December 11-16

February 22-24

March 1-3

March 5-10

fabulousfox.com/subscribe 314-535-1700 • fox box office

*See website for details and content advisories. Shows, dates & times subject to change. Season tickets are non-refundable. Inspired Local Food Culture

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this month on

feastmagazine.com the feed

sPeCial giVeaWay

PhotograPhy by teSSa CooPer

We’re giving away St. Louis and Kansas City passports, filled with two-for-one craft beverage specials at the city’s best bars, restaurants, breweries, wineries and distilleries. Just head to the Promotions section at feastmagazine.com for all the details.

The Wheelhouse, a Springfield, Missouri, food truck, plans to open a restaurant inside the upcoming Vib Hotel this summer, serving Mexican-Thai fusion fare including tacos, pineapple fried rice, drunken noodles and more.

PhotograPhy by mabeL Suen

PhotograPhy by aPriL FLeming

Is any pub food more beloved than the humble pretzel? We can’t think of anything we’d rather pair with a cold beer, and luckily, St. Louis is home to its fair share of delicious soft pretzels. We’ve rounded up our favorites.

KC PHOTOgraPHy By amanda Wilens

Sweet and Simple lives up to its name. The new Brookside shop serves Vietnamese coffee, boba tea, smoothies and 12 flavors of edible cookie dough, including snickerdoodle, birthday cake, chocolate chip and more.

The Gianino family of restaurants opened Anthony’s Italian Eats in Clayton, Missouri, this spring: a small market for grab-and-go Italian goods, plus a restaurant serving salads, sandwiches and pizzas made with family recipes.

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Have you seen #KCPenguin? Summer 2018

THINK YOU KNOW FROZEN BURGERS? THINK AGAIN. INTRODUCING...

ANGUS CHUCK STEAK BURGER

ANGUS SIRLOIN STEAK BURGER

ANGUS BEEF BRISKET STEAK BURGER with Smoked Gouda Cheese

If you' re a burger lover, you no longer have to compromise quality for convenience when buying a frozen burger. Not with CHOP HOUSE Steak Burgers. Our burgers boast proprietary, butcher-style grinds so they' re bursting with ï¬&#x201A;avor. Frozen fresh with a unique handmade look, CHOP HOUSE is sure to become the burger lover' s go-to-option. For great recipe ideas, visit chophousesteakburger.com. Enjoy! Available at your local Schnucks and Dierbergs retailers

Brought to you by the Holten family of brands, which, for generations, has provided you with exceptional quality you can not only taste, but trust.

Inspired Local Food Culture

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The intense heat and smoke of wood fire add dimension to even simple dishes. All wood-fired cooking must start with a supply of great wood, so Cat’s first stop is in Kansas City, Kansas, at Woodyard BBQ, which has been supplying to the barbecue industry since 1913. Then, she heads to Columbia to see how the chefs at Flyover use their wood-fired oven to amplify the flavor of seasonal fare. And at Balkan Treat Box in St. Louis, Bosnian and Turkish flavors are perfected with live fire right on the truck.

Climb aboard Balkan Treat Box with chef Loryn Feliciano-Nalic, who has a wood-burning oven, a coal-fired grill and a spit on her tiny St. Louis food truck.

Back in the Feast TV kitchen, host Cat Neville shows you how to make Turkish-style kofta with a smoky baba ganoush and creamy yogurt sauce.

In Columbia, Missouri, Flyover adds depth of flavor to just about every dish with the wood-fired oven that dominates the restaurant’s open kitchen.

feast tv is brought to you by the generous support of our sponsors:

Missouri Wines supports the more than 125 wineries operating in the state and is focused on promoting the industry’s growth and vitality.

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Kaldi’s Coffee is dedicated to creating a memorable coffee experience for customers and guests via sustainable practices and education.

Ole Tyme Produce provides some of the finest produce in the St. Louis region, serving restaurants, hotels, food service and catering companies.

The Raphael Hotel is Feast’s official hotel, offering luxury accommodations and dining near Kansas City’s Country Club Plaza.

CELEBRATING KANSAS CIT Y AND GOOD OLD FASHIONED MIDWEST COOKING

In St. Louis, tune into the Nine Network (Channel 9) to watch Feast TV Mondays at 9:30pm.

Mo n d a y -Fr i d a y S e r v i n g : Br e a k f a s t 7 -1 1 a m Lu n c h 1 1 a m -3 p m Ha p p y Ho u r 3 - 6 p m Di n n e r b e g i n n i n g a t 5 p m n i g h t l y Sa t u r d a y & Su n d a y Br u n c h 9 : 3 0 a m -3 p m No w Bo o k i n g Pr i v a t e Di n i n g & Ca t e r i n g e v e n t s @ r y e kc . c o m Or d e r To - Go , Wh o l e Pi e s , & Ba ke s h o p Sp e c i a l t i e s

In Kansas City, watch Feast TV on KCPT (Channel 19) Saturdays at 5:30pm and Sundays at 7:30am.

4646 J C Nichols Pkwy Kansas City, MO (816) 541-3382 www.r yekc.com Complementar y Garage Parking or Valet Optional

*Visit our original location Rye Leawood at 10551 Mission Rd. Leawood, KS 66206 (913) 642-5800

You can watch Feast TV throughout mid-Missouri on KMOS (Channel 6) Saturdays at 10pm.

Feast TV airs in the southern Illinois region on WSIU (Channel 8) Mondays at 12:30pm.

Feast TVâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new season will air in the Springfield region on Ozarks Public Television. Check your local listings for airdates.

Check mylaketv.com to watch Feast TV in the Lake of the Ozarks area.

Join us for new menu items and cocktails from a shady spot on The Raphael patio.

Enjoy live music Fridays and Saturdays from 4-7 pm now through September.

Historic Hotels of America 325 Ward Parkway | Country Club Plaza 816.756.3800 | raphaelkc.com | chazontheplaza.com

Inspired Local Food Culture

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Fishing

is a great way to spend time with family and friends and create memories that last a lifetime. All you need is a pole and a permit. No matter where you live in Missouri, a fishing trip is close to home. Don’t know where to fish? Visit mdc.mo.gov/PlacesToFish. Need a rod and reel? Visit mdc.mo.gov/FishingPoles.

Discover

Nature

freshwater seviche Serves 4 generously as an appetizer or 2 as a main dish

3 medium limes 1 pound bass, bluegill or crappie fillets (or a combination of all) 1 small red onion, diced 1 small sweet red pepper, diced 1 cup diced cucumber 1 to 2 jalapenos, finely chopped 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme ½ teaspoon (or more to taste) finely chopped fresh oregano, dill or basil—or a combination of all 1 avocado, diced 12 cherry tomatoes, halved (any kind or color) 3 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro, plus several sprigs for garnish ½ teaspoon salt

Squeeze the juice from one of the limes into a medium saucepan. Then add the two squeezed rinds and 1 quart of water. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat for 10 minutes. Raise the heat to high, add the fillets, cover and let the liquid return to a full boil. Immediately remove from the heat, hold the lid askew and drain off all liquid. Set the pan of fish aside, tightly covered for 2 minutes (depending on thickness of fillets) to finish cooking. Spread fish out on a cookie sheet to cool. Break fish into bite-sized pieces into a medium bowl. Add juice from remaining 2 limes (about ¹⁄³ cup), onion, red pepper, cucumber, jalapenos, olive oil, herbs, avocado, tomatoes, cilantro and salt. Cover and let stand at room temperature ½ hour. Serve in martini glasses, garnished with cilantro sprigs and whole lime slices. Accompany with a small bowl of tortilla chips. This also makes a light and tasty summer meal for two people. Serve on a bed of fresh greens and eat with warm, whole-wheat tortillas.

Find more wild recipes in Cooking Wild in Missouri. Order yours at mdcnatureshop.com. 14

feastmagazine.com

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cafeteria society

Caffetteria Modern CafĂŠ & Marketplace is the newest concept from the owners of The Mixx in Kansas City on p. 18. photography by anna petrow

innovative

GrowinG Methods Space can be a big challenge for urban farmers; aeroponics, hydroponics and aquaponics provide solutions. Written by natalie GallaGher

PhotoGraPhy by j. Pollack PhotoGraPhy

anTon’S Taproom and reSTauranT KANSAS CITY. anton kotar always knew he wanted Anton’s Taproom and Restaurant

in kansas city to be at the forefront of the farm-to-table movement. For kotar, this meant installing an aquaponics system. aquaponics takes hydroponics – growing plants in water without soil – and partners it with aquaculture. in the basement at anton’s, you’ll find tanks filled with tilapia; they’re fed with scraps from the kitchen. Water from the fish tanks is pumped into beds above the tanks, where kotar keeps an herb garden which produces rosemary, thyme, basil and mint. the water nourishes the herbs, and the plants in turn act as a natural water filter. the plants sit in a porous medium called hydroton clay; the plants and the hydroton keep ammonia and nitrogen levels down in the water that returns to the fish tanks, allowing fish and flora to work together. 1610 Main St., Kansas City, Missouri, antonskc.com

HamilTon HoSpiTaliTy ST. LOUIS. Paul and Wendy hamilton of Hamilton Hospitality, the enterprising husband-and-wife team behind St. louis restaurants such as Vin de Set and PW Pizza, started growing produce in vertical aeroponic towers in 2012. the towers stack suspended containers one on top of another, with the plant fed through one of several holes in the pot. as the roots dangle freely, a motorized pump keeps them hydrated with water showers and nutrients. “it's not easy to grow vegetables in [a] limited space, so when we were introduced to the towers, it was a no-brainer," Paul says. the 2,000-square foot greenhouse has 61 towers, each 11 pots high with four planting cells to a pot. the towers grow greens like lettuces, kale, mustard greens and basil; the bucket hydroponic system enables the hamiltons to grow fresh tomatoes all winter.

2017 Chouteau Ave., St. Louis, Missouri, hamiltonhospitality.net

Two SiSTerS Farm LAWRENCE, KS. at two Sisters Farm in lawrence, kansas, lettuce is grown without soil. instead, the hydroponic system nourishes the crisp green using a nutrient-film technique. “the plants are grown in a food-grade plastic tray, and they're fed through a constantly hydrating system that’s both water-efficient and nutrient-rich,” says ryan eddinger, who runs two Sisters with his girlfriend, ariel Simpson, and his daughters, Stella and Sophia. “it’s a way to dial into exactly what your plants need.” two Sisters grows in a greenhouse, which means it can provide fresh greens to the overland Park Farmers’ Market as well as local kansas city-area and lawrence restaurants – like Westside local, 715 restaurant, Merchant’s Pub and Grill, howard’s Grocery, Story, lawrence brewing co., Shadow Glenn Golf club and more – year round.

facebook.com/Two-Sisters-Farm-249934568447057

feastmagazine.com

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Paul Hamilton of Hamilton Hospitality tending vertical aeroponic towers.

Happy Hour Monday - Friday | 4:30pm - 6:00pm

Domestic Beer

Texas de Brazil Private Label Wines (by the glass)

Well Cocktails and Brazilian Caipirinhas

Martinis

Appetizer selections available at the bar Saint Louis Galleria | 314.352.8800 Near Dillardâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

TexasdeBrazil.com Hours and offers are subject to change in compliance with local or state liquor laws. You must be 21 years or older.

Inspired Local Food Culture

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where we’re dining From new restaurants to renewed menus, our staff and contributors share their picks for where we’re dining this month.

caFFetteria Modern caFé & MarketPlace WrittEn by JEnny VErgara

photography by anna pEtroW

PRAIRIE VILLAGE, KS. Caffetteria Modern Café & Marketplace is the latest concept from Jo Marie Scaglia, who owns the Mixx in Kansas City and overland park, Kansas. Fashioned after the stylish cafés found in italy, Caffetteria opened in March in prairie Village, Kansas, serving an eclectic menu based on fresh, seasonal ingredients. the menu ranges from rustic starters like creamy pimento cheese spread with crackers to a protein-packed poke salad. pizzas are made in a 4,800-pound custom Marra Forni pizza oven including the thai-inspired King of Siam, with thai peanut sauce, rotisserie chicken, julienned carrots, sunflower shoots, scallions, cilantro and red chile-hoisin sauce. the soda fountain serves soft drinks in flavors such as lemon-berry-açai and orange-hibiscus. Coffee drinks, tea, wine and local kombucha are on tap, as well as draft and bottled beers, plus a bloody Mary bar on weekends. Caffetteria offers a full coffee bar and pastry case, grab-and-go meals and a retail space stocked with jarred olives, house pimento spread and housemade pickles, in addition to dishware, cookbooks, hand towels and more.

25 On the Mall, Prairie Village, Kansas, caffetteriamoderncafe.com

Greek Belly Story and photography by ana Elliott

SPRINGFIELD, MO. Greek Belly is bringing Mediterranean flavor to downtown Springfield, Missouri. the fast-casual spot opened this month; owner John tsahiridis has a background rooted in traditional greek grub. in Springfield, he spent more than 12 years at galloway Station, notably at the restaurant's popular greek night. “after all those years, i realized i wanted to do more – more greek food, more authentic, more traditional. i didn't want to settle for anything less,” tsahiridis says.

Firecracker Pizza & Beer Story and photography by MabEl SuEn

ST. LOUIS. Firecracker Pizza & Beer serves one-of-a-kind pies and more alongside a selection of 60 taps in the grove neighborhood of St. louis. the concept comes from atomic Cowboy’s Chip Schloss, who dubs Firecracker’s service model “craft casual.” the signature medium-thin crust pies feature a lightly caramelized, crisp exterior with a toothsome chew and the ability hold up to robust sets of toppings. a subtle brush of red-chile oil along the edges gives each pizza what Schloss calls a “firecrackery snap.” Choose from highlights such as the pepperonius Monster with housemade king-size pepperoni, red onion, Firecracker sauce, mozzarella and lavender Shake, a spice mix of lavender, oregano and fennel seed. pair pizza with appetizers such as the Screamin’ Mimis for a fiery combo: smoked boneless chicken thighs basted and seared with sweet-chile oil and served with white and ninja sauces.

4130 Manchester Ave., St. Louis, Missouri, facebook.com/firecrackerpizzabeer

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at greek belly, his menu focuses on fresh flavors with nearly every item either made from scratch or imported from greece. gyros are a customer favorite, made with pork or chicken marinated overnight and freshly carved. in a space inspired by old greece, diners can enjoy a variety of spreads like hummus, melitzanosalata (roasted eggplant) and tirokafteri (spicy Feta), plus traditional dishes including souvlaki and baklava. to wash it all down, tsahiridis offers greek beer, greek wine and greek ouzo. Opa! 320 E. Walnut St., Springfield, Missouri, greekbelly.com

N EO O

q&A

julie truong chef-owner, dd mau Written by Lauren Smith

PhotograPhy by mabeL Suen

MARYLAND HEIGHTS, MO. Julie truong left Chicago to open the business of her dreams in St. Louis earlier this year: a healthy, fast-casual Vietnamese restaurant. truong developed a passion for cooking while growing up at her family’s business, Vinh Chop Suey. her new restaurant, DD Mau, which opened in maryland heights, missouri, in February, combines the influence of her mother's cooking and traditional Vietnamese flavors with her own twist. although light, truong’s dishes are packed with flavor: She uses housemade aïolis, lemon grass and garlic marinades, and oyster and honey sauce to create a collection of delicious Vietnamese plates.

How did you transition from fashion and marketing to the culinary industry? it was pretty easy, because my family worked in the restaurant industry, and i’ve always kept a journal of what i envisioned as the concept for my own restaurant. i had to learn how to operate a restaurant quickly, but building the menu came naturally to me. my parents owned a chop suey [restaurant], and mine is more of a Vietnamese restaurant. i took my recipes from my mom and aunt and made them a little more innovative for today’s age. How do you showcase your Chinese-Vietnamese roots at DD Mau?

a GOOD cocktail fixes MOST BAD dayS

We’ve discovered

I [serve] bao sliders, which is more of a Chinese dish, but everything else, like the vermicelli bowl, the rice bowls, and the bánh mís, are Vietnamese. traditionally, we don’t eat

red cabbage in Vietnamese food, but the pop of color is nice and the bitterness brings out another flavor profile to complement traditional Vietnamese dishes. the first thing many people think of as Vietnamese food is pho, so i wanted to feature grilled meats. in fast-casual dining, you need something to take out or to your office, so i focus on other ways to feature Vietnamese food in a grab-and-go style. Tell us about some of your favorite dishes. the vermicelli bowl, the bánh mí and the bao sliders – everyone loves those because it's a light bite. you don’t get too full and tired afterwards [at DD mau], because most Vietnamese dishes are made with rice noodles, which are gluten free; Vietnamese cuisine uses a lot of fresh veggies instead of cornstarch or oils. What does DD Mau bring to the St. Louis area? Vegans, vegetarians and people with gluten-free diets are really happy to find a place in town that offers those options. it caters to the residents and the businesses; it’s something they haven’t seen out here.

305 E. Walnut · Springfield, MO | (417) 832.1515 | TheorderSGF.com

11982 Dorsett Road, Maryland Heights, Missouri, ddmaustl.com

Inspired Local Food Culture

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jinho eom co-owner, love sushi

q&A

WRITTEN BY JESSICA VAUGhN | PhoToGRAPhY BY KEITh BoRGMEYER

COLUMBIA, MO. When the Eom family immigrated to the United States from Korea more than a decade ago, the promise of small-business success eventually led them to settle in Missouri. After a few years in Los Angeles, the family moved to Dixon, Missouri, to immerse themselves in small-town American life, where their sons could learn English. They carried their love of sushi with them on their journey, and opened Love Sushi, in 2009 inside an old KFC in Jefferson City. The restaurant serves up an array of fresh Japanese-style sushi rolls and as well as a Korean menu. “Back then, there was no sushi place [in Jefferson City],” says co-owner Jinho Eom. “We thought that might be a challenge, but also thought it might be an opportunity.” Last August, the Eoms seized another opportunity to expand into Columbia with their son Jinho at the helm. Grab a seat at the bar to witness the sushi-making magic in action; you’ll come face to face with the sushi chefs, including Jinho’s uncle Charles, who’s been crafting sushi for more than 15 years. (If you’re lucky, he just might toss you a sample.)

