Local restaurants and specialty stores are doing a great job of “changing the image” of the foods we buy and eat today by utilizing locally made, farmed, or grown ingredients. Ever wonder where the greens in your tossed salad or the Goat Cheese in your omelet are from, or the well marbled steak you are enjoying at a popular restaurant in town has been farmed. Sometimes it’s nice to know that everything you eat is not from some far off land like Costa Rica or Japan but actually from right in your own town. Local farmers are working well with restaurateurs and market owner’s, offering a larger variety along with more healthy, all natural and organic choices for them to feature on their menus and in their stores. Many locally grown or farmed products can also be more cost effective all round, with less shipping and handling expense, and with the benefits of keeping the money locally in a small town everyone involved seems to win.
Searching out local stores and restaurants that are run by owners and chefs that are involved with these practices has its benefits. The New England area and most of all Connecticut has an abundance of local products produced in many small towns. With Sheep’s milk cheese from the local Abby, or Cured fresh hams from the Egg and I farms and even the best smoke house on the east coast (Nodine’s) as local as Goshen, Litchfield may have more to offer then you thought. The October farm in Bantam , the Marble Valley Farm in Kent and the Hidden River Farm in Morris all grow wonderful Organic vegetables in a wide variety of spring, summer and fall offerings. Litchfield is also not far from a few of Connecticut’s best Wineries, apple orchards and dairy farms. Litchfield has also always had a wonderful Farmer’s Market where local farmers and businesses show off their wares. Some restaurant owners like the ones at the Litchfield Saltwater Grille also grow and maintain organic or raised gardens of their own. Having a raised garden that produces early crops of spring greens, fresh herbs, and numerous vegetable selections and is still capable of supplying a bumper crop throughout the remainder of the season is a great advantage. This gives the chefs @ the SWG lots of healthy, tasty, and varied choices to make menus and specials, with a local fresh flair. Chef Albert also enjoys the privilege of a large organic garden at his home that he tends to daily, often experimenting from season to season with many exotic plantings. This year’s crop has produced more than dozen items now used in his new ‘JARS’ line which you can check out on their website. http://www.litchfieldsaltwatergrille.org/
Don’t wait till the New Year to start eating better and enjoying local products. Many of the areas specialty stores have just the right items you need to make an all local inspired menu for the holidays. When you think about going out this holiday season why not take the out of towners to the Litchfield Saltwater Grille and enjoy some of what our area has to offer. It’s always been said that ‘to live well is to eat well” especially when you can do it close to home…. Happy Holidays….
SWG Chef Albe Galotta
Nodine’s Smokehouse Torrington and Goshen http://www.nodinesmokehouse.com/
Arethusa Cow Farm, Litchfield CT http://www.arethusafarm.com/main.htm
Litchfield Farmers Market http://www.litchfieldhillsfood.org/
Connecticut Wine Trail http://www.ctwine.com/
Connecticut Caterers (Local/ Organic/ Vegan Offerings) http://connecticutcaterers.org/
Saltwater Grille Blog 