What makes Love Sushi stand out? We try to come up with new

ideas all the time among ourselves. We also try to ask our

customers what they like, then sometimes name it after them; we have a few rolls that are named after our customers. For instance, the Jack Roll [with spicy tuna, shrimp tempura, brown rice, pickled carrot, cucumber and jalapeño] – he’s a regular customer at the Jefferson City location. [Jack] actually recommended certain

ingredients that he liked, and we put it on our menu. You can always request it at the Columbia location, but usually it’s in Jeff City. Tell us about a few must-try dishes on the menu. Definitely the Mizzou Tiger Roll, with spicy tuna, cucumber, shrimp tempura, pepper-seared tuna and butterflied shrimp on top; the Stadium Roll, with spicy crab meat, cucumber, soft-shell crab, spicy tuna and the butterflied shrimp on top, is pretty great too. From the Korean menu, the hot stone bibimbap. A lot of people don’t know that in Korea, they only use spoons [to eat bibimbap]. When I offer customers spoons, sometimes they refuse and say, “I can use chopsticks just like Koreans.” But really, Koreans don’t use chopsticks. It’s really hard to eat bibimbap with chopsticks! Are there any differences between the Jefferson City and Columbia locations? Some of the menu items are different; maybe 90 percent are the same. The menu that Jeff City has is based on Jeff City locations: the Jeff City Roll, the Capitol Roll, things like that. In Columbia, we have the Mizzou Tiger Roll, Stadium Roll, Columbia Roll. We tried to make it slightly different based on the location. What’s your vision for the future of Love Sushi? For it to be one of the best places to eat in Columbia and Jeff City. I’m thinking [about opening] one other location here in Columbia, and maybe expanding to St. Louis or Kansas City. Nothing’s going yet, but we’re thinking about it. We need to focus on making this location solid first. 2101 W. Broadway, Ste. S, Columbia, Missouri, facebook.com/lovesushicomo

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573.775.5999 meramecmusictheatre.com Inspired Local Food Culture

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IN SEASON: JUNE ANd EARLY JULY

Apricots Sweet, firm apricots are a sure sign of summer. The fuzzy fruit is often dried, which concentrates its nutrients, notably vitamins A and C. Local chefs are using the summer stone fruit in a few different preparations this month. Written by nancy ancy StileS

baida ST. LOUIS. Dried apricots are a staple in Moroccan

cuisine, so owners abder and assia Meskine knew they’d be using them at Baida Moroccan Restaurant, which opened on South Grand boulevard in St. louis in 2013. currently, assia, who serves as executive chef, uses both dried apricots and an apricot sauce in her sweet couscous. “When we opened this restaurant, we were very, very worried – where are we going to find couscous?” abder recalls. “luckily, across from us we have Jay [international Foods]. Jay’s imports Moroccan couscous, so we found the [same] couscous we used in Morocco for our restaurant.” couscous is often served with vegetables or meat, but sweet couscous is another traditional preparation. after it’s cooked as usual, assia adds dried plums and apricots, which are reduced in apricot sauce, and tops it all with powdered sugar and cinnamon. Why is it so good? ““by tradition!” abder jokes. “the mix between the sweetness of the fruit mixed with the hot couscous is really very nice.” 3191 S. Grand Blvd., St. Louis, Missouri, baidarestaurant.com

café trio KANSAS CITY. executive chef Michael Giampetruzzi of Café Trio has loved apricots since he was young, although he says he doesn’t often see them in restaurants due to their short season. at café trio, which overlooks country club Plaza in Kansas city, dried apricots add a bright sweetness to brussels sprouts. the sprouts are pan-seared and tossed with burgers’ Smokehouse bacon, toasted almonds, julienned dried apricots and a cranberry compote for a hearty appetizer. the chef sources produce from local farmers’ markets as much as he can, and is glad to see fresh apricots as well as jams and preserves sold alongside the more readily available dried fruit. in the past, Giampetruzzi has also paired apricots – fresh and dried – with cayenne for a sweet and spicy vinaigrette to go with a frisée salad. “you can almost use [apricots] just like you would a peach; it’s very similar to that,” he says. “i think they could even be subbed out for them – you’ll get some tartness from the apricot, which can be offset by some added sugar or water in the recipe if tart is not what you're looking for.”

4558 Main St., Kansas City, Missouri, cafetriokc.com

bentley’s restaurant & pub LAKE OZARK, MO. clarence and Margaret Ziegler first opened Bentley’s Restaurant & Pub in Des Peres, Missouri, more than 40 years ago, which was followed by a second location a few years later in Olivette. in 1974, they moved the restaurant to lake Ozark, where it has remained a favorite for decades. their son, bill, has kept it a southeastern Missouri mainstay thanks to dishes like the apricot-glazed chicken, which was added to the menu about two years ago, alongside indulgent dishes such as escargot, chicken Wellington and prime rib. to make the apricot-glazed chicken, executive chef brad russell lightly breads a chicken breast before sautéing it with peppers, onions and sesame seeds. He then adds a sauce of apricot preserves and soy sauce. “the chicken is light, and not having a lot of flavor by itself, it takes [the apricot] on pretty well, and they just complement each other,” russell says. “i think [the flavors] just go hand in hand.”

3100 Bagnell Dam Blvd., Lake Ozark, Missouri, bentleysrestaurantmo.com

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q&A Weddings | Corporate Events Subdivision Parties Your favorite beer, wine & non-alcoholic beverages on tap and over ice.

We’ve got the drinks covered for your next event!

BOOK TRUCK: 314-471-7008 beerandwine@sarahsdrinkstop.com sarahsdrinkstop.com

john gordon jr. executive director and founder, boysgrow Written By Jenny Vergara

PhotograPhy By teresa floyd

KAnSAS CITY. as the founder and executive director of BoysGrow in Kansas City, John gordon, Jr. is gearing up for growth at the 8-year-old nonprofit organization. Boysgrow mentors local teen boys by empowering them with real-world entrepreneurial skills rooted in modern agriculture, the culinary arts, construction and overall business skills. gordon spent the better part of last year raising money to help build the cornerstone of the program's future, a 3,200-square-foot farm-to-fork event center and kitchen which will break ground next month on Boysgrow’s 10-acre farm. in addition, gordon, the boys and the planning committee are preparing to host two of their biggest fundraisers: gather & grow, a chef-driven farm dinner featuring Carlos falcon of Jarocho Pescados y Mariscos on aug. 26, and farm fest, a day for families to explore the Boysgrow farm with food from lidia Bastianich, on sept. 23.

What are you and the boys working on right now out at the farm? in the next phase of Boysgrow, we needed to work on the land. one thing we're working on is soil erosion, which has been a big issue for us with the rain we had this spring. to guard against that in the future, we’re planting a beautiful orchard with more than 100 trees that will be [visible] from inside the new building. additionally, we’re planting 30 percent more edible perennial plants this year, like blackberries, raspberries and strawberries, to allow them to put down root systems that will keep our valuable topsoil in place all year round. How will BoysGrow utilize the new educational and events space? the building gives us room for a new office, post-harvest food-handling area, vocational training space, and a culinary and canning kitchen in addition to an on-site event space that will be used to teach community cooking classes and to host future dinners and parties at the

spinpizza.com

AT CAFFETTERIA, WE BELIEVE

BREAKFAST CAN BE BEAUTIFUL.

farm. The new building will allow us to finally have a real home for the program. It’s built to look like a modern barn, and will utilize the latest in passive and green building techniques. It will not only give the boys hands-on experiences growing produce on the farm, but also harvesting and processing the food in our new kitchen. Prairie design Build, who

we're working with on for this project, broke ground July 1, so if all goes according to plan, we hope to have it completed and operational by the end of this year, so we can start utilizing it day one of 2019. Tell us more about your fundraising events. Carlos falcon of Jarocho and the committee are hard at work pulling together the last few details. We like [gather & grow] because it offers friends and family the opportunity to eat a farm-to-fork dinner on the farm. With local cocktails, beer and wine, Carlos will prepare a feast for everyone to sit down and enjoy together. later in the fall, we’ll host our second farm fest event, [where] families to come out to the farm with their kids and spend the day fishing, playing games, petting animals and enjoying all you can eat and drink.

THE SHOPS OF

PRAIRIE VILLAGE

25 ON THE MALL

CaffetteriaModernCafe.com

9301 E. 147th St., Kansas City, Missouri, boysgrow.com

Inspired Local Food Culture

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Regional RestauRant guide 4 Hands Brewing Co. 1220 S. Eighth St. St. Louis, MO 314.436.1559 4handsbrewery.com

Brick River Cider Co. 2000 Washington Ave. St. Louis, MO 314.224.5046 brickrivercider.com

Dalie’s Smokehouse 2951 Dougherty Ferry Road St. Louis, MO 636.529.1898 daliessmokehouse.com

Fratelli’s Ristorante 2061 Zumbehl Road St. Charles, MO 636.949.9005 fratellisristorante.com

Cafe Cusco 234 E. Commercial St. Springfield, MO 417.868.8088 cafecusco.com

DD Mau Vietnamese Eatery 11982 Dorsett Road Maryland Heights, MO 314.942.2300 ddmaustl.com

Gerard’s Restaurant 1153 Colonnade Center Des Peres, MO 314.821.7977 stlgerards.net

Aya Sofia 6671 Chippewa St. St. Louis, MO 314.645.9919 ayasofiacuisine.com

Café Ventana 3919 W. Pine Blvd. St. Louis, MO 314.531.7500 cafeventana.com

Defiance Ridge Vineyards 2711 S. Highway 94 Defiance, MO 636.798.2288 defianceridgevineyards.com

Hendricks BBQ 1200 S. Main St. St. Charles, MO 636.724.8600 hendricksbbq.com

BaiKu Sushi Lounge 3407 Olive St. St. Louis, MO 314.896.2500 baikustl.com

Caffetteria 25 on the Mall Prairie Village, KS 816.756.2300 caffetteriakc.com

Diablitos Cantina 4198 Manchester Ave. St. Louis, MO 314.535.9700 diablitoscantina.com

The Homesteader Cafe 100 E. Seventh St. Kansas City, MO 816.474.8333 thehomesteadercafe.com

Beast Craft BBQ Co. 20 S. Belt W Belleville, IL 618.257.9000 beastcraftbbq.com

Canterbury Hill Winery & Restaurant 1707 S. Summit Drive Holts Summit, MO 573.896.9966 canterburyhill.com

Edg-Clif Farms & Vineyard 10035 Edg-Clif Drive Potosi, MO 573.438.4741 edg-clif.com

House of Chow 2101 W. Broadway Columbia, MO 573.445.8800 houseofchow-como.com

Bella Vino Wine Bar & Tapas 325 S. Main St. St. Charles, MO 636.724.3434 bellavinowinebarstl.com

Chandler Hill Vineyards 596 Defiance Road Defiance, MO 636.798.2675 chandlerhillvineyards.com

Edibles & Essentials 5815 Hampton Ave. St. Louis, MO 314.328.2300 ediblesandessentials.com

Il Lazzarone 412 Delaware St. | 1628 Frederick Ave. Kansas City, MO | St. Joseph, MO 816.541.3695 | 816.273.0582 illazzarone.org

Charlie Hooper’s 12 W. 63rd St. Kansas City, MO 816.361.8841

El Patrón Cocina & Bar 2905 Southwest Blvd. Kansas City, MO 816.931.6400 elpatronkc.com/home

Kaldi’s Coffee Roasting Co. multiple locations kaldiscoffee.com

Farmers Gastropub 2620 S. Glenstone Ave. Springfield, MO 417.864.6994 farmersgastropub.com

Klondike Café at Montelle Vineyard 201 Montelle Drive at MO Highway 94 Augusta, MO 636.228.4464 montelle.com

Farm to You Market Cafe 5025 Old Highway 100 Washington, MO 844.682.2266 farmtoyoumarket.com

LaChance Vineyards 12237 Peter Moore Lane De Soto, MO 636.586.2777 lachancevineyards.com

Favazza’s on The Hill 5201 Southwest Ave. St. Louis, MO 314.772.4454 favazzas.com

Lenexa Public Market 8750 Penrose Lane Lenexa, KS 913.477.7516 lenexapublicmarket.com

Adam’s Smokehouse 2819 Watson Road St. Louis, MO 314.875.9890 adamssmokehouse.com

Bissell Mansion Restaurant & Dinner Theatre 4426 Randall Place St. Louis, MO 314.533.9830 bissellmansiontheatre.com Blood & Sand 500 St. Charles St. St. Louis, MO 314.241.7263 bloodandsandstl.com

Chaumette Vineyards & Winery 24345 State Route WW Ste. Genevieve, MO 573.747.1000 chaumette.com

Bluestem 900 Westport Road Kansas City, MO 816.561.1101 bluestemkc.com

Chaz on the Plaza at the Raphael Hotel 325 Ward Parkway Kansas City, MO 816.802.2152 raphaelkc.com

Bogart’s Smoke House 1627 S. Ninth St. St. Louis, MO 314.621.3107 bogartssmokehouse.com 24

SGF

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Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurants multiple locations chwinery.com

SGF

Lew’s Grill & Bar 7539 Wornall Road Kansas City, MO 816.444.8080 lewsgrillandbar.com

SGF

The Order at Hotel Vandivort 305 E. Walnut St. Springfield, MO 417.851.5299 theordersgf.com

Schlafly Tap Room 2100 Locust St. St. Louis, MO 314.241.2337 schlafly.com

Trattoria Giuseppe 5442 Old State Route 21 Imperial, MO 636.942.2405 trattoria-giuseppe.com

LoRusso’s Cucina 3121 Watson Road St. Louis, MO 314.647.6222 lorussos.com

Original Springs Hotel Restaurant 506 N. Hanover St. Okawville, IL 618.243.5458 theoriginalspringshotel.com

Triumph Grill 3419 Olive St. St. Louis, MO 314.446.1801 triumphgrill.com

Lucas Park Grille 1234 Washington Ave. St. Louis, MO 314.241.7770 lucasparkgrille.com

Pappy’s Smokehouse 3106 Olive St. St. Louis, MO 314.535.4340 pappyssmokehouse.com

Urban Chestnut Brewing Co. 3229 Washington Ave. 4465 Manchester Ave. St. Louis, MO 314.222.0143 urbanchestnut.com

Mai Lee 8396 Musick Memorial Drive Brentwood, MO 314.645.2835 maileestl.com

The Pressed Penny Tavern 1511 Westport Road Kansas City, MO 816.531.7687 thepressedpennytavern.com

Martin Brothers Winery 1623 Old Iron Road Hermann, MO 573.486.0236 martinbrotherswinery.com  Can bring in outside food

Q39 1000 W. 39th St. 11051 Antioch Road Kansas City, MO | Overland Park, KS 816.255.3753 | 913.951.4500 q39kc.com

The Mixx multiple locations mixxingitup.com

Rockfair Tavern 506 S. Franklin St. Cuba, MO 573.885.7518 facebook.com/rock.fair.tavern

Smoke Brewing Co. 209 SE Main St. Lee’s Summit, MO 816.525.2337 smokebrewingco.com

Mother’s Brewing Co. 215 S. Grant Ave. Springfield, MO 417.862.0423 mothersbrewing.com

Ruth’s Chris Steak House 1 N. Brentwood Blvd. #150 315 Chestnut St. Clayton, MO | St. Louis, MO 314.783.9900 | 314.259.3200 ruthschris.com

Spin! Neapolitan Pizza multiple locations spinpizza.com

NaCl + H2O 817 Pine St. Rolla, MO 573.426.6699 naclh2orolla.com

Rye 10551 Mission Road 4646 JC Nichols Parkway Leawood, KS | Kansas City, MO 913.642.5800 | 816.541.3382 ryekc.com

Stone Hill Winery 1110 Stone Hill Highway Hermann, MO 573.486.2221 stonehillwinery.com

Noboleis Vineyards 100 Hemsath Road Augusta, MO 636.482.4500 noboleisvineyards.com

Sanctuaria 4198 Manchester Ave. St. Louis, MO 314.535.9700 sanctuariastl.com

Super Smokers BBQ 601 Stockell Drive Eureka, MO 636.938.9742 supersmokers.com

Nudo 11423 Olive Blvd. St. Louis, MO 314.274.8046 nudohousestl.com

The Savoy at 21c 219 W. Ninth St. Kansas City, MO 844.577.5542 thesavoykc.com  Coming soon!

The Terrace at French Village 6188 Highway Y French Village, MO 573.358.7177 theterrace.com

Schlafly Bottleworks 7260 Southwest Ave. Maplewood, MO 314.241.2337 schlafly.com

Texas de Brazil 1137 St. Louis Galleria St. Richmond Heights, MO 314.352.8800 texasdebrazil.com

O’Dowd’s Gastrobar 4742 Pennsylvania Ave. Kansas City, MO 816.561.2700 odowdskc.com

Smitty’s Garage 8811 State Line Road Kansas City, MO 816.731.1455 eatatthegarage.com

Must Try

: The Spicy Sriracha Bleu Burger, made with Sriracha ranch, grilled onions, grilled jalapeños and blue cheese crumbles.

SGF

Van Gogh’s Eeterie 334 E. Commercial St. Springfield, MO 417.344.0085 vangoghseeterie.com

The Well 7421 Broadway St. Kansas City, MO 816.361.1700 waldowell.com

Wild Sun Winery 4830 Pioneer Road Hillsboro, MO 636.797.8686 wildsunwinery.com

We encourage you to visit any of these fine establishments as proud supporters of Feast Magazine. From fine dining to fast casual to wineries and breweries, there is an array of experiences to choose from, so support and eat local!

BY Region: St. Louis St. Charles County Kansas City Columbia, Missouri Springfield, Missouri Mid-Missouri and Southern Missouri Southern Illinois Winery and Vineyard Brewery Inspired Local Food Culture

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toast to tomatoes

Cool down with roasted-tomato Margaritas on p. 32. photography by becky hardin

botanical

CoCktails

Lifted spirits kaNsas city. For Stacy Shinn of Lifted Spirits, a small-batch distillery and bar in the Crossroads Arts District of Kansas City, the best way to lighten up cocktails is seasonal produce. The Crossroads Sour uses fresh blackberries for blackberry simple syrup, which is then combined with Lifted Spirits Bright Gin, lime, Cointreau, and orange and Angostura bitters. “Another way to work with summertime fruits is to muddle them into a cocktail," she says. The Maid cocktail, for example, with simple syrup, fresh lime juice and Bright Gin, has a cool, crisp flavor thanks to muddled cucumber and mint. Shinn says she uses as much local farmers’ market produce as possible.

1734 Cherry St., Kansas City, Missouri, liftedspiritskc.com

Forget winter's heavy cocktails. This summer, local bartenders are turning to fresh fruits, flowers and herbs to liven up classics. Written By lauren smith

PhotograPhy By Brad zWeerink

summer is the perfect time of year to sip a drink as fresh as it looks. Botanical flavors, derived from plants, can include citrus (lemon, grapefruit), herbs and vegetables (cucumber, mint) and flowers (hibiscus, chamomile). these local spots are taking housemade botanical simple syrups, fresh fruit and flowers to the next level.

Café Osage st. louis. Café Osage, a restaurant and bar in St. Louis' Central West End, is part of Bowood Farms, which gives bartender Jamie Everding access to an on-site garden. She says the majority of cocktails are made with botanical simple syrups of fresh fruit and herbs. “We have a produce garden across the street and a rooftop garden where we grow most of our herbs, which really shoot off in the summer,” she says. “The Cucumber Revival has a cucumber shrub from our garden, lemon-balm simple syrup, North Shore gin and cucumber liqueur and it’s topped off with a Brut.” The café also makes herb-infused sodas made with greens from the rooftop in flavors such as basil-peach and grapefruit-mint.

4605 Olive St., St. Louis, Missouri, bowoodfarms.com

MudLOunge sPRiNGFiElD, Mo. Springfield, Missouri’s MudLounge, the cocktail counterpart to its

more study-friendly Mudhouse Coffee location, has been serving up fresh, fruit-forward cocktails for more than 10 years. “We gained such a following for them that they’ve kind of added to our identity,” explains head bartender Ryan Walter. “On our spring and summer menu, we try to use a lot of fresh fruit and herbs; we do a lot with mint, cucumber, grapefruit juice and [housemade] sweet and sour [mix].” MudLounge puts a fresh spin on all its drinks: The Ramona Flowers, for example, is made with rye, Campari, St-Germain, crème de violette and fresh lime, and the Lavender French 75 combines Journeyman Bilberry Black Hearts Gin, lavender simple syrup, sparkling wine and fresh lemon for two distinctly aromatic, floral cocktails. However, “The cucumber lemonade is our most popular drink,” Walter says, featuring Hendrick’s Gin, cucumber, housemade cucumber simple syrup, lemon juice, a twist of lemon and soda water. 321 E. Walnut St., Springfield, Missouri, mudhousecoffee.com/mudlounge

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N EO O

q&A

The original winery of Missouri since 1847

sherry raleigh-adams co-owner, gateway custom malt Written by nancy StileS

PhotograPhy by Sean locke

MONTGOMERY CITY, MO. For brewers and distillers, it’s not always easy to source local ingredients, as malted grain (usually barley) is an essential ingredient, but it’s not commonly grown in Missouri. Gateway Custom Malt hopes to change that. to make malt, barley is soaked in water to germinate – or sprout – and then dried; you can also use wheat, rye oats and more. owners Sherry raleigh-adams and Mike adams want to provide brewers and distillers with malt sourced within 250 miles of their home base in Montgomery city, Missouri, about halfway between St. louis and columbia. they malt barley and wheat in small batches, giving their clients complete control over the finished product.

How did you get into malting? Mike and i are both avid beer and spirits drinkers; we enjoy the different nuances and flavors, especially in craft beer; we also like the farm-to-table movement, and that got us thinking about the malting side of the business. it used to be that Missouri had quite a few malting companies, and all those were pretty much bought out by the 1970s and closed down by the mega-maltsters. that took away brewers’ ability to [use] a truly Missouri malt, and we wanted to change that. What’s your malting process? [We have] a 9,500-square-foot facility sitting on five acres in Montgomery city. We steep and germinate our grains on a specially constructed steeping table, [which] holds about 1½ to 2 tons of grain at a time. that’s our batch size. after several days of steeping and germinating, that grain is transferred to our kiln, and that gently dries the grain and heats it at the end of the cycle for color. that can take up to 24 hours. We clean it – we have it professionally tested for brewing quality – bag it and then it’s ready to be brewed. Where do you source your grain? We’ve gotten barley from Versailles, Missouri, and we’re working with farmers to grow malting-quality grain [here]. We don’t have a climate that makes it the easiest crop, so we’re working with agronomists and farmers to learn what varieties of grain work best in Missouri, and the growing conditions that have to occur. our local farmers produce beautiful, robust grain, and we want those grains to stay in Missouri. our mission is to bridge the gap between those two partners, our innovative, talented brewers and the local farmers, so Missouri brewers can offer a truly original Missouri beverage. Why is it so important to you to

Kick’n into Summer with Jacquesse crisp citrus notes of orange and a hint of lemon lime

malt locally? We’re different than the mega

malthouses: Our batch size is 1½ to 2 tons, and that allows us to customize the process and give our clients what they truly want, rather than just what’s available. Mega

malthouses produce batches of 200 tons and bigger; there’s not gonna be any customization done with them at all. the way we see it, we’re here to help the local craft distillers and brewers stand out from the rest of the brewing world by offering them locally sourced ingredients that just aren’t found elsewhere. gatewaymalt.com

Pur PPurc urcc has hasee a t l o ccal al rret retai etai ai l ers o r o nl i ne Hermann, H ermann, MO • 800.909.9463 • st stonehill onehillwinery.com onehill Inspired Local Food Culture

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where we’re drinking Check out what we’re sipping at bars, restaurants, breweries, wineries and coffee shops. The W karaoke Story and photography by MabEl SuEn

UNIVERSITY CITY, MO. a luxurious new asian-style karaoke lounge, The W Karaoke in university City, Missouri, features eye-popping contemporary interior design, state-of-the-art sound systems and a full bar complete with a snack menu. the concept comes from the family behind local Chinese-cuisine mainstays Corner 17 and Joy luck buffet. the space is comprised of 10 private karaoke rooms, as well as a public common area where anyone can queue up to croon their favorite tunes. an ever-growing library of songs features thousands of options in English, Chinese, Korean, Japanese and Vietnamese. the bar features six draft beers as well as domestic and imported options by the can and bottle. Wine, whiskey and vodka are available by the bottle for groups, plus wines by the glass and signature cocktails are also on hand, such as the Saketini with sake and plum wine.

6655 Delmar Blvd, University City, Missouri, 314.376.4055, thewkaraoke.com

Tie & Timber beer Co. Story and photography by ana Elliott

SPRINGFIELD, MO. the new Tie & Timber Beer Co. held its grand opening in april, offering one-of-a-kind pours and a laid-back vibe in the rountree neighborhood of Springfield, Missouri. owners Jennifer leonard and Curtis Marshall moved from denver to build this passion project – literally – from the ground up; they’ve both been inspired and encouraged by other local rising-star breweries like 4 by 4 brewing Co. and lost Signal brewing Co. the taproom captures the feel of their Colorado roots, featuring dark wood tones and recycled materials. no matter your palate, there's a beer for you here: debut offerings include a saison, a coconut porter, a new England ipa and the bob ross american brown ale. “So far, rountree has just blown us away with their support,” Marshall says. “We’re not doing this to get rich. We’re doing this because we want to build and be part of a community.”

1451 E. Cherry St., Springfield, Missouri, tieandtimberbeerco.com

brookside barrio WrittEn by JEnny VErgara

photography by anna pEtroW

KANSAS CITY. restaurateur Chris ridler headed south of the plaza to open

his third Mexican concept, Brookside Barrio, with managing partner luke pickett in February. originally a gas station, this summery hot spot in Kansas City’s brookside neighborhood now offers more outdoor seating than indoor. Snag a seat on the covered patio, centered on a large outdoor bar, and order one of eight housemade Margaritas. Spice it up with the Spicy piña Margarita made with habanero- and pineapple-infused tequila. treat yourself with the $19 top-shelf Margarita, El rey, made with grand Mayan Extra añejo and grand Marnier. the cocktail list also features drinks like melon agua fresca with Sobieski orange vodka, melon, lime, agave and fresh mint, or the Smokin' paloma with Vida mezcal, grapefruit and lime agave. Craving a cerveza? don’t miss the solid selection of Mexican beers on tap, including pacifico, Corona, dos Equis, Modelo, tecate and $3 Estrella Jalisco. as for the food, guests will find what ridler calls “Cali-Mex” or “fresh Mex,” with many dishes focused on seasoned grilled meats and fresh vegetables. try the ceviche, duck carnitas tacos or the cilantro-red snapper plate with chimichurri and mango relish to get just a taste of what brookside barrio is all about. 6227 Brookside Plaza, Kansas City, Missouri, brooksidebarrio.com

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N eo o

q&A

daniel bauer co-owner, kaw point meadery Written by Pete Dulin

PhotograPhy by zach bauman

KANSAS CITY, KS. Founded by Daniel bauer, John zumalt and Sam Suddarth, Kaw Point Meadery is the Kansas city area’s first commercial meadery and taproom. When Kaw Point opens later this summer, it will serve housemade mead, distilled from honey, in a 2,100-square-foot space in Strawberry hill in Kansas city, Kansas. in addition to the taproom, the partners plan to offer tours to give guests a glimpse into the meadmaking process.

Why open a meadery? We want to live the american dream of owning and running a small business, answering to no one but ourselves and producing a unique product that others enjoy. if, through making mead, i can help somebody relax from their troubles or expand their horizons, it's worth it. How did you first get interested in mead? i studied botany and chemistry at oregon State university. my biology study partner and i started talking beer and fermentation; he was taking the food and fermentation science degree. i was fascinated that nectar from flowers could go through this transformation into honey via bees, and then i could transform that into alcohol. i began reading all i could find, and started making make my own mead. in 2013, i moved back to Kansas city and started making it with my longtime friends and now business partners, Sam and John. Tell us about the mead at Kaw Point. initially, our offerings will be mostly lighter, easy-drinking session meads around 6.5-percent alcohol by volume (abV), dry to semi-sweet. Flavor combinations that will be available first include hopped, lavender-lemonade, hibiscus-cinnamon, rose petal-rosehip and traditional. Some of our 11- to 16-percent abV meads will be barrel-aged, fruited or spiced. Pollinators'

Reserve, a small-batch series, will showcase specialty honey from local sources and around the world. I love the elegance and diversity that can come from simply fermenting incredible honeys and water together. Is meadmaking more like

brewing or winemaking? it's much more similar to wine production than beer. however, wine has all of these [rules]: can i add other sugar sources? can i age wine on adjuncts other than oak? Wine is at the mercy of what your growing season shaped up to be like. With regard to beer, craft beer has opened up to a whole new world of flavor potential with crazy combinations that nobody would have thought about years ago. much of that potential can directly translate over to mead as well. Where do you source your honey? We source the vast majority of our honey from local beekeepers and honey packers around the Kansas city metro and Kansas, [plus] nectar our bees don't have access to, [like] meadowfoam honey from a beekeeper in oregon, heather honey from the Scottish highlands and tasmanian leatherwood honey from new zealand. i look forward to introducing Kansas city to the flavor potential that different honeys from around the world offer.

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613 N. Sixth St., Kansas City, Kansas, kawpointmeadery.com

Inspired Local Food Culture

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Story, recipe and photography by becky hardin

Roasted-tomato maRgaRita Keep any remaining purée in a sealed container and refrigerate for future use. SerVeS | 1 | Roasted-tomato PuRée (Yields ½ cup)

1 lb cherry tomatoes drizzle olive oil 1 clove garlic, minced 1 tsp sea salt 1 tsp black pepper ½ tsp chile powder (optional) ¼ cup water

Roasted-tomato maRgaRita this summer, ditch that bottle of bloody Mary mix: this fun and fresh cocktail uses in-season roasted tomatoes to add some flair and flavor to a classic Margarita. tomato doesn't have to be reserved for bloody Marys, although you can use this roasted-tomato purée in homemade bloody Mary mix, too – simply combine it with salt and pepper, Worcestershire sauce, horseradish and vodka. by roasting your own tomatoes, which is quick and easy, you get a fresh, sugar-free tomato base for your cocktail. this roasted-tomato Margarita is a hit each and every time i make it, mixing the best of Margaritas and bloody Marys. Using fresh produce in this fun cocktail makes all the difference and helps the flavors to really shine, and i love the added kick from the chile powder. growing up, my dad would sing guy clark's "homegrown tomatoes," which says: "only two things that money can't buy, and that's true love and homegrown tomatoes!" add some tequila and you’re set.

maRgaRita

cup roasted-tomato purée (recipe below) 1½ oz tequila 1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice chile powder, for garnish coarse sea salt, for garnish lime wedges, for garnish

| preparation – roasted- tomato purée | preheat oven to 350°F. in a large bowl, toss together tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper and chile powder. Spread tomato mixture onto a lipped baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes. remove from oven; in the bowl of a high-powdered blender or food processor, combine tomato mixture and water. blend on high until totally smooth. Set aside to cool to room temperature; strain out any remaining solids.

| preparation – margarita | in a cocktail shaker filled with ice, combine tomato purée with tequila and lime juice; shake well. on a small plate, mix chile powder and sea salt. Wipe the rim of a cocktail glass with lime wedge, then dip in salt mixture. Fill glass with ice, strain in Margarita and garnish with lime wedge. Serve.

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Becky Hardin is the recipe developer, photographer and writer behind thecookierookie.com. Her work has been featured on sites such as The Huffington Post, The New York Times and Better Homes and Gardens. Her recipes and photography been featured in print in publications such as Women's World Magazine, Redbook and Family Circle. She is a self-taught cook who loves to create recipes anyone can make and everyone will love.

on The shelf : june PIcks

WINE

tipple Hill winery & VineyarD’s petite pearl written by HiLary HeDGes

Provenance: easton, Missouri PaIrIngs: Roasted pork loin • Burnt ends • Lasagna

the only place you’ll find Petite Pearl wine in Missouri is in buchanan County, where Tipple Hill Winery & Vineyard uses grapes grown from a family-owned vineyard in st. Joseph, Missouri, to produce the dry red wine. the Petite Pearl grape was developed in Minnesota and shows strong cold-weather hardiness with lower acidity and higher tannin levels, says tipple Hill winemaker Daniel McLaughlin. aged 15 months in French oak, it has a well-rounded mouthfeel, bright and balanced flavors of dark fruit and lingering tannins on the finish. tipple Hill also makes a sweet version of the wine; both are available at the easton, Missouri, tasting room just five miles east of st. Joseph. tipplehillwinery.com

WINE& CHEESE ADVENTURE!

...where the outside world ends and serenity begins

cheese and charcuterie boards wine and cheese pairings gourmet sandwiches

~ ~ ~ homemade ice cream ~ local small batch delectables

Hilary Hedges is a former newsie whose passion for wine led her out of the newsroom and into the cellar. She is currently director of sales and marketing and assistant winemaker at Amigoni Urban Winery in Kansas City.

BEER

For wedding & events info@wildsunwinery.com For the latest, including our weekend music line-up, follow us

torn label brewing Co.’s HigH tai written by ryan niCKeLson

sTyle: american iPa (7.2% abV) PaIrIngs: tuna poke • Whole roasted pig • Sweet dinner rolls

1099 Welt Street, Weston, MO 64098

GREENDIRTFARM.COM/CREAMERY

4830 Pioneer Road, Hillsboro, MO 63050 636-797-8686 | www.wildsunwinery.com

High tai from Kansas City’s torn Label brewing Co. is a juicy Mai tai-inspired iPa brewed with lime zest, orange peel and cherry juice. the beer pours a cloudy, hazy, light coral color and the aroma is all tropical; it’s made with hops from australia and new Zealand. Pair this cocktail-inspired beer with light seafood and Polynesian fare at your next backyard luau. tornlabel.com Brothers Brandon and Ryan Nickelson are available to help with beer picks and pairing recommendations at their store, Craft Beer Cellar, a craft beer shop in Clayton, Missouri, with an upcoming location in South City. To learn more, visit craftbeercellar.com/clayton.

SPIRIT

Union Horse Distilling Co.’s rolling stanDarD foUr-grain miDwestern wHiskey written by Jenn tosatto

Provenance: Lenexa, Kansas (46% abV) Try IT: in a whiskey smash

Union Horse Distilling Co. in Lenexa, Kansas, continues to experiment with its new Distiller series, giving its distillers free rein to play with new ideas and concepts. the first in this series is rolling standard Four-Grain Midwestern whiskey, combining american single-malt whiskey and wheated bourbon. the typical whiskey notes of vanilla and light caramel are present, but what defines the flavor here are the unexpected hints of dark fruit and cinnamon. Despite being 92 proof, it’s quite mixable in cocktails; i find mint especially brings out the best in this whiskey. unionhorse.com You can find Jenn Tosatto running the bar at Mission Taco Joint's Kansas City location. She also loves donating her skills to many charity events around the city, as well as working private events.

1220 Artisan Spirits saint louis, mo | est. 2018

Inspired Local Food Culture

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JUNE-SEPTEMBER 2018 CALENDAR AUGUST

JUNE 7

St. Charles Municipal Band

St. Charles Community Big (Jazz) Band Concert

StreetsFest Concert on Beale Street

PRIDE St. Charles

17-19 Festival of the Little Hills

Food Trucks in Frontier Park

Music on Main – Vynal Tap

Frontier Park

Streets of St. Charles

Frontier Park

100-200 blks of North Main

St. Charles County Symphony Concert

OPO, 119 South Main

3-4 Riverfest 2018 Frontier Park

St. Charles Community Big (Jazz) Band Concert

St. Charles Municipal Band

Frontier Park

St. Charles Community Big (Jazz) Band Concert

Frontier Park

Celebration and Reenactment of St. Rose Philippine Duchesne’s Arrival on the St. Charles Riverfront

Frontier Park

Food Trucks in Frontier Park

Frontier Park

SEPTEMBER 2

JULY 8

Music on Main – PepperLand

100-200 blks of North Main Main Street & Frontier Park

Frontier Park

St. Charles Community Big (Jazz) Band Concert

Frontier Park

StreetsFest Concert on Beale Street

Streets of St. Charles

StreetsFest Concert on Beale Street

Music on Main – Serapis

14-16 Mosaics Fine Art Festival

Streets of St. Charles

100-200 blks of North Main

24-28 St. Charles County Fair Rotary Park – Wentzville

StreetsFest Concert on Beale Street

Streets of St. Charles North Main Street

Music on Main – Rogers & Nienhaus Band

100-200 blks of North Main

21-23 Augusta Harvest Festival

For all events and details, visit DiscoverStCharles.com

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Augusta

28-30 Octoberfest Frontier Park

get buzzed

Find an array of honey-based products at Messner Bee Farm in Raytown, Missouri, on p. 36. photography by angela bond

Messner Bee FarM written by Jenny VerGara

PhotoGraPhy by anGela bond

raytoWn, Mo. Messner Bee Farm is your one-stop shop

for a sweet selection of local artisan products, all made from local honey and beeswax. owners erik and rachael Messner harvest both straight from their own hives, as well as sourcing from nearby beekeepers. Using all-natural beekeeping practices, the couple keeps their hives on their property in raytown, Missouri, and will even rescue hives that are in distress or need a new home; you’ll also find their retail shop open to the public thursday through Saturday. the shop, which opened last october, features warm, rustic décor and gorgeous honey-colored wood walls with hexagonal hive shaped shelves featuring their products. erik, an engineer, is the head beekeeper; rachael, a Kansas city art institute graduate, develops the products, designs the labels and packaging, and runs the shop. rachael makes scented lip balms, beard oils, deodorants and solid perfumes from the beeswax. creative flavors include black walnut-honey, lavender lemonade, lemon grass-mint, ginger-peach, masala chai, caramel apple spice, earl Grey, strawberry-rhubarb and wild cherry-rose, plus two new flavors for summer: hibiscus-lime and pineapple-lychee. Messner bee Farm also sells raw honey, bee pollen and honey sticks. this summer, look for an expanded product selection when the Messners gain access to a commercial kitchen; they also plan to sell beekeeping equipment. in addition to the Messners’ own products, you’ll find a fine selection of locally made products such as loose-leaf tea from hugo tea co., handmade mugs from bekah bliss Pottery and handmade ceramic honey pots from local artist Kate Schroeder.

8301 Westridge Road, Raytown, Missouri, messnerbeefarm.com

written by nancy StileS

plantlink soil moisture sensor PlantLink brings a 21st-century approach to gardening: Using its technology, you can monitor your herbs, vegetables, fruits, flowers and more to make sure they’re getting enough water. Simply identify the plant in the app and place the sensors in the soil – the battery lasts a year – and it will tell you via text, email or push notification when the plant needs water. You can even add a PlantLink valve to your hose to water your vegetable garden when you’re not home. For more information or to purchase the sensor, visit myplantlink.com. photo courtesy plantlink

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the swag produce bag it’s peak season for fresh produce. Unfortunately, that can often mean delicious items from the farmers’ market go bad before you have a chance to use everything. the Swag Produce bag helps extend the life of your fruits, vegetables and herbs naturally using three different layers of unbleached cotton. the middle layer absorbs and holds water, drawing moisture away from produce that would otherwise cause it to rot faster. Grab the bag in three different storage sizes or a large grocery-sized bag. For more information or to purchase a produce bag, visit theswagusa.com. Photo coUrteSy the SwaG

JUNE 14, 2018 | 6:30pm-8:00pm GENERAL ADMISSION $35, VIP $55

Missouri Athletic Club

405 WASHINGTON AVE. ST. LOUIS, MO 63102

Get ready to talk St. Louis sports with your favorite Post-Dispatch sports writers! Doors open at 5:30 | Program starts at 6:30

Inspired Local Food Culture

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On Vegetables

james forbes

co-owner, old north provisions and good life growing WrITTeN By HeaTHer rISKe

PHOTOGraPHy By J. POLLaCK PHOTOGraPHy

of planning, presentations and cook-offs, his proposal to expand Good Life Growing – a St. Louis urban farm aimed at combating food insecurity – beat out 24 other “foodie entrepreneurs” in the Fantasy Food Fare Competition. In addition to $100,000, Forbes and his partners received the keys to a 4,400-square-foot space in the Old North neighborhood, including an outfitted commercial kitchen, two years’ paid rent, free branding, a restaurant mentor and more. The result is Old North Provisions, a locally sourced grocery store, event space and comfort-food buffet that will open this summer.

N eO O

ST. LOUIS. James Forbes entered the contest on a whim. But after months

q&A

Tell us about the concept for Old North Provisions. The primary component is a locally sourced, sustainable grocery store featuring Good Life produce as well as items produced within 15 miles of St. Louis. We’re partnering with City Greens [a grocery cooperative in The Grove], so we’ll offer a similar model; people will have the option to become members and receive discounted pricing. Specifically, we’ll be sourcing vegetables and produce from Bohlen Family Farms, and dried goods, like salsa from Two Men & a Garden or Freddie Lee’s gourmet sauces. We’ll also have a Missouri comfort food-themed buffet serving dishes like bacon-braised kale with locally sourced rice, and “unfried” chicken, which looks and tastes like fried chicken but is actually baked and coated in panko crumbs. Ideally, the buffet component will source a lot of items from our grocery store with the hopes that folks who live in and around the North St. Louis area who might otherwise be hesitant to buy some of the stuff we have on the shelves can see it, taste it and experience it [in a dish], so it might inspire them to cook more at home. Lastly, we’re going to be available as a private event space where people can hold parties, events, business meetings and more. What are you trying to share with the neighborhood? We’re just trying to bring back that authentic feel of a neighborhood market. That’s not to knock the big-box stores, but as a lot of grocery stores left some of the slower-populated, lower-income parts of St. Louis, it’s left a lot of folks with no other options other than to travel far outside of the neighborhood to get to a grocery store. We’re looking to serve the community that we’re in, but we’re also trying to give people a reason to come to Old North aside from going to Crown Candy [Kitchen] and looking at the [historic] houses. People can come and experience what the neighborhood has to offer, and ideally strike up a conversation and meet people who live here. What’s next for Good Life and Old North Provisions? Down the line, we hope to be able to offer a shared-use kitchen or serve as a food aggregator for a lot of the local community gardens that don’t have a place to wash, package and store their inventory. We’re also going to be working with Hussmann [a local refrigeration and fresh-food storage corporation] to prototype a living-produce merchandiser. The idea is that you’d be able to have a member of our staff cut a head of lettuce for you on-site, so the lettuce is only a couple of seconds old as opposed to what you’d find at the grocery store. 2720 N. 14th St., St. Louis, Missouri, goodlifegrowing.com

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WrITTeN By LaureN SMITH

With chef Jeremy Fox’s first cookbook, On Vegetables, you’ll be able to make use of summer’s fresh produce like never before. Fox got his start at the Michelin-starred ubuntu in Napa Valley, California, serving dishes like spring peas with white chocolate, macadamia nuts and lavender almonds. In 160 modern yet approachable dishes, Fox has attempted to redefine the art of vegetable-based cuisine and encourages readers to use the entire vegetable (seed-to-stock). His creative methods and combinations highlight various textures and flavor profiles of seasonal produce. First, Fox gives an overview of his complicated history as a “food celebrity,” followed by an ode to the local farmers he partners with and a rundown of various vegetables. His recipes are astonishingly unique, with colorful yet simplistic dishes such as cream of sunchoke soup with persimmon red-eye gravy, and butternut squash and ricotta mousse on spiced bread. The cookbook ends with a detailed list of what’s in Fox’s larder, including dairy, breads, sauces, salts, pickles and more. By Jeremy Fox phaidon.com

Gerard’s Restaurant rich in Culinary tradition Proudly Serving St. Louis for 23 Years

Made to order  Steaks  Pasta  Oysters  Fresh Fish Colonnade Center 1153 Colonnade Center | Des Peres 314-821-7977 | stlgerards.net

happy hour Monday through Friday | 2 p.m.-6 p.m.

half price appetizers • house margaritas • mojitos

Monday All day house margarita and Mojitos $3.99 Taco Tuesday menu All tacos on special ranging from $1.99 to $2.99 Monday through Sunday 11 a.m. - 10 p.m. 2905 Southwest Blvd. | Kansas City, Missouri 64108 | elpatronkc.com/home/

Inspired Local Food Culture

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Seedz ProviSionS Story and photoGraphy by mabeL Suen

cLAyTOn, MO. Just a couple doors downs from Seedz Cafe, Seedz

Provisions debuted last winter in the demun neighborhood of Clayton, missouri. the new retail counterpart to Seedz’s plant-based café features vegan grab-and-go food, baked goods, plant-based beverages and ethically sourced gifts. “we wanted to expand to be able to offer all sorts of fun things and put our healthy, plant-based twist on them,” says Cara Schloss, who has co-owned the Seedz brand with her partner, monty Gralnick, since the café’s debut in 2013. Schloss brings her experience in the café’s kitchen to the forefront at Seedz provisions with creative offerings at the tiny but mighty 500-square-foot shop. Vegan sushi, sandwiches, salads and wraps make it easy for visitors to pick up a quick, nutritious lunch, plus a selection of dairy-free sweets. Sushi rolls come stuffed with brown rice and fillings such as tempeh and mushroom “scallops.” dessert options include items such as gluten-free street-style waffles, muffins and donuts layered with delicate flavors including strawberry cream, mocha-almond fudge and cashew cream. Seedz also offers drinks such as chaga chai and other tea lattes as well as small-batch, wood-roasted coffee brewed with custom equipment from washington state-based pull Caffé. buyer tova Chesnin works to fill the sunny storefront with goods that capture the ethos of Seedz’s lifestyle-based trading post – what Schloss refers to as “a new bohemian general store.” Customers will find everything from vegan cookbooks and locally made artisan foodstuffs to kitchen and beauty products. “it’s a way of life. it’s what you eat, what you read, what you put around you, what you wear and how you cook – just an entire approach to good living with a higher vibration,” Chesnin says. 6344 S. Rosebury, Clayton, Missouri, seedzcafe.com

artisan products pam’s hot peppers

order her peppers online: She ships them all across the country. in addition to fresh hot written by Liz miLLer peppers, Shelburn sells dehydrated peppers, STAFFORD, MO. pam Shelburn grows some salt and seasoning grinders and, new this of the hottest peppers in the world on her year, dip mixes. Shelburn also sells portable property in Stafford, missouri: ghost peppers, pepper powders. “Ghost is my favorite,” she trinidad “butch t” Scorpion peppers, Carolina says. “i carry it with me. if we go to a mexican reapers and more. in nearby Springfield, she’s restaurant, we take our ghost powder so we simply known as “the pepper Lady,” and she can spice up the salsa; it’s never hot enough. affectionately refers to her loyal customers you can just sprinkle a little or a lot, and it’s as “pepper heads.” you can find Shelburn at easy to control.” her Pam’s Hot Peppers booth at the Greater Springfield Farmers’ market, or simply pamsproduce.com

honey belle farm honey written by Lauren Smith

LARIMORE, MO. Located on a beautiful stretch of land in Larimore, missouri, just north of St. Louis, Honey Belle Farm creates a variety of creamed honeys in bold flavors like apple, cinnamon, pecan and almond. the farm’s new honey sticks and honey dippers are the perfect additions to tea, coffee and smoothies. Seasonal raw honey is made from wildflower, clover and black locust in the spring, and buckwheat, golden rod and clover in the fall. Look for honey belle products at the Fenton, Creve Coeur and tower Grove farmers’ markets in the St. Louis area.

facebook.com/honeybellefarm photo CourteSy honey beLLe Farm

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Your Seafood Favorites Right on Route 66

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6.2 mayor’s spring cruise in

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Cruise with the mayor. All vehicles welcome. Car show before cruise, live music after. If you’re not cruising, bring your lawn chairs and coolers.

6.22 – 6.23

30th annual firecracker festival in festus west city park

6.22: Hillbilly Authority, 6-10pm 6.23: John McEuen, Scotty Bratcher, Edgar Winter Band, 6-10pm

Only 20 minutes from St. Louis, Kimmswick and Jefferson County & Ste. Genevieve wine countries.

6.30 swingin’ under the stars in festus west city park The Missouri Big Band, 6:30-9:30pm

HEAD TO FESTUS’ FACEBOOK PAGE FOR MORE DETAILS ON THESE EVENTS AND MORE.

For a one night stay or a weekend getaway, stay at one of these fine establishments. www.cityoffestus.org

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Try our new summer cocktail menu.

Locally roasted coffee & fresh made-from-scratch New Orleans fare sourced from local farm ingredients.

CAFEVENTANA.COM • 3919 WEST PINE BLVD., ST. LOUIS, MO 63108 • 314.531.7500 •

Join us on Father’s Day and check out our special menu for Dad!

E P L AT E S

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Join Sanctuaria and Diablitos for their delicious Father’s Day specials!

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Diablitos is now serving lunch 6 days a week! Tuesday - Sunday • 11am - 3pm (Now located inside of Sanctuaria)

DIABLITOSCANTINA.COM • 4198 MANCHESTER AVE., ST. LOUIS, MO 63110 • 314.535.9700 •

blackberry beauty

Take advantage of blackberry season, which starts this month and runs through August, with a refreshing summer salad on p. 48. photography by jennifer silverberg

STory and reCIPe by aManda ellIoTT PhoToGraPhy by dreW PIeSTer

Greek-Style Shrimp With Seared tomatoeS and pepperS I prefer buying heirloom tomatoes, as they tend to be sweeter and come in a variety of beautiful colors. ServeS | 4 to 6 | seared tomatoes and peppers

2 1 1 5

½ 2 ¼ 1 1 1

Tbsp extra virgin olive oil fennel bulb, cored and julienned yellow onion, julienned cloves garlic, thinly sliced salt and freshly ground black pepper cup semi-dry white wine medium tomatoes, roughly chopped cup roughly chopped Peppadew peppers tsp honey tsp sherry vinegar Tbsp finely chopped fresh oregano

Greek-style shrimp

3 Tbsp olive oil 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced 2 lbs tail-on shrimp, peeled and deveined salt and freshly ground black pepper

to serve

3 Tbsp roughly chopped fresh mint ¼ cup Feta cheese olive oil, to taste fennel fronds, for garnish

| preparation – seared tomatoes and peppers | In a large skillet with a lid over medium-high heat, heat oil. add fennel, onion and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 8 minutes, until a little caramelization develops on fennel and onion. add wine, tomatoes and Peppadew peppers and stir to deglaze skillet. reduce heat to low and continue cooking for 5 to 8 minutes more. add honey, sherry vinegar and oregano and stir to combine; simmer for 1 to 2 minutes more. Cover and keep warm over low heat.

| preparation – greek-style shrimp | In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat oil. add garlic and sauté for 1 to 2 minutes. add shrimp and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook until shrimp are pink throughout, approximately 5 minutes.

| to serve | add shrimp to warm tomato-pepper mixture and stir to combine. divide between 4 to 6 serving bowls and garnish with chopped mint, Feta and olive oil to taste. Serve warm.

%PG

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healthy appetite

Greek-Style Shrimp

With seared tomatoes and peppers We don’t tend to associate seafood with the Midwest, yet fresh saltwater shrimp are being farmed all across our state. These shrimp farmers are aiming to provide a fresher and more sustainable product than what’s imported from overseas or shipped from the coasts. In Missouri alone, shrimp farms include Kansas City Shrimp Co. in the Kansas City area, Triple J Farms in Foristell and Circle Sea Shrimp Farm in Stella. Such farms raise shrimp in artificial saltwater environments that mimic their natural habitat. Make the most of high-quality local shrimp this summer with a version of garides Tourkolimano, a stew named for a port town on the northeast coast of Greece. The stew is typically served as part of a larger mezze, or collection of small plates, and enjoyed with a glass of wine. It gets much of its flavor from garlic, tomatoes, Feta and fresh herbs; I’ve amended it here to act more as a side dish and added Peppadew peppers and sherry vinegar. The rest of the dish features subtle heat from the peppers, creaminess from the Feta, a pop of acid from the sherry vinegar and bright, herbal flavor from fresh mint – pile on the mint and thank me later.

To learn more about sourcing Midwest shrimp, check out these local producers: Kansas City Shrimp Co. facebook.com/kcshrimp Triple J Farms triplejfarmsstl.com Circle Sea Shrimp Farm facebook.com/circleseashrimp

Amanda Elliott is the chef at Peachtree Catering (peachtreebanquet.com) in Columbia, Missouri, and authors the website Rustic Supper (rusticsupper.com), where she shares recipes centered on the idea of the communal table and embracing the heritage of food through travel. She also hosts a series of pop-up dinners in Columbia called Sunday Suppers.

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meet:

story and recipe by shannon weber photography by jennifer silverberg

Crispy shoestring Fries With Chive-Blossom vinegar The vinegar recipe must infuse for two weeks prior to serving. To make the vinegar, you'll need a 24-ounce glass canning jar; vinegar can corrode the metal lids of canning jars, which can be dangerous. Be sure to place a sheet or two of parchment paper under the lid as you seal the jar, or use canning jars with rubber seals and glass lids. serves

|4|

Chive-Blossom vinegar

1 cup lightly packed chive blossoms, plus more for garnishing fries 1¾ cups white wine vinegar 2 tsp caraway seeds, toasted 1 bay leaf

Crispy shoestring Fries

large Yukon Gold potatoes, washed and peeled 2 to 3 quarts ice water peanut or vegetable oil, for deep-frying sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

| preparation – chive-blossom vinegar | lightly crush chive blossoms and place them inside a 24-ounce glass canning jar. pour vinegar over blossoms, add caraway seeds and bay leaf and seal jar. store in a cool, dark place for 2 weeks or until flavors have infused.

| preparation – crispy shoestring fries | Using the julienne blade on a mandoline, slice potatoes into thin matchsticks. place potatoes in a large bowl of ice water for 15 minutes; remove to a paper towel-lined plate to dry completely. while potatoes are drying, place 4 inches of oil in a large, deep stockpot or dutch oven, and heat to 350ºf, monitoring heat using a candy thermometer. carefully drop potatoes into hot oil, a handful at a time, and stir to separate; cook for 3 to 3½ minutes until deep golden brown. Using a spider strainer or slotted spoon, carefully transfer hot fries to a paper-towel lined plate. repeat with remaining potatoes and season generously with salt and pepper.

| to serve | check seasoning and sprinkle chive blossom vinegar generously over top of warm fries. garnish with finely diced chives and additional whole chive blossoms, if desired; serve warm.

Chive Blossoms What Is It? when you buy fresh onion chives at the grocery store, chances are the best part is missing: the fluffy, amethyst-hued flowers on top. chive blossoms are easy to spot in their natural habitat, bursting forth in Midwest gardens and neighbors’ backyards in spring and early summer, lining the grass with fragrant purple puffs and filling the air with the unmistakable scent of sweet spring onion. take a stroll through any park this time of year, and you’re bound to stumble across a cluster. you're also likely to see them at farmers' markets in june. What do I do WIth It? Unlike garlic chive flowers, which are smaller, white and potent, onion chive blossoms are mild in flavor and easy to slide into even the most delicate dishes. whip them into softened goat cheese to spread on crostini with charred vegetables, or keep it simple and blend the blossoms into cream cheese to top an everything bagel; it’s perfection. if you’re sautéing asparagus, haricot verts or peas, add whole chive blossoms and a knob of butter during the final minutes to finish. potato and onion are an irresistible pairing; chop the flowers into a cheesy gratin or blend into a simple mash. chive butter is prettier with the blossoms added: blend and use it to finish grilled steak, chicken, halibut or swordfish. i can’t do summer without crispy fries or bright salads, and chive-blossom vinegar is perfect with either. the soft lilac-colored vinegar provides a muted dose of flavor to any dressing – and on fries? you’ll forget malt vinegar entirely. it’s also an ideal way to enjoy chive blossoms long after the last petals have hit the ground. Shannon Weber is the creator, author and photographer behind the award-winning blog aperiodictableblog.com, and her work has appeared on websites such as Bon Appétit, Serious Eats and America’s Test Kitchen. She is a self-taught baker and cook who believes that the words “I can’t” should never apply to food preparation and that curiosity can lead to wonderful things, in both the kitchen and life.

not your average edible flower.

[

a deep dive into shellfish

]

clams

in Good with

How to crack into sHellfisH witH GraHam colditz, associate director of prevention and control at Siteman Cancer Center

Though they cover 70 percent of the Earth’s surface and are full of life, oceans are also a deep mystery — about 95 percent of them remain unexplored. But the 5 percent we do know about is home to vibrant coral reefs, underwater volcanoes and countless plants and animals. King crabs, oysters and shrimp, and even shell-less animals such as octopus and squid are all considered shellfish, and doctors agree their nutritional benefits are worth diving into. “Shellfish contain vitamins A and D, and the minerals potassium and selenium, which help protect our bodies from certain cancers and chronic diseases,” says Dr. Graham Colditz, associate director of prevention and control at Siteman Cancer Center. “Vitamin A and selenium are considered to be antioxidants, which can reduce inflammation in the body by getting rid of damaged cells. Sometimes those damaged cells can turn into cancer, so eating enough antioxidants is extremely important. They also boost your immune system.” Meanwhile, vitamin D and potassium build strong bones and reduce the risk of osteoporosis. Shellfish are full of omega-3 fatty acids, a compound that your body can get only from certain foods. Omega-3s may also help reduce inflammation, and

they keep cholesterol and triglycerides in check — a crucially important function, Dr. Colditz explains. “Triglycerides indicate the amount of fat in our blood. There are some fats that are worse for the heart than others, and keeping triglycerides low cuts down on the cardiovascular type of chronic disease development,” he says. “There’s also an impact on heart disease. That’s historically the biggest killer of middle-age and adult populations. High triglycerides can trigger a cascade of bad outcomes.” Midsummer is the ideal time to enjoy shellfish. They are light, low-fat options for meals and a great way to cut down on red meat — particularly when the humidity is cranked to 11, and hot dogs and hamburgers are starting to get repetitive. “For people who’ve not historically included shellfish in their diets at all, it’s worth trying different options,” Dr. Colditz says. “It’s the same with increasing vegetables: Don’t think there’s just one way to cook or prepare them. There are many different ways to add spice, or to change the flavor or texture. Being open to that is the key to attaining an overall healthy diet.” But be mindful of how shellfish is prepared. Calories add up quickly when lobster is dunked in butter and shrimp is breaded and deep fried.

3 Tbsp olive oil 2 lb jumbo shrimp, shelled and deveined 2 cloves minced garlic ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional) ½ cup white wine 1 red pepper, diced ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice 1 cup fresh spinach, diced 1 spaghetti squash ¼ tsp salt ½ tsp ground black pepper Chopped parsley for garnish

| preparation | Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut spaghetti squash in half. Use 1 tablespoon of olive oil to brush the inside of both halves. Place face down on a baking sheet. Roast for 45 to 50 minutes, until skin is fork tender. Scrape insides out using a fork and reserve for later. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large sauté pan over medium-low heat. Add garlic, crushed red pepper flakes and diced red pepper, and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring constantly. Add shrimp to the pan and stir as needed until cooked, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to another bowl with a slotted spoon. Be sure to leave liquid in the pan. Add white wine and lemon juice to the pan after increasing to medium-high heat. Cook for about 2 minutes while stirring. Add half of the spaghetti squash and reserve half of shrimp (this can be used for lunch or dinner the next day). Return shrimp to the pan and toss to combine. Add salt and pepper to season. Garnish with parsley and serve.

crabs Crabs make their homes in nooks and crannies in all of Earth’s oceans, many tropical rivers and swamps, and even on land for good measure. Their meat is known for its sweet taste and melt-in-your-mouth texture. In North America, crabs vary greatly in size, from the Bering Sea’s massive king crab (of Deadliest Catch fame) to the much smaller Jonah crab, found up and down the continent’s Atlantic coast. Though it seems like they can live anywhere, certain species are being overharvested; The Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch counts blue crabs from Chesapeake Bay among North America’s most sustainable options.

mussels Typically oblong and dark in color, mussels can be found in both Midwestern rivers and in faraway seas. Like clams, they have a foot that helps them navigate their environment, and they also have byssal threads — strong fibers they use to latch on to underwater structures. These “beards” aren’t particularly appetizing, so remove them prior to cooking. Once the prep work is finished, they couldn’t be easier to make: Dump a few pounds into a pot, add some kind of liquid (wine, broth, beer), cover with a lid and steam until they open — about five minutes will do. To find the freshest ones at the seafood counter, look for mussels that are tightly closed and have uncracked shells.

octopus When they’re not busy picking out World Cup winners or stealthily escaping from aquariums, these squiggly cephalopods (yep, still considered shellfish!) live in bodies of saltwater all over the globe. They’re also a fundamental part of many cooking traditions. In northwest Spain they’re known as pulpo, boiled and served with olive oil and paprika. Octopus pops up in Latin and South American ceviche; it’s used in sushi (called tako), and it’s the main ingredient in a spicy Korean stir-fry dish known as nakji-bokkeum. Properly tenderized in the hands of a skilled chef, octopus is a must-try delicacy.

RefReshed shRimp scampi Yields | 8 servings |

Mollusca is the biggest and most diverse phylum in the marine world, one that contains aquatic invertebrates from giant squids to slugs. Clams are a part of this phylum, too. These bivalves spend most of their lives in relatively shallow water and use a muscular appendage to burrow and pull their way through the sand. North Americans are probably most familiar with quahogs, the species that includes littleneck clams (great steamed or eaten raw) and half-pound quahogs themselves. Large clams have a tougher texture than small ones, so they’re best when cooked, stuffed or used in chowder.

scallops

Nutrition Information (per serving): 311 calories, 11g fat, 300mg sodium, 8g carbohydrate, 4g fiber and 18g protein.

Though synonymous with the disc of meat they contain, scallops — those gorgeous fan-shaped seashells — are pretty incredible creatures. They have eyes, a refined nervous system, and they use jet propulsion to motor around the ocean. They’re found throughout the world in religious art, mythology, heraldry and kitschy souvenir shops. Scallops are a sustainable (if expensive) choice for meals, and they’re a snap to cook: Sear them in an oiled pan for just a few minutes on each Inspired side, and they’re to eat. Local Foodready Culture j u ne 2 018 47

quick fix

story and recipe by Gabrielle deMichele photoGraphy by jennifer silverberG

Fresh herb and shaved Fennel salad With honey-lime dressing

Fresh herb and shaved Fennel salad With honey-Lime Dressing

not every fresh ingredient in this robust and flavorful salad can be grown locally – specifically the asian pears and citrus – but much of it thrives in Midwest soil. take full advantage of our early summer growing season by combining fennel, shallots, celery, radishes, arugula, herbs and blackberries, which first come into season this month and stick around through august.

This hearty salad is meant to serve as a main course. Sautéed fresh shrimp, scallops, prawns or squid would complement it nicely.

fruit and honey add sweetness to the salad, while citrus adds a pop of acid. this is balanced by the saltiness of ricotta salata, or salted ricotta cheese made from pasteurized sheep’s milk. While you won’t find it on a cheese board, ricotta salata shines when combined with a range of other ingredients and flavors, as in this salad. feel free to play with other fruit, vegetable and herb combinations to pair with this sweet and tangy dressing; almost any combination of seasonal produce should work nicely.

serves | 3 To 4|

chef’s tip

the Menu

Honey-Lime DreSSing

fRESH START. fennel will oxidize if left out at room

• Fresh Herb and Shaved Fennel Salad With Honey-Lime Dressing • Garlicky Green Beans • Melting Potatoes • Cornbread-Stuffed Pork Chops • Strawberry Lazy Sonker

¼ 2 1 2 ¼

zest of 3 limes cup freshly squeezed lime juice Tbsp honey tsp Dijon mustard shallots, minced cup olive oil sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Herb anD SHaveD FenneL SaLaD

1 orange, peeled and supremed 1 cup thinly sliced celery hearts 2 Asian pears, halved, deseeded and thinly sliced 8 radishes, thinly sliced 2 white nectarines, halved and pitted 3 medium-sized fennel bulbs, cored and shaved lengthwise 1 cup lightly packed baby arugula ¼ cup roughly chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley ¼ cup roughly chopped fresh mint ¼ cup fresh basil, chiffonade 2 tsp finely chopped fresh tarragon 5 oz ricotta salata cheese, cut into small cubes ½ pint fresh blackberries toasted bread, to serve

temperature for too long. if you won’t be serving the salad within 30 minutes of shaving fennel, place it in cold water with a little lemon juice to avoid browning. WHAT A PEAR. asian pears remain fairly hard, even

when ripe. to determine if an asian pear is ripe, give it a sniff: a beautiful fragrance indicates that it’s ready to serve. a ripe asian pear should keep in the refrigerator for at least a month or two.

| preparation – honey-lime dressing | in a small mixing bowl, add all ingredients and stir to combine. set aside to allow flavors to develop, 1 to 2 hours. refrigerate if not using within a couple of hours.

| preparation – herb and shaved fennel salad | in a large mixing bowl, add all ingredients except cheese and berries and toss lightly to combine. Drizzle enough honey-lime dressing to just coat ingredients; add cheese and blackberries and gently toss once more. divide between 3 to 4 large salad bowls and serve immediately with warm toasted bread.

In this class you’ll learn how to make melting potatoes, potato rounds tossed in melted butter and then roasted in a very hot oven before finishing them with chicken stock. You’ll also prepare a strawberry Lazy Sonker, a favorite dessert in North Carolina that blends the best of pie and cobbler.

get hands-on: Join Feast Magazine and schnucks Cooks Cooking school at 6pm on thu., June 14, at the des Peres, Missouri, location to make the dishes in this month’s menu. tickets are just $45 for a night of cooking, dining and wine. RsVP at nourish.schnucks.com/schnucks-cooking-school or call 314.909.1704.

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In St. Louis, tune into the Nine Network (Channel 9) to watch Feast TV Mondays at 9:30pm.

IT’S GREAT ON THE GRILL AND HELPS SUPPORT FOLDS OF HONOR

In Kansas City, watch Feast TV on KCPT (Channel 19) Saturdays at 5:30pm and Sundays at 7:30am.

You can watch Feast TV throughout mid-Missouri on KMOS (Channel 6) Saturdays at 10am.

Feast TV airs in the southern Illinois region on WSIU (Channel 8) Mondays at 12:30pm.

Feast TV’s new season will air in the Springfield region on Ozarks Public Television. Check your local listings for airdates..

Check mylaketv.com to watch Feast TV in the Lake of the Ozarks area.

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sweet ideas

story and recipe by christy augustin photography by jacklyn meyer

One-BOwl Candied GinGer-BlueBerry CrumB Cake The cardamom and nutmeg in this recipe are optional; if you don’t love those flavors, feel free to omit! As for other flavorings, the candied ginger and blueberries are also optional; substitute them for ½ to ¾ cup fruit filling or preserves of your choice. If you go that route, don’t add filling to the bowl of your stand mixer; instead, add it after you’ve spread your batter into the prepared pan but before you’ve added reserved crumbs. serves | 10 to 12 |

1 1½ ½ 2½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 2 1

nonstick cooking oil spray cup unsalted butter, room temperature cups brown sugar, tightly packed tsp kosher salt cups unbleached all-purpose flour pinch ground cardamom pinch freshly grated nutmeg tsp baking soda large egg tsp vanilla extract cup sour cream Tbsp candied ginger, diced cup fresh blueberries

| preparation | preheat oven to 350°F. spray a 9-inch round or square cake pan with nonstick cooking oil spray and line with parchment paper. set aside. in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add butter, brown sugar, salt, flour and spices, if using, and cream until small crumbs form. divide crumbs in half, reserving approximately 2½ cups to a clean sheet of parchment paper; set aside. to remaining dough in the bowl of your stand mixer, add baking soda and egg, creaming until smooth. add vanilla extract and sour cream, mixing until evenly combined. stir candied ginger and blueberries in by hand. spread batter into the bottom of prepared pan. cover with reserved crumbs. bake until cake is puffed, golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, approximately 50 to 60 minutes. allow to slightly cool at room temperature before serving. to unmold cake, run a knife around perimeter of pan to loosen, top pan with a cookie tray and carefully flip. remove cake pan, peel off parchment paper and transfer cake, bottom-side down, to a serving platter. serve.

One-BOwl Candied GinGer-BlueBerry CrumB CaKe this crumb cake, which makes an excellent breakfast, is the pastry equivalent of a one-dish meal. in just one bowl, you prepare the topping, and then you use half the crumbs to make the cake batter. We’re flavoring the cake with candied ginger and blueberries, but many other ingredient combinations can be used; the versatility of this recipe makes it one of my favorites. For example, blackberries and lemon marmalade would change the flavor from spicy and sweet to zesty and tart. once fresh summer berries are gone, make your crumb cake with strawberry preserves or even cherry pie filling from a can. the spices can be changed up, too: black sesame seeds and honey-soaked mandarin oranges would pair beautifully. Whatever flavor combination you choose, make sure to call a friend, steep a pot of tea and enjoy the fruits of your labor – even though, truly, not much labor is required. Christy Augustin has had a lifelong love affair with all things sweet. After working as a pastry chef in New Orleans and St. Louis, she opened Pint Size Bakery & Coffee in St. Louis’ Lindenwood Park in 2012. She calls herself the baker of all things good and evil. Learn more at pintsizebakery.com.

Rockfair Tavern Join Us For Brunch weekends 9am - 3pm A Classic for More than 30 Years

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TasTe & see

Restaurant and Lounge 3 Blocks South of Route 66 506 S. Franklin St., Cuba, MO 65453 573-885-7518

MissOuri’s neWest Winery

FeasT TV TasTe & see: Farm To Table when:

Fri., June 15, 7pm

where:

Public Media Commons, 3653 Olive St., St. Louis

tickets:

$20 each season Tickets: $80 for all five events

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Discover Defiance Ridge

Open 7 Days a Week • 2711 South Hwy 94, Defiance, MO 63341 636-798-2288 • www.defianceridge.com

Visit feastmagazine.com for more information Chefs from throughout the St. Louis region will focus on local flavor at the June Taste & See. Join host Cat Neville; meet the folks behind the farm-to-market movement; and taste produce, meats and cheeses at their peak of freshness – straight from the farm to you.

 Live music  Live demos  Segments from Feast TV  Food and drink samples  Interviews with local chefs Taste & See with the Nine Network and Feast TV lets you go inside the show. Taste the food and meet the people responsible for creating the dishes and drinks. The unique format (and unique outdoor setting) intersperses segments from the show with live demonstrations and interviews, which are shown on the Public Media Common’s two-story screens.

RELAX AND UNWIND IN Roland Barkau Golf Course

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Heritage Days | June 9-10, 2018 Family Friendly Activities & Events Spa Days at the Original Springs Roland Barkau Golf Course Heritage House Tours

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325 S Main St, St CharleS, MO 63301 636-724-3434

ing Proudly serv y our communit! for 28 years IN THE HEART OF KCMO.

waldokc.org 4024 N. Service Rd., St. Peters Mo, 63376 • (636) 244-2378 • (M-F) 9:00-5:00 • (Sat) 9:00-12:00 www.saintcharlesrestaurantequipment.com

experience spirits from mid-missouri’s premier craft distillery

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locally made spirits well crafted cocktails

Available loca lly at Total Wine & More, Randall’s Wines & Spirit s, Lukas Liquor and Friar Tuck

FA R M S & G A R D E N S T O U R PRESENTED BY

EXPL O RE KANSA S C I TY’ S UR BAN FARM S & G ARDENS THAT ARE G R OW ING FO O D FO R YOU R PLATE.

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open tuesday - saturday 4:00 pm - 10:00 pm 210 St. James Street, Suite D Columbia, MO 65201 (573) 777-6768

PROMOTION

c e l e b r at i o n ! an entertaining guide

18 Everyone is eager to get outside this time of year. Gather friends and family for a summer party to enjoy all the season has to offer, from warm nights to fresh produce to summery cocktails and sweets. In this guide, you'll find catering, drink and gift suggestions from local spots across the region. At your next gathering, you can introduce friends to a local mead made entirely from honey, serve vibrant Asian cuisine or a cheese board with local aged cheese, impress guests with cocktails from a mobile bar and many more ideas. edited by bethany christo

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promotion 1.

Local caterers offer tasty dish, drink and dessert ideas for your summer parties.

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family roots

In Perryville, Missouri, David Bohlen and his family are growing unusual vegetables for top St. Louis chefs at Bohlen Family Farms.

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in perryville, missouri, david bohlen and his family are growing unusual and in-demand vegetables for top st. louis chefs at bohlen family farms.

mark bohlen david bohlen

w r it t

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e n by

St il n a n cy

p h ot o

by r raphy

o l f r in

g wa l d

In this field, part of what Bohlen refers to as “The Orchard,” because it contains a few young peach trees, he’s got some feral garlic, rare French gray shallots, three rows of treviso chicory, a row of castelfranco chicory, then more treviso, grumolo rossa chicory, Korean onions, wild pennycress – and that’s not even the half of it. “I try my best not to think about it,” Bohlen laughs, straining to come up with an estimate of just how many varieties of fruits, vegetables and herbs are in production at any given time on the farm. “Because if I do, I’ll lose my mind. It’s early spring, and we’re just trying to make sure we have as many different products as we can going into market season and as restaurants start to build their spring menus.” Bohlen concedes that his farming style is a bit scattered, but that tends to complement the changing nature of the many variables he has to consider: What does he have enough time to plant? Is the soil ready? What seeds does he have on hand? What seeds hasn’t he planted before? What do people need a lot of? What plots are available at the different properties? “There’s pros and cons to it, but it definitely allows me to grow a bit more variety than most folks are willing to grow,” he says.

It’s been six years since Bohlen and his middle brother, Thomas, and their neighbor, Louis Arman, first planted vegetables in a lot across the street from their home in Ferguson, Missouri. The brothers grew up eating fresh produce; Bohlen says he didn’t even realize what an amazing cook his mother was until he ate at a friend’s house in sixth grade, where a frozen chicken was roasted in the oven with no seasoning. “I thought everybody was at home eating good,” he says, shaking his head. “When I moved out of my parents’ house, I wanted to be able to cook for myself. I realized that it was expensive. I didn’t even have the money to cook [healthy food]

every day; I had the money to cook ramen noodles every day. So I started growing stuff.”

avid Bohlen squats down in a muddy field and inspects red and green leaves of chicory poking

The brothers began vending at the Ferguson Farmers’ Market

through the soft earth.

in 2013, and one Saturday, about a year and half into the project, their mother introduced them to an old friend who needed help

“We eat a lot of dirt here,” he jokes, searching for a semi-clean

at her farm. That family friend, in turn, introduced the brothers

sample. He finally picks a small leaf and dusts it off one last

to Clyde Bruckerhoff, who also required assistance on his land

time before taking a bite. Nearby are some old plastic domed

in Perryville. Bohlen began something of an apprenticeship

skylights Bohlen found in a building he was cleaning out; he's

with Bruckerhoff. Their partnership grew until, earlier this year,

been experimenting with using them as mini-greenhouses.

Bohlen moved down to Perryville full time to work the land

They’re currently covering two plants in the field at Bohlen

owned by his mentor. This has only improved operations, he

Family Farms in Perryville, Missouri.

says; when it’s dry, the four-man team is out in the fields after dark with headlamps, and then they can sleep for four hours, get

“A lot of people are scared of chicory, because it’s bitter,

up, eat breakfast and head back out to work immediately.

but if you grow it in the cold – we’ll see how bitter this one is,” he says, tasting the “greenhouse” chicory (also called

“Clyde is a legendary farmer,” Bohlen says. “The only way I was

radicchio). He then takes a bite of chicory that’s growing out

able to reach the level of experience I have [is] because I was

in the open field. “It’s less bitter, but neither of them are overly

learning from somebody [who] had been doing it their whole

bitter,” he decides.

life, and had gone through a larger bulk of the trial and error that is farming. It’s a blessing: He’s taught me more than I would

It’s late March, and one of the first mornings in days that isn’t

have ever been able to research on my own or even go to school

drenched in spring rain; although the sky is still gray, birds are

to learn.”

cheerfully chirping. Bohlen and his three-man crew – which includes his youngest brother, Mark – are taking advantage of

Bohlen Family Farms uses very little machinery: Tractors are

the break in the weather to remove stakes for tomato plants a

used to work the soil and plant corn, and that’s about it. It’s

few fields over and prepare the beds for sweet potatoes.

actually more efficient in the long run, Bohlen says, since they

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plant a lot of heirloom varieties. “Like corn – a lot of people will harvest their corn with a combine,” he says. “We grow heirloom corn, and it’s not bred to produce plants that are harvestable by a machine.” Hand-harvesting also allows Bohlen to pick at different times during the season; he can harvest petite vegetables early, and leave room for other plants to grow larger. “It’s a timely process, but you get a lot less failed plantings when you do it by hand, because you can assure that everything you did by hand was done properly,” he says. “Sometimes, when a machine comes through and does it, you have to come back and fix what the machine did wrong. I just feel like I might as well do it by hand in the first place.” Of course, Bohlen readily admits that this approach is far more time-consuming, labor-intensive and not always much fun – but well worth it in the end. “Hand-picking

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sounds great – [saying] ‘We hand-picked this!’ – but when you grow so much and look out [at the fields, you’re] like, ‘Oh my god, we have to hand-pick all of this!’” he says.

NEW

Luckily, the local farming community is supportive. Last season, Bohlen got help

Weekday Brunch

from farmer Crystal Stevens at EarthDance Farms in Ferguson; Kasey Peters and Trevis Carmichael at Winslow’s Farm in Augusta, Missouri; and Daniel Burnett from The Screwed Arts Collective to harvest two heirloom corn varieties: Thompson’s Prolific (great for making cornmeal, grits and polenta, he says) and Painted Mountain (better suited for milling into flour). This year, Bohlen is also growing Hickory Cane, which works particularly well for making whiskey. “We wouldn’t have gotten it done in a timely manner without them, because it was a task,” Bohlen says. “The

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plants were like, 12 feet tall, so you’re picking corn up [high], and walking through the field, and blades of corn [leaves] are cutting your eyes. It’s something I'd never experienced before, because we'd never grown heirloom corn. Now I understand, so we won’t run into that issue again!” That’s sort of the ethos at Bohlen Family Farms, though: Try it and see how it goes. Bohlen does a substantial amount of research, but he also takes suggestions from chefs. Over breakfast one morning, Rex Hale, then executive chef at Boundary in St. Louis, told Bohlen that gai lan, or Chinese broccoli, was at the top of his list. Nobody was growing it, but everyone wanted some. Hale was right; Bohlen was overwhelmed by the response last season, so he’s growing more this year.

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“That’s what I really enjoy about David – he’s listens, and he’s a smart guy,” Hale says. The chef has fried the gai lan, braised, charred and grilled it, and often pairs it with housemade

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andouille or garlic sausage. Hale says he'll definitely be using Bohlen's produce at his upcoming farm-to-table restaurant, Bakers & Hale, in Godfrey, Illinois. “There’s so much application for [gai lan]," Hale says. "The neat thing about it is it’s like broccoli rabe, but there’s more broccoli flavor. And it’s like kale in some ways, in that it has that brassica-type flavor. You can [also] get them while they’re flowering, and they have these beautiful yellow or white flowers – those actually can be intact when you serve it, so you have these little buds of broccoli with all the flowers. It’s just beautiful stuff to work with.” As word about his produce spread in the St. Louis area, Bohlen fielded more specialty produce requests. He planted Peruvian peppers – aji Amarillo and aji limo – for the first time this season at the request of chef Sergio Nakayoshi of Mango Peruvian Cuisine, heirloom corn for Nixta to use in tortillas and tamales and chicory for Vicia in St. Louis, as well as Sardella and Peno Soul Food, both in Clayton, Missouri. Bohlen sort of stumbled upon one of his rarest products: huitlacoche. Last year, among the crop of heirloom corn, the team found gray fungus growing on the cobs. Bohlen did a little digging and learned that the mushrooms are a Mexican delicacy; they’re also called Mexican truffles. Only one other farmer sells huitlacoche in the U.S. commercially – in Florida – and it's frozen to allow for shipping. “He just took off and ran with it,” Hale says. “That, to me, is really exciting.”

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1. Bohlen followed the trials and errors of the Florida farmer online, and contacted a farmer in Canada to get his advice. The first huitlacoche harvest was given to James Beard award-winning chef Kevin Nashan of Sidney Street Cafe, who immediately found use for it on his tasting menu. A day or two later, Nashan included Bohlen on a group text with John Shields, chef-owner of Smyth in Chicago. “That was the first time I realized how popular [huitlacoche] was, because [Nashan] had to have driven or flown there with it the very next day and given [Shields] some of the product,” Bohlen says. Shields texted Bohlen: “Next time you harvest some [huitlacoche], bring it all!” As soon as Bohlen amassed more, he made plans to drive up to Chicago and unload the very delicate mushrooms to Shields

From Chef Rex Hale

and the team at Smyth. He told Rex Hale about his trip, and as Bohlen recalls, Hale had a suggestion. “You gotta stop by Rick Bayless’ restaurant,” Hale said.

grilled rain crow ranch pork

“Who’s Rick Bayless?” Bohlen replied innocently, although he

chop with bohlen heirloom

laughs about it now.

polenta and farm-foraged morels

“What are you talking about?” Hale retorted. “You gotta go there with some of the huitlacoche. They’ll love it; they’ll buy more than anyone else.” Bayless, who specializes in Mexican cuisine, opened Frontera Grill in Chicago in 1987; it won the James Beard Award for Outstanding Restaurant in 1994. Bayless also owns the Michelin-starred Topolobampo and XOCO, among several others, in the Windy City. “When I went to take the [huitlacoche] to John [Shields], I

was supposed to save a piece for Rick Bayless,” Bohlen says, shaking his head. “I got so caught up in the insanity of the five-hour drive and the handover – this delicate process, with people I’ve never dealt with before – I forgot to save him a piece. I had finished over at Smyth, and I sat down in the car and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, we were supposed to save some for Rick! I guess I’m just gonna have to go there barehanded.’” Luckily, Bayless’ crew was so interested in the huitlacoche, they didn’t mind waiting a little longer. “They didn’t even need to have a piece,” Bohlen continues. “They were like, ‘Of course, bring some as soon as you harvest more.’ [That] happens more often now than in the past; as our network grows, word is traveling.”

grilled sea scallop with bohlen

Not everything Bohlen grows is by request: He prides himself on

heirloom polenta, farm-foraged

being a curious farmer. His feral garlic came from a landscaping

wood-ear mushrooms and wild greens

job he worked on a few years back to earn extra cash.

“I smelled garlic everywhere – not like garlic chives – garlic,” he says. “I looked in the common ground behind the yard, and there was like an acre of hard-necked garlic growing,” he says. "The landscaping crew said they just mowed it down every year. I started digging it up, and it was beautiful purple garlic like you

pictured from top:

would buy at the store.”

1. h u i t l a c o c h e

Bohlen saved some of the garlic bulbs and planted them in The

2. h e i r l o o m c o r n

wild – but rather what garlic farmers refer to as feral. The

Orchard. It’s a cultivated variety, of course – not technically

3. d a v i d b o h l e n ' s son, dave

advantage, Bohlen says, is that it’s been acclimated to Missouri

4. b a b y r e d c a b b a g e

sprouting on top of the soil.

PHOTOS OF huitlacoche, HeIRLOOM CORN ANd dAve BOHLeN COuRTeSY BOHLeN FAMILY FARMS

weather conditions, leading to a particularly hardy plant. In the field, even what he calls “trash garlic” from last season is

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"every

year we grow a lot of

stuff that we’ve never grown; we always are trying to expand on what we have."

-david

bohlen

bohlen family farms is hosting

“These had been sitting on the surface all winter, freezing and

grown in the Midwest, as they need a cold-weather period – just

pop - up dinners with local chefs using

defrosting, and it’s still alive,” he says. “These could be planted

not one as harsh as a Missouri winter. Bohlen was able to get his

its produce this summer and fall .

at any time.” Sure enough, there are cloves of garlic with long

hands on an artichoke variety developed in the past decade that

green shoots strewn across the soft dirt in The Orchard. “You

requires less time in the cold, so they should be successful when

don’t see that with varieties of garlic that you get from [a] seed

harvested this summer.

current scheduled dates include :

company. And that was the trash garlic! I could not believe it.” “Every year we grow a lot of stuff that we’ve never grown; we Hale says that one of the reasons Bohlen is such a good

always are trying to expand on what we have,” Bohlen says. “I’ve

farmer is that he’s so intuitive. The chef cites peach buds as

been blessed to have this space to mess around with things that

a perfect example: Bohlen was pruning peach trees at The

people don’t often grow for many reasons, whether it be the risk,

Orchard one day and noticed how fragrant the flower buds

or they don’t want to waste the space because they’ve never

were as they fell to the ground.

grown it before.”

“So he started selling them,” Hale recalls. “They have such a

Bohlen Family Farms hasn’t really had any failed crops, per se, but

beautiful, flavor – you can make a sorbet, a simple syrup, ice

some plants just aren’t worth the trouble – maybe there wasn’t

the farm also vends at the tower

cream, panna cotta. So when I say he’s intuitive – he realizes the

much demand, enough of a profit margin or they were too difficult

grove farmers ’ market in st . louis ,

value in all of [his] products.”

to grow without much reward. Bohlen might grow four varieties of

check the farm ’ s facebook page for updates on locations and featured chefs closer to the event dates .

cauliflower one season, for example, choose the two he likes best

both on saturday mornings from

and try two new ones the next year.

8 am to 12:30 pm and the new tuesday evening market from 4 to 7 pm .

Hale stresses that it’s not just Bohlen’s hard work that makes him easy to collaborate with.

–

and

grown at the

farm , and choose your shares based

Last year, Bohlen Family Farms germinated seeds in four hoop

“That’s what intrigues me about him – [farming] is a lot to do, and

houses before transferring them to the fields, with plans to

he’s always got a positive attitude,” Hale says. “It’s just awesome to

build two more. Then a tornado hit.

see, especially for someone like me, who’s been doing this a long time and dealt with a lot of farmers – some farmers are cranky!

on preference . pick up applications at

“That’s what happens in Perryville,” Bohlen shrugs. “The guy who

He really is one of my very favorite people, because the energy he

the bohlen booth at the tower grove

builds [the hoop houses], his name is Plum Bob, and he was in

exudes about what he’s doing, the excitement he has about what

farmers ’ market .

tears when he came over after the tornado. I thought I was hurt,

he’s doing, is just amazing.”

because we had plants in there, but he had tears streaming down his face – ‘Man, I’m not trying to rebuild those hoop

That passion and energy are partially because Bohlen grows what

houses [again]!’”

he likes to eat; after all, the desire to feed his family fresh food is what led him down this path five years ago.

Bohlen is currently researching a cost-effective solution

pictured from left:

1. t a t s o i c r o s s

to replace the hoop houses, but in the meantime, his one

“The reason I like farming is because I like eating food; I like

remaining structure is home to dozens of trays of young

experiencing new foods,” Bohlen says. “I can’t say every farmer

plants, from seeds that haven’t yet sprouted and Romanesco

has that same mindset going into it; farmers are not always

temporarily getting a break from the rain to Korean heirloom

food-lovers. Sometimes it’s just their profession. That’s why we’re

cabbage and artichokes grown in collaboration with Eat Here

always growing different things that I hear folks love, whether it

St. Louis, a farm-to-restaurant food purveyor.

be across the world or here in Missouri. I hear folks speaking about

2. p u r p l e o f s i c i l y c a u l i f l o w e r 3. j a p a n e s e r e d m u s t a r d and yukina savoy 4. f r e n c h g r a y s h a l l o t s

things that I haven’t had access to myself, so I know it’s not readily The hoop house is where some of Bohlen’s experimentation

available. So we grow for our own interests first – and that’s why it

takes place, too. He’s planted yacan, a Peruvian tuber crop

allows me to passionately tell people about it.”

that looks like a sweet potato but is more closely related to sunchokes. Then there are the artichokes, which aren't usually

facebook.com/bohlenfarms Inspired Local Food Culture

j u ne 2 018

written by liz miller photography courtesy the land institute

tanding behind the counter at his St. Louis bakery, Union Loafers, Ted Wilson adds 15 grams of wheat flour to a small plastic cup before pouring in the same amount of water. As he stirs the water into the reddish-brown flour with the handle of an espresso spoon, a smooth paste begins to form. “This is a very dark bread when it bakes,” he says.

Scientists in Kansas and Missouri are partnering with researchers around the world to explore a new frontier in agriculture. 66

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........

Using the same measurements, he repeats the process, but now with a mocha-colored flour milled from Kernza grain. The Kernza flour is thirstier than the wheat, quickly forming a rougher, gummier dough, almost like wet, rocky cement. “The way these things absorb flour is very different,” Wilson says. “What I found in making bread with Kernza is that it does take a little more water; it’s much more like rye.” So far, Wilson is one of only 20 or so bakers in the U.S. to make bread with Kernza, a common wheatgrass with an uncommon story. After waiting a year to receive his first shipment of Kernza flour, Wilson began experimenting with it late last year. He’s had some successes with it, but for now, the failures have somewhat halted his R&D: He was sent only 80 pounds of the flour, and it could take another year to procure more.

“It’s not the best bread I’ve ever made, but it doesn’t matter – it’s worth the failures,” he says. “There’s more to it than that. I don’t know that the true value will be in a game-changing flavor. I think it’s the story and footprint that’s drastically different.” Bread made with 50 percent Kernza flour at Union Loafers in St. Louis.

The potential footprint of Kernza is indeed dramatically

PHOTO COUrTESy UnIOn LOAFErS

different than that of domesticated wheat. The Land Institute in Salina, Kansas, thinks Kernza and plants like it could be one possible solution to myriad global environmental and food insecurity issues. Chief among them: In just 32 years, without major changes to our farming and agriculture systems, scientists estimate that we’ll be facing a worldwide food crisis. Currently, the global population is around 7 billion people. By 2050, scientists calculate that the number will spike to almost 10 billion. That’s also roughly the maximum number of people that Earth can feed with our current agricultural system. “The constraints of the biosphere are fixed,” wrote Harvard University sociobiologist Edward O. Wilson in his 2002 book, The Future of Life. “The bottleneck through which we are passing is real. It should be obvious to anyone not in a euphoric delirium that whatever humanity does or does not do, Earth’s capacity to support our species is approaching the limit.” Introducing perennial plants like Kernza, which are far less destructive to the environment than annual crops, is only the first phase of The Land Institute’s project. The ultimate goal is to take these perennials and grow them in fields that resemble natural ecosystems, as opposed to the monoculture, or single species, style of farming that’s pervasive in agriculture today. It’s an incredibly ambitious aim – essentially drafting a new vision for farming that’s not yet been formally explored in our history. Like any new, uncharted frontier, it’s filled with uncertainty, risk and no For more than two decades, The Land Institute has been

is particularly beneficial to the Earth now, as greenhouse-gas

working to identify perennial grains, legumes and composite

emissions continue to rise. Although the experiment was done

If it works, though, the decades of trial and error, of successes

plants – such as those in the sunflower family – with naturally

in an artificial environment, DeHaan says the results mirror what

and failures, will certainly be well worth it, for both the health

deep root systems that have the potential to benefit soil health scientists have seen in the fields of central Kansas.

of the planet and its people.

and water retention. This ties into founder Wes Jackson’s larger

one clear path forward.

........

mission to research and develop “food production methods

DeHaan has been working with Kernza since joining The Land

that sustain the land and soil, a precious resource in an

Institute in 2001; he started with smaller projects before breeding

increasingly precarious state around the globe.”

began two years later. By 2010, as further development promised increasingly better results, research ramped up. That was the

The institute has been developing and breeding one particular

year Kernza stopped being a side project for DeHaan and became

perennial since around 2003: Thinopyrum intermedium,

his main focus. Under his stewardship over the past eight years,

Domesticated annual crops like wheat, rice, corn and

a wild relative of annual wheat more commonly known as

the crop has gone from a lab and field experiment to being grown,

soybeans dominate world food production. The top 10 crops

intermediate wheatgrass. The Land Institute calls it Kernza,

processed, milled and used in a limited number of restaurants and

grown worldwide for human consumption are all annuals –

a name it trademarked in 2009.

bakeries across the country, including Union Loafers in St. Louis.

perennials like blueberries, strawberries and potatoes, which

The real proof of Kernza’s potential relative to its widely used

Still, DeHaan is quick to acknowledge that perennial crops are

regrow naturally for at least two years.

cousin, though, is perhaps best seen in the soil. To illustrate the

unlikely to replace or overtake annuals in our agriculture system

striking difference between the root systems of Kernza and

in the near future. It will take time – what DeHaan refers to as

Growing annuals requires fields to be tilled and plowed

annual domesticated wheat, The Land Institute grew both in

“the enemy of a plant breeder” – to continue refining Kernza

every year, diminishing top soil and causing erosion and

PVC pipes 3 meters long. The perennial plant was a bit more

for more favorable traits, such as increased yield and a larger

groundwater depletion. These crops also require tons of

established when placed in the pipe, while the annual was

seed size. (Currently, Kernza only yields about a quarter of what

water for irrigation, tapping another valuable – and limited

grown from seed, as it would be on a farm. After a year spent

domesticated wheat does and produces smaller seeds.)

– natural resource. Fertilizer runoff and fossil-fuel pollution

growing side by side, the annual wheat had a root system of

number among the additional negative environmental

five feet, while Kernza grew to double the size.

meaning they have to be replanted each year, as opposed to

As Jackson points out on the organization’s website, “If your life’s work can be accomplished in your lifetime, you’re not

impacts that result from raising annual crops. “The age of the plants wasn’t that different, but there’s a lot of

thinking big enough.”

Perennial plants, on the other hand, thrive without much

difference between the way perennials and annuals grow, and

human intervention; their deep roots also take advantage of

how many resources they use,” says Lee DeHaan, lead scientist

Then there’s the issue of price: Kernza is considered a specialty

natural groundwater, requiring little or no irrigation. Because

for the Kernza domestication program at The Land Institute.

crop with lower yields than domesticated wheat, costing buyers more money. One solution to getting the cost down and the yield

perennials are growing at times of the year when annuals aren’t or are still very young, they take better advantage of

And those resources are valuable. A perennial’s deeper root

size higher is spending less time between each cycle of selection,

sunlight and rainwater as well.

system sequesters more carbon from the air into soil; this

or generation, of Kernza. Inspired Local Food Culture

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Kernza growing at The Land Institute

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“When I started [this project], I was spending three years per generation and got it down to two,” DeHaan says. “Currently, we [have] these molecular markers that allowed us to get it down to one year per generation; the idea being, the more cycles you

A side-by-side comparison of domesticated wheat root systems (left) and Kernza root systems (right), across all four seasons.

can get completed, faster, the farther we can go. We’re also doing those not just faster, but more accurately, so the plants you select are actually better.” The approach is still experimental; there isn’t data to show that it will work. If it does shorten the time between generations of Kernza, though, it could mean a cheaper product for farmers producing a higher yield of grain much sooner. That, in turn, could transform Kernza from a specialty crop to one more

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comparable to – and competitive with – domesticated wheat.

The sphere of perennial plants like Kernza that exist in nature is vast and, until recently, largely unexplored. Domesticated annual food crops like corn and wheat are the result of thousands and thousands of years of human selection – through both traditional and modern methods – usually to increase yield. Wheat has been domesticated for 5,000 to 10,000 years, gradually evolving under selective breeding. “People didn’t really know what pollen did until about [the 18th century],” DeHaan says. “Unlike animal breeding, people taking their best male and female animals and breeding them together to get better offspring, no one did that [scientifically or exactingly] with plants. It was just finding things at random that were more like what people wanted. If one farmer’s crops seemed to be doing better, you’d start growing his type. That’s really different now.”

to be the last species like this. We’re really at the very tip

The long-term goal of The Land Institute is not just to introduce

of this massive inquiry into wild species that might be

perennial crops into the global food system, but to rethink our

Kernza has been evolving under human selection for about

developed into new crops and that could have important

approach to farming in general.

30 years. The road ahead for Kernza and The Land Institute’s

roles in perennial polyculture agriculture.”

larger mission to domesticate perennials is long – a fact

“I think what’s so appealing to me about the vision of The Land

DeHaan readily admits – although one they’re not alone in

Dr. Miller knew that MoBot, which has comprehensive

Institute is that it looks to natural ecosystems as models

pursuing. The organization works with nonprofits, universities

resources documenting plant taxonomy, distributions

for how agriculture might work,” Dr. Miller says. “Natural

and scientists around the world to further the research and

and uses from around the world, had the resources to

ecosystems like the North American prairie consist of perennial

development of perennial crops.

help answer her question. For the past two years,

plants growing in mixtures. To think about an agricultural

Dr. Miller has been working with two MoBot researchers,

system that mimics nature – it’s a radical departure from our

And Kernza is just one of the perennial plants that The Land

Dr. Wendy Applequist, associate curator, and Dr. James

current agricultural trajectory – and it may or may not work,

Institute is researching as a potential new commercial crop;

Miller, senior vice president for science and conservation,

that’s the thing. But I think we all get involved in this because it

for example, a perennial sunflower relative, silphium, is also

to catalog every known perennial in the wheat, legume and

offers something that we can explore that may be the answer.”

being domesticated to partially replace annual oilseed crops

sunflower families to identify other potential candidates

such as soy, canola and sunflower. Similar work is happening

for domestication. The project is being funded by three-year

Today, annual crops such as corn and wheat are almost always

throughout the world, as well, much of it in collaboration with

grants from The Land Institute and Saint Louis University;

grown in monocultures, meaning 10 acres of land will be

The Land Institute, which provides the projects with funding,

Dr. Miller hopes that funding will be extended given its

dedicated to only growing corn, another 10 acres for wheat,

materials and expertise. In China, for example, perennial rice

promise and global scope.

and so on. This is a result of human intervention; plants don’t

is being grown, processed and sold commercially; in Africa, a perennial sorghum is being researched.

segregate themselves this way in nature. As a result, farmers “This is about building the resources for the global

must use pesticides and herbicides to tend monoculture

community to move in the direction of perennial crops,”

plots successfully.

In St. Louis, The Land Institute’s work with perennials

she says. “No one person, no one institution, one lab, is

intrigued Dr. Allison Miller, a professor of biology at Saint

going to do this; it has to be a community effort.”

Louis University and research associate at the Missouri

“When you have a whole plot of just one species, you have to spray toxins to try to knock out the other species that

Botanical Garden (MoBot). If the organization was working on

Part of that community effort is educating the general

will naturally pop up, and then you have this giant buffet for

Kernza, she thought, what other wild perennial species might

public about the theoretical value of perennial agriculture.

whatever likes to feed on that one species,” Dr. Applequist

be good candidates for domestication?

Currently, MoBot features a display of Kernza and some

says. “So, if you have just a wheat field, and a little spore of

perennial legumes in its George Washington Carver Garden.

wheat-leaf rust gets in, it can easily spread from plant to plant,

“People talk about Kernza because this is one of the wild,

Kernza, silphium and an alfalfa hybrid are also featured in

and then the whole field has it.”

herbaceous species that’s the furthest along in terms of

an exhibit on perennial plants at the Saint Louis Science

breeding,” she says. “It’s exciting to see how much progress

Center’s GROW exhibit. The Land Institute provided Kernza

However, in a natural prairie environment like those in central

has been made in Kernza development. But this isn’t going

and silphium for both displays.

Kansas, if one wild wheatgrass plant is infected with wheat-leaf Inspired Local Food Culture

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rust, it’s much harder for it to spread to others, as the plants

For Kernza to really take off, it also needs to expand beyond

very unique and pleasant, but hard to describe,” DeHaan says.

don’t grow together like row crops. “A natural ecosystem is

being a specialty grain to make any real impact on the global

“It’s not quite like any other grain, which is a good thing, I think.

more resilient, healthier and requires less intervention to keep

food system. Only so much of that work can be done at The

It gives people a unique experience. It’s clearly not wheat – it

it from going to heck,” Dr. Applequist says with a laugh.

Land Institute: To truly expand education and demand for

tastes very different from whole wheat. People who [have

Kernza on a large scale, it needs to be featured on restaurant

tried my] Kernza cake [said it] tasted like it had a spice in it,

and bakery menus and grocery-store shelves.

maybe cinnamon, or honey, even though it was just flour and

Currently, The Land Institute is growing Kernza in individual acres as in a conventional monoculture; the ultimate goal is to mimic the diversity and health of a natural ecosystem, or polyculture. Theoretically, fields of Kernza would be broken up with other perennial crops, like silphium, other wheatgrasses, oilseeds and legumes.

........

starch. So you could get some unique flavors.” A few months after Ted Wilson opened Union Loafers in St. Louis’ Botanical Heights neighborhood in fall 2015, a surprise visitor stopped in: Golper of Bein Cuit. He had been directed to visit Wilson after a nearby meeting at MoBot. “He was this iconic thing in my head; I flipped out,” Wilson laughs.

“There’s evidence that a well-managed polyculture gives

If you Googled “Kernza for sale” a year ago, you wouldn’t

you more edible foodstuff per acre than a monoculture,” Dr.

see many promising results. Today, the same search will

Applequist says. “Different plants use different areas of space,

return Kernza flatbread crisps for sale online through

Golper asked Wilson if he’d heard of Kernza, and at the

nutrients, soil. Some people say [Kernza] will be ecologically

Columbia County Bread and Granola out of Bloomsburg,

time, he hadn’t. Golper shared The Land Institute’s work

unsustainable if it doesn’t have an identical yield [to

Pennsylvania, and West Coast retailers of Long Root Ale, a

with Wilson, as well his own experiments with the flour in

domesticated wheat]. I don’t know if that’s quite fair, because

beer partially made with Kernza by Patagonia Provisions in

Brooklyn. Wilson was interested, but his new bakery still

an acre of Kernza will do less damage to the environment

Sausalito, California. You’ll also see a spate of restaurants,

required a lot of attention, and at the time, Kernza flour

than an acre of wheat. If you can mix in some legumes and an

bakeries and breweries across the country working with

wasn’t readily available through Plovgh. Almost two years

oilseed, and potentially get a total yield of food value that’s

Kernza: Perennial, a restaurant in San Francisco; Bein Cuit

later, Wilson met representatives from Plovgh at a grain

a lot higher than an acre of wheat, that would suddenly make

bakery in Brooklyn; Birchwood Café in Minneapolis; Bang

conference, and requested Kernza flour. Early this year, he

even a slightly lower-yielding grass very attractive.”

Brewing in St. Paul, Minnesota.

began his own experiments with it at Union Loafers.

Bread made with 100 percent Kernza flour at Union Loafers in St. Louis. PHOTO COURTESY UNION LOAFERS

DeHaan says that the “experimental” pool of farmers

You’ll also find Plovgh. Based in Viroqua, Wisconsin, the

Unlike Golper, Wilson is attempting to use Kernza flour to

currently growing Kernza are doing so in single-species

company acts as a specialty-grain broker of sorts for both

create the same naturally fermented, old world-style of bread

plantings, like at The Land Institute, as it’s proven challenging

farmers and chefs, bakers and other buyers.

he specializes in at Union Loafers. This has proven challenging, and until Wilson is happy with the result and confident in its

to grow in a polyculture well and with a consistent result.

consistency, he won’t be selling it.

Some legume intercrop fields were planted with Kernza

Up until about three years ago, DeHaan was fielding the calls

this fall, though, and DeHaan is hopeful that a true

and requests for Kernza grain and milled flour that Plovgh now

polyculture system is achievable in time – again, “the

manages. Close to home, DeHaan’s worked with the brewers

“Zach’s approach was very different than mine,” Wilson says.

enemy of a plant breeder.”

at Blue Skye Brewery in Salina, which released its Crank Case

“He did all commercially yeasted breads with it, because

IPA made with 5 percent Kernza in January. “It adds a lot of the

he didn’t want people to taste any sourdough or deep

First, though, DeHaan says Kernza needs to overcome

same properties that wheat would add to a beer; the way that

fermentation, which I understand. But those breads are less

its own yield and harvesting challenges. In a monoculture

it impacts the mouthfeel and flavor is similar to wheat,” DeHaan

interesting to me, and if we’re going to incorporate this like we

environment, Kernza can be reaped with the same

says. “I’ve asked the brewers for their opinion, and what I’ve

would any wheat or grain, I wanted to do it in a way that would

conventional combine harvester used for wheat. But in the

heard most is that it adds a bit of spiciness.”

hold true to everything else that I find interesting in bread.”

grow taller than in Kansas, wind storms can cause the plants

DeHaan also contacted famed bread baker Zachary Golper

Wilson first made a 100 percent Kernza bread, which he says

to fall over. In that situation, a combine can’t be used; instead

at Bein Cuit, sending him some Kernza flour; Golper has been

was flavorful but even more dense than a traditional rye bread.

Kernza must be swathed, or cut and placed in rows to dry out.

testing recipes with it ever since. DeHaan himself has also

Next, he tried various blends of Kernza and wheat flour, finally

Upper Midwest, where Kernza especially thrives and tends to

Once the leaves and stems are dry, the combine can harvest it. experimented with baking Kernza bread, muffins, cakes and other treats, to promising results. This process used to be more common for harvesting grains

settling on a bread made with 40 percent Kernza and 60

like wheat (and is still common in oat production) but today

Loafers’ wheat starter for around 36 hours before being “built

many farmers don’t have swathing equipment.

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“What I’ve found in [Kernza] bread is that [the flavor] can be

percent wheat. The dough was naturally fermented with Union like all our other doughs” and baked.

“Because it’s a whole new grain, it acted differently; it wouldn’t hold its form as well as wheat [bread], because the gluten in there isn’t as strong or suited for the process of Euro-style bread,” Wilson says. “The crust was a little chewier and it set differently as it cooled; it was a little denser. The flavor was great – it had a very grassy note to it. But after two or three weekends of success, it just – and I haven’t identified why yet – we failed.” Wilson might try making crackers with the Kernza flour next, or perhaps a different style of bread, although he admits he’s less excited about those directions. “I got scared, because I’ve only got 80 pounds of this stuff and that took a year,” Wilson says. “I don’t know what the future is with it for us. But also, I don’t want to sit on it; I want to make it, and for people who are interested in the story to be able to taste it.” As with DeHaan’s work in the field, there are likely to be far more trials and failures in the kitchen before the best applications for Kernza are identified. Given how much access to and education about Kernza has increased in the past year, it’s likely that more chefs, bakers, brewers and food producers will begin experimenting with it soon as well. Wilson says that he’d love to “crack the code” of baking naturally fermented, old world-style bread with Kernza flour, but ultimately he just wants to see it thrive in whatever recipes suit it best. “What causes frustration [with] Kernza is the hope of its enormous potential, so impatience kicks in,” Wilson says.

........

“But I believe in the hope of what this thing can be.”

In the next two years, Kernza will see its biggest boom yet, when General Mills releases a cereal made in part with the grain under its Cascadian Farm label – provided that enough Kernza is available to do so. “If the grain is there, they’re ready to go,” DeHaan says. In March 2017, General Mills announced it was buying a significant – but undisclosed – volume of Kernza from The Land Institute. General Mills, based in Golden Valley, Minnesota, also donated $500,000 to the University of Minnesota’s Forever Green Initiative, which partners with The Land Institute to support breeding, farming, milling and marketing research for the grain. “Eight years ago, I initially envisioned that General Mills might be in the 2020 or 2030 timeline,” DeHaan says. “General Mills has a goal of becoming carbon-neutral by 2050. That's a difficult goal, so transformative approaches like perennial grains will need to succeed in order to attain it.” It will take investment from more than just General Mills over the next 30 years to bolster Kernza and further explore The Land Institute’s bold new approach to agriculture. Yet if other multinational food manufacturers follow suit, it could help to unlock the future of, as Edward O. Wilson put it, “Earth’s capacity to support our species.” “We’re not talking about small, incremental fixes, but something that’s really transformative even though it’s going to take decades of work,” DeHaan says. “We’re not going to see quick results, but if it does work, it will be huge.” landinstitute.org missouribotanicalgarden.org unionloafers.com Inspired Local Food Culture

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WRITTEN By NATAlIE GAllAGHER

PHOTOGRAPHy By STUART HEIdMAN

Nearly a decade ago the Thang family arrived in the U S after fleeing persecution in their native Myanmar Today they’ve found their own version of the American dream through farming

Editor’s Note:

Our interview with Joseph and Far Thang was conducted with the assistance of translator Daniel Lian.

Far Thang is a petite woman with a heart-shaped, youthful face. She primarily speaks Hakha Chin, a language found in pockets of Southeast Asia, including Myanmar’s Hakha State, where Far was born. When

The Thangs sit side-by-side at their kitchen table in their home; baby

guests arrive in the home she shares with her husband, Joseph, and their

Christine is wrapped around Far, who bounces her gently. Peter climbs

four children (14-year-old Sharon, 10-year-old Benjamin, 7-year-old Peter

into Joseph’s lap, waving a miniature American flag and pushing other

and two-month-old Christine), shoes are removed at the door and hot tea is

toys across the tablecloth. A door leads out to a small deck and a large

immediately offered.

backyard, where the family has planted rows and rows of vegetable crops. It’s an arrangement, the Thangs say, that’s very familiar.

It’s the way it would have been done in her home country of Myanmar (formerly Burma), although the Thangs haven’t lived there in more than a

“Our hometown is in a mountain region,” Joseph says. “We farmed there,

decade. They’re refugees who fled civil war, political turmoil and religious

but not as big as this. It was a family business – everyone had a home

persecution – they were Christians living in a majority Buddhist country.

with a backyard like this, and they grow for family or the community.”

Joseph first escaped to Malaysia in 2005, and then made arrangements for Far and Sharon to follow in 2006. Benjamin was born in Malaysia while the

When the Thangs first immigrated to the U.S., they wanted to continue

Thangs sought permanent resettlement in the U.S. That process included

growing and gardening, but they didn’t know about the local growing

extensive background checks, and it took years. At last, on May 21, 2009,

season, weather patterns or what exactly to plant. That’s where New

with the help of Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas, the family touched

Roots came in.

down on American soil. The program officially began in 2008, although it had started gaining The Thangs relocated to Kansas City, Kansas; Catholic Charities saw to

ground a few years prior. In the early 2000s, Catholic Charities was

it that they were settled in an area populated with other Myanmarese

working with large populations of Somali Bantu refugees. Over

refugees so that they could find fellowship easily as they continued

the course of the refugee-resettlement process, New Roots found

the immigration process. Joseph found work at Triumph Foods, a pork

that women often feel isolated in their new country; they're often

processing plant in St. Joseph, Missouri, which employs a large population of

responsible for childcare while men attend the program’s cultural

refugees from Myanmar; it’s a steady job where not a lot of English is needed

classes and go through job placement. Some of the Somali Bantu

to get by, and Joseph needed to support his growing family – both Peter and

women wanted to address these issues, and they expressed an interest

Christine were born in the U.S.

in farming; it had been central to the culture in their home country. Catholic Charities initially set up a community garden before quickly

After two years in Kansas City, Joseph heard about New Roots for Refugees

recognizing the opportunity to expand, and partnered with Cultivate KC

through a friend. The program, started by Catholic Charities and Cultivate

to do so.

KC, a Kansas City-based agriculture nonprofit (then called Kansas City Center for Urban Agriculture), teaches refugees – typically those with

Today, New Roots is structured as a four-year program, with 16 new

agriculture experience – how to start their own small farms.

families enrolled each year. Twenty-nine families have graduated from the program to date, and 20 of those are still growing and selling

It’s this program, the Thangs say, which truly gave them a sense of home –

produce. Each family is given a quarter-acre plot of land at Juniper

and roots – in their new country.

Gardens, New Roots' nine-acre training farm in Kansas City, Kansas.

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Photo by daniel welch

. ,

"There are a lot of reasons that we chose this path

First because we like to eat fresh-when you grow food

. ,

vegetables that we used to eat in Burma-and most of

them can grow here as well-we wanted to grow what

you pick something and you can eat it right away, just

Americans would eat so we could sell our produce And

like we used to in our hometown Also

also it s like a hobby; we like growing we’re used to it

even though we

live here and we still like to eat the type of

’

and we want to keep doing it It’s in our blood -far thang

kale

scallions

hot peppers

“We follow what we call a stair-step model to self-sufficiency,” says Meredith

All of the produce grown at the Juniper Gardens training farm follows

Walrafen, program coordinator for New Roots. “The first year, farmers

organic farming principles, including crop rotation, planting a diverse

receive a significant amount of support in terms of [financing]: We provide

array of crops and steering clear of genetically modified or treated

them with tools and supplies at no cost to them in the first year. We also

seeds, synthetic fertilizers and chemical pesticides. (The produce is not

provide them with staff support: We go to farmers’ markets with them and

certified organic, however, owing largely to the language barriers that

engage really closely with those first-year farmers. As they move through

inhibit the record-keeping necessary for certification.)

tomatoes

the program, they gradually take on more responsibility with the goal that by the fourth year, they understand and are paying for most of the costs of

The commitment to organic farming practices is in part, Walrafen says,

running a farm.”

because New Roots and Cultivate KC believe that growing organically is best for both soil health and human health. It also helps that most of the

After completing the New Roots program, the hope and expectation is

refugees who are coming from agriculture-focused communities have

that graduates transition to land they own, where they grow food and sell

never farmed any other way.

independently. New Roots staff introduces the families to area farmers’ markets, as well as community supported agriculture (CSA) programs.

Perhaps the biggest adjustments for New Roots farmers are the federal rules and regulations they must learn. Farming commercially,

“We intentionally recruit refugees who were farmers in their home country,”

even on a small scale the way the Thangs do, requires strict adherence

Walrafen says. “We’re interested in working with people who already have

to Food and Drug Administration regulations – rules that most

that skill set and working with them to develop it in the Kansas City area. A

refugees, accustomed to growing for their own families or local

lot of families come to the U.S. with a wide array of skills, and sometimes

community at home, never needed to follow.

those aren't valued by our workforce – maybe that's because of a language barrier or a certification that didn't translate from their home country. But

“Here, even when we started mixing the soil, everything had to be closely

farming is something that translates pretty well.”

monitored,” Far says.

It's also an industry that's currently struggling in the U.S., as the farming

Another significant change: learning about Western produce. Things like

population is declining and aging. New Roots addresses the food system’s

spinach, kale, Swiss chard, arugula, radishes, carrots and beets the Thangs

need for skilled farmers while also giving refugees the opportunity to find

had not previously heard of, eaten or grown. They also had to adapt to the

meaningful work.

new climate. In their native Myanmar, the growing season lasts all year long; in Kansas City, there are limited growing and harvest seasons.

“There are a lot of reasons that we chose this path,” Far says. “First, because we like to eat fresh – when you grow food, you pick something and you can

“At least we have a break here in [the] Midwest [during] winter,” Joseph

eat it right away, just like we used to in our hometown. Also, even though we

says with a smile.

live here and we still like to eat the type of vegetables that we used to eat in Burma – and most of them can grow here as well – we wanted to grow what

And then, of course, there are the expenses of maintaining a farm.

Americans would eat, so we could sell our produce. And also it’s like a hobby; we like growing, we’re used to it and we want to keep doing it. It’s in our blood.”

“Here, we have to pay for water, seed, mulch, straw,” Far says. “Back in our hometown, we get water from a well or a river. We carry buckets of it to water the plants. But here, with technology and irrigation, that’s a big difference.”

Although refugees in the New Roots program mostly have prior farming

For the most part, New Roots positions its program as a second income

experience, they still have a lot to learn about growing produce in the Midwest.

stream for refugees. Joseph still works at Triumph five or six days a week, but the Thangs have an all-hands-on-deck approach to their farm,

“Even though we have a farming background, it’s different here,” Far says.

which they have named Victoria Gardens. Even Sharon and Benjamin

“New Roots took us from A to Z. They taught us how to mix the soil, start a

help with harvesting, washing produce, weighing it and getting it ready

greenhouse and transplant – everything, step-by-step, until harvest.”

for market.

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“Here, we have to

, , . ,

pay for water seed

mulch straw Back in our hometown we get water from a well

or a river We carry buckets of it to

water the plants But

here with technology

and irrigation that’s a big difference -far thang

.”

“Far is more involved in the garden, because I have a full-time job, but I’m involved as much as I can [be]," Joseph says. "I do the tilling and the more [labor-intensive] jobs, and she does the seeding, planting, all the watering and weeding until harvest. She takes care of everything, pretty much.” Far doesn’t drive on highways, so she and Joseph make the weekly trips to the Liberty Farmers’ Market in nearby Liberty, Missouri. Joseph takes care of unloading and arranging the display, while Far is in charge of communicating with customers and selling produce. During the four-year New Roots training program, there were field trips and activities for participants; despite his day job, Joseph tried to make sure that he and Far could go together. “We both learned at the same time, and that’s how we balance the jobs,” he says.

The Thangs graduated from New Roots in 2015; during their four years with the program, they garnered a handful of CSA customers for Victoria Gardens. Last year, they had 12 CSA customers, in addition to their regular business at the Liberty Farmers’ Market. Today, Victoria Gardens offers a variety of crops – all the Western produce that the Thangs have learned to appreciate, plus a smattering of vegetables and greens that are more often found in Burmese culture. There’s chin baung ywet, or sour leaf, a variety of hibiscus also known as roselle. The

“They’re beautiful farmers,” Walrafen says. “They grow beautiful produce, and

Thangs eat the leaf, root and fruit, savoring its sour flavor; this is the

they always have. It's been fun to see them grow [independently]. They have a

primary ingredient in chin baung kyaw, a spicy dish made with green curry

following at the Liberty market; they do well and have regular customers.”

paste and bamboo. They also grow a few types of herbs, including sebelin, which is similar to lemon grass. And while pumpkins are fairly ubiquitous

It seems like Joseph and Far could be one of New Roots’ model families for

in Western cuisine, pumpkin shoots, or leaves, are not. They're a staple in

success – and, indeed, Walrafen considers them an excellent model of how

many Asian and African countries, though, and appear on the Thangs’ table

the program can positively impact lives. Yet their path, she adds, mirrors

as a steamed side dish or soup ingredient.

many of the families that enroll in the New Roots program.

The Thangs’ backyard plot of land is a good size, but not overly large. Still,

“With the folks that we work with, I see on a regular basis [a] hard work

there’s nothing they feel like they can’t grow; they’ve even assembled a

ethic, valuing family, wanting to support their community,” Walrafen says.

small makeshift greenhouse where garlic, green onions and onion sprouts

“Those things are really prevalent, and people work really, really hard, and

are kept warm and thrive in the winter months.

not just at farming. It takes a certain amount of humility to go to a farmers’ market when you don't speak the language, and it takes a lot of courage and

“It was lucky that we were open-minded to the new culture and new life

strength to be willing to put yourself out there. The people [who] come here

here,” Far says. “We were excited and happy that we were safe, and we had a

want so much to succeed; they want a good life for themselves and their

lot of support here from the community. Emotionally, we were sturdy.”

family. They want a community around them, and this program engages them in the larger Kansas City community.”

Joseph considers Far's words before continuing.

Find Victoria Gardens produce at the Liberty Farmers’ Market

“The only challenge is related to the farming and marketing,” Joseph says.

every Saturday from May through

“Your expectancy is high, because you have a lot of produce, and you think you’ll make $300 or $400 when you go to market. But there might

After a year in Kansas City, the Thangs applied for a green card, and by 2017,

be competition that day, or the market isn’t crowded and you make half

they had all become U.S. citizens. As important a step as this was for the

of what you thought, and then you have to trash what you didn’t sell. And

family, it wasn’t the only one that made them feel at home. Instead, it’s the

you work hard to make that produce, but when you don’t have someone

deeper connection they’ve formed with their community and in their own

to sell it to, you have to throw it away. That’s a real challenge, and that can

backyard through farming.

facebook.com/pg/vgkck.

New Roots for Refugees is a partnership between the Catholic

emotionally affect me, because your hard work is for nothing.” “It impacted our whole life and family,” Joseph says. “It’s a little financial When asked about how frequently she’s in touch with Far and Joseph since

October. Visit them online at

support, and we’re enjoying what we’re doing.”

Charities of Northeast Kansas City and Cultivate KC. Learn more at newrootsforrefugees.blogspot.com.

they graduated from New Roots, Walrafen pauses. “It’s peace of mind all the time,” Far adds. “You see your work from the seed to “The most telling thing might be that I haven't talked to them in a while,” she

growth to harvest. It’s a peaceful feeling, when you see your plants growing.

says, a touch of pride in her voice. “What that shows is that they run their

Our garden makes us happy. We’re not bored: We’ve got something to do all

farm business really independently of our program, and the fact that we

the time, and it’s spending time in a good way, just day by day, with the garden.”

don't interact with them is a sign of self-sufficiency.” For the Thangs, their current garden is just the beginning of a long-term goal. The Thangs, she says, were among the first New Roots students to

Once the kids are older and can devote more time to farming, Far says, she

purchase a truck for hauling produce – just one indicator of how much

and Joseph would like to expand to a larger plot of land – somewhere in the

they wanted to make farming a viable part of their lives in Kansas City from

country, where they can raise cows and chickens and plant even more crops.

the get-go. Far was quite shy at first, but over the years, she grew more

Right now, that’s their retirement plan.

comfortable with her English-language skills. And it doesn’t hurt, Walrafen adds, that the Thangs are blessed with natural green thumbs. On their

“Growing is what we love to do,” Far says, gently rocking Christine, who is now

own, the family decided to start growing flowers, and Far assembles

asleep in her arms. “We want to spend the rest of our lives doing that. That’s

show-stopping arrangements to sell at the market when they’re in season.

our dream.” Inspired Local Food Culture

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Klaire and Caleb Howerton of Green Thicket Farm in Springfield, Missouri, share unexpected farm-fresh flavor through their pop-up dinner series.

written by LiLLian Stone

xx 76

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photography by traviS howard

Just north of Springfield, Missouri, Green Thicket Farm is home to a diverse cast of characters. The property is regularly patrolled by a lively herd of goats, significantly more active than the hefty rabbits lazing in their hutch. Occasionally, a wayward hen makes her way into the pig enclosure, where she’s warily regarded by the hogs. In the middle of the action is the small farmhouse where farmers Klaire and Caleb Howerton live. The young couple have gained a local following for their Dinners at the Thicket, an unstuffy farm-to-table dining experience where they offer guests a taste of their farm-fresh fare while also sharing a behind-the-scenes glance at where their food comes from.

the grass menagerie The breadth of Green Thicket’s offerings is impressive, especially given that the farm is mainly a two-person operation. The Howertons employ Klaire’s younger sister, Klee, as sous chef for the dinner series; other than that, Klaire and Caleb run the farm themselves. According to Klaire, farming was a natural career path for the couple; Klaire grew up on what she describes now as a “hobby farm,” and, as a kid, Caleb started his own “mini-farm” in his father’s backyard. Today, Green Thicket raises a varied mixture of farm animals, including rabbits, sheep, quail, veal calves, hogs and more. According to Klaire, the choice to raise less-common farm animals resulted from chef demand and customer curiosity. “Once we started building our clientele, they were really interested in options outside of the traditional chickens and eggs,” she says. In the past, Harvest Restaurant in Rogersville has served Green Thicket's rabbit tenderloin wrapped in pancetta with a galantine of rabbit shoulder meat, garlic-potato purée and a mushroom vinaigrette, while Farmers Gastropub in Springfield has featured the farm's softboiled quail eggs in a smoked chicken and bacon salad.

“We wanted to do a model that would fit people who were on our own income level. We want local food to be available to everybody.” -Klaire Howerton For some home cooks, there's still a learning curve for frying rabbit or roasting quail – but Caleb is working to change that. “Caleb is really good about educating customers who might want to try a more diverse selection,” Klaire says. “We’re happy to offer tips on how to prepare it.” Green Thicket is also home to a small mixed herd of dairy goats that produce milk for popular items like the farm’s highly sought-after caramels, which are handcrafted with a recipe closely guarded by Caleb. “Goat milk has significantly less fat than cow’s milk, so we’ve put a lot of time into perfecting the final product," Klaire says. "The flavor is also noticeably different; there’s something slightly sweet. It’s creamy in a way that’s hard to accomplish with the texture of cow’s milk.” Unpasteurized goat's milk is also available for sale at the farm, and goat cheese was just added to the lineup this spring. The Howertons grow greens, potatoes, tomatoes and turnips as well – produce that “people aren’t afraid to eat,” as Klaire puts it. Green Thicket doesn’t vend at farmers’ markets; instead, a community-supported agriculture (CSA) program allows members to pay a monthly fee for a share of the farm’s bounty through one of two tiers ($250 for a full share or $150 for a half). Customers can pick up their shares on the farm, but delivery is also available at several retail locations in the area. “We wanted to do a model that would fit people who were on our own income level,” Klaire says. “We want local food to be available to everybody.” Inspired Local Food Culture

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farm-fresh dining In March 2017, the Howertons decorated a table in their garage and sold tickets to the first Dinner at the Thicket for just $35 for five courses. Today, the

Green Thicket Recipes

couple still hosts the dinners in the garage, although

Put a local farm's bounty to work with recipes from chef-owner Caleb Howerton.

it’s been remodeled to serve as a cozy dining space with accommodations for up to 24 guests. The creaky garage door has been replaced with floor-to-ceiling windows, allowing diners to peer out at farm life as they enjoy their meals. During dinners, one long farm

bacon-spinach egg cups

table is decorated with rustic centerpieces, and music

YIELDS | 12 egg CuPs |

plays softly in the background. (The renovations were accompanied by a small price hike: Tickets are now $45 per seat.) The dinners are preceded by a farm tour and social

12 ¾ ¾ ¾ ¾

hour, giving guests a glimpse into where and how their food was raised. The experience is casual, educational and fully hands-on. Baby rabbits are available for cuddling, and the Howertons’ energetic collection of well-trained farm dogs almost always make an appearance. After the tour, guests are invited to take

large eggs cup green onions, minced cup freshly grated Cheddar cheese cup cooked bacon cup fresh spinach unsalted butter

| preparation | Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large mixing bowl, crack eggs and add green onions, cheese, cooked bacon and spinach; whisk until eggs are scrambled and ingredients are combined.

their seats in the garage with a beverage of their choice: Tea and water are served with dinner, or you can bring your own alcoholic beverages. All of the food is prepared by Caleb in the Howertons’ home kitchen, and the majority of the ingredients are grown on the farm; some, like various cheeses, are sourced from Edgewood Creamery in Purdy or Terrell Creek Farm in Fordland. Caleb learned basic kitchen skills at Ozarks Technical Community College in Springfield, but he’s largely self-taught. “I get inspiration from social media, but many of our courses are inspired by walking through our garden and [trying] out ideas in our kitchen," Caleb says. The dishes are mostly familiar to guests – tacos and veggie-stuffed blinis, for example – but Caleb is careful to work more unexpected ingredients onto his menus. Last season, dishes included fennel-top ravioli stuffed with goat cheese, kale and caramelized onions, drizzled with sage butter and sprinkled with dehydrated fennel-top powder, and a kohlrabi latke with smoked pork belly and a green-garlic purée. Other dishes were topped with fried, hard-boiled or smoke-cured quail eggs. Recently, Caleb has experimented with adding goat cheese to a cheesecake, garnishing a meat course with the farm’s mulberry-wine sauce and topping custard and streusel with a sorrel syrup. It’s just another way to show guests the versatility of fresh food, Klaire says. “We try to focus on what people want to eat and not what looks extravagant on a plate,” Caleb says. “While beautiful plates inspire me, and plate aesthetic is important, I’d rather have a guest gush over the depth

Grease a muffin tin with butter and fill each muffin cup ¾ full with egg mixture. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes; serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 1 week.

rabbit pot pie SERVES | 6 | Pot-Pie Crust

2 1 ²⁄₃ 5 to 7

cups all-purpose flour tsp kosher salt cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces Tbsp cold water, divided

Pot-Pie Filling

1 3 to 4 2 1 3 2 1 to 2 1

whole rabbit (3½ to 4 lbs meat) cups vegetable stock, divided Tbsp unsalted butter, divided medium yellow onion, minced cloves garlic, minced medium carrots, diced stalks celery, diced Tbsp all-purpose flour salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

| preparation – pot-pie crust | In a large mixing bowl, add flour and salt and stir together; cut in butter. Add 5 tablespoons water; mix to form dough. Add 1 to 2 additional tablespoons water if dough is too dry. Form dough into a ball and tightly wrap in plastic wrap; freeze for 5 minutes or until firm. Remove dough from freezer. Roll out half and transfer to a pie pan; place other sheet of dough on a baking sheet and refrigerate. Return dough in pan to freezer until firm, about 20 minutes.

| preparation – pot-pie filling | Preheat oven to 375°F. In a large casserole dish, add whole rabbit and 1 to 2 cups stock. Braise in oven for 1 hour. Remove rabbit meat from bones and shred; keep warm over low heat. Reduce oven to 350°F.

of flavors a great pasta dish can hold, rather than how ornate it is.” Caleb typically begins planning each dinner with a stroll through the farm to assess what seasonal ingredients are at their peak. As at any farm-to-table restaurant, the menu varies widely depending on ingredient availability. That’s just fine with Caleb, who prefers not to repeat dishes. However, certain menu items are frequently in demand after receiving word-of-mouth praise from previous dinners.

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In a large skillet, add 1 tablespoon butter and sauté onion, garlic, carrots and celery for about 5 minutes or until soft. Set aside. In a separate large skillet, melt remaining butter. Add flour and stir until a roux forms. Slowly add remaining stock to roux, incorporating cooked vegetables as you go; season with salt and pepper to taste. Heat until simmering. Add shredded rabbit meat. Remove pie crust from freezer; add vegetable-rabbit filling and top with refrigerated sheet of dough. Crimp edges of top layer to fit pie pan. Cut several slits in top layer of dough for ventilation and bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until crust is golden. Serve.

“I’m very partial to many of our pasta dishes,” Caleb says. “[They’re] often some of our guests’ favorites – especially when they find out every noodle is handmade.” Caleb's ever-changing crème brûlées are another favorite, made with additions such as chocolate from Springfield-based Askinosie Chocolate. Other desserts have incorporated the award-winning chocolate as well, including chocolate waffles with fresh whipped cream, a cocoa-nib ganache and cocoa nibs for garnish. The dinners were a welcome addition to the Howertons routine; Klaire says she was pleased with the attention the farm received last year. “We started to get [media coverage] last summer, and I was so excited about the response,” she says. “By the end of the year, I was amazed that we had fed hundreds of people in our garage.” Klaire says that her favorite part of the dinners is

Green ThickeT Farm 2018 Dinner DaTes

introducing visitors to the often unpredictable nature of life on the farm. That includes addressing challenges

Rosemary-goat cheese ravioli with green-garlic sauce

Menus are not yet final for the 2018 pop-up dinner series. Tickets for the 2018 season are now available at 417tix.com. Fri., June 15 Sat., June 16 Fri., July 13 Sat., July 14 Fri., Aug. 17 Sat., Aug. 18 Fri., Sept. 14 Sat., Sept. 15 Fri., Oct. 12 Sat., Oct. 13 Fri., Nov. 16 Sat., Nov. 17 Fri., Dec. 14 Sat., Dec. 15

like weather – especially when a meal is met with a downpour. “It was tough to make sure people were dry and comfortable when the weather was unpredictable,” she says. “But it ended up being a great way to educate [guests] about the things we have to deal with on a daily basis. Weather is such a crucial part of a farm’s day-to-day operations, so it’s fitting that guests would be immersed in that as they’re trying to get a feel for life on the farm.” Klaire also recalls one especially popular dinner during which a rogue chicken strolled into the garage for a visit. “If the health department calls, tell them we were visited by the world’s cleanest chicken,” she laughs. “People really enjoy things like that because it gives them a real look into our day-to-day.” Caleb agrees that diners are typically delighted by the insider peek at life on the farm. He also finds that people are often surprised and impressed by the sophistication of their operation. “The size of our farm amazes many

Chocolate-covered goat's milk caramels

of our guests, because of all that we accomplish on six acres,” he says. The Howertons conclude most of the dinners with a coffee and dessert hour, at which point they usually emerge from the kitchen to chat with guests about their work on the farm. Klaire says that many of those conversations end with new CSA members, a pattern the Howertons hope continues throughout the 2018 season. “A lot of our guests are so interested in getting more plugged into farm-to-table dining and cooking, but they don’t know where to start,” Klaire says. “People are always really excited to see where their food comes from and to get some tips on preparing local food themselves.” Ultimately, Dinners at the Thicket are a casual, approachable way for guests to experience the challenges, rewards and quirks of farm life – all while enjoying fresh and creative fare. “The dinners help us reconnect with the work that we do,” Klaire says. “They’re a culmination of everything we do on the farm, and we love sharing that with people.”

Asparagus frond and goat-cheese tart

greenthicketfarm.bigcartel.com Inspired Local Food Culture

j u ne 2 018

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A PLACE FOR COMMITMENT Children need dependable, responsible adults in their life. Having someone to share time and provide guidance is essential. The Gateway Region YMCA provides community programs like group mentoring and youth sports because weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re committed to making a difference now and in the future. Together we can create opportunities for all.

gwrymca.org/opportunities

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Sidney Fish grew up on a 10-acre farm, and she’s been cooking with fresh produce her entire life. Today, Fish uses farm-fresh ingredients to prepare flavorful, high-quality food on her Kansas City-area food truck, Beauty of the Bistro. Menu items range from the Roadhouse Burger and bánh mì sandwich to crawfish mac ‘n’ cheese and chimichurri chicken. Fish describes her culinary approach as, “creating dishes that are unique, memorable, pleasing to the eye and balanced.” We recently caught up with Fish to learn where she likes to dine and a grab a drink in the Kansas City area when she’s off the clock. –Lauren Smith

with Sidney Fish chef-owner,

beauty of the bistro

imagine you have one entire day to dedicate to dining out in Kansas city: Where Would you grab breaKfast, lunch and dinner, and What Would you be ordering at each spot? My husband and I discovered Ginger Sue’s in Olathe, Kansas, about a month ago. Although I typically skip breakfast, I ate everything from my order of Ginger’s Classic. When my side of potatoes came out, they were hand-cut with proper seasoning. It was a very refreshing experience. They have great service, great coffee and the dishes are fresh! For lunch, I would head to The Farmhouse in City Market and order whatever the server suggests. Everything on the menu is sourced from local farmers, and it will always be great! For dinner, you’ll find me at Blvd Tavern; in a perfect world, the fried cheese curds, rabbit enchiladas and mushroom bisque would be on the menu, as well as the steak frites and a good bottle of Sauvignon Blanc.

“For lunch, I would head to The Farmhouse in City market and order whatever the server suggests. everything on the menu is sourced from local farmers, and it will always be great!”

ginger sue’s

the farmhouse

blvd tavern

Who or What do you believe is a hidden gem in the Kansas city food scene? I love funky hole-in-the-wall bars like The Ship in the West Bottoms. And there are so many good coffee roasters in Kansas City now; it’s really fun to seek them out. Blip Roasters is a favorite. Where do you go for late-night eats and/or a nightcap?

nicK and jaKe’s

A late-night favorite is Nick and Jake’s. I love the small plates and starters menu and the late-night happy hour. My husband and I will share Buffalo wings, tenderloin sliders and crab cakes. My husband will order a beer and I’ll get a cup of The Roasterie coffee.

the ship

What’s currently your favorite meal at a local restaurant? My current go-to is the street tacos at Dos de Oros in Martin City, Missouri – I could eat there four or five times a week! The salsa bar is amazing. We’re remodeling a house, and my food truck is getting started back up, so with no home kitchen and crazy work hours, Dos de Oros makes me happy! Who in the local restaurant scene inspires you? There are so many awesome chef-owners doing great things. Anyone who’s cooking with fresh ingredients and offering dishes that fall outside of the “safety zone” inspire me. Joe West [The Savoy], Craig Adcock [Table Ocho], John C. Smith [EJ’s Urban Eatery] and Carla Schreiber [Whimsy Cheesecakes] are some of my favorites.

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blip roasters

dos de oros

john c. smith

Discover innovative dishes and classic favorites. A steakhouse mixed with Italian ﬂair, serving the ﬁnest steaks, seafood and Italian cuisine. Featuring a large selection of international wines and champagnes. Enjoy complimentary Valet Parking. Reservations encouraged. Call 636.940.4471 or visit StCharles.Ameristar.com.

Inspired Local Food Culture

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