Tully and Marie's - local foods in Middlebury, VT

On a recent trip out East, my husband and I took advantage of the local foods movement in Vermont to taste some of the best that Vermont has to offer.

On an icy drive through Vermont on Highway 7 in December, we decided to stop in Middlebury, VT. The shire town of Addison County, Middlebury was chartered in 1761. It was settled just after the Revolutionary War. In Middlebury, you can visit a monument to John Deere and his invention of the "the plow that broke the plains." Word.

Charming is an adequate word for Middlebury - especially during the holiday season, when the historic buildings were capped with snow, the fireplaces were roaring, the snow-covered pines were twinkling with lights, and the hand-crafted wines and beers were pouring.

The Vermont Fresh Network helps Vermont farms and restaurants partner to provide the freshest local food at restaurants. We scoped the scene and discovered one such restaurant in Middlebury. We stopped for dinner at Tully and Marie's located on Bakery Lane (isn't that an adorable name for a lane?).

(photo from Mid Vermont Dining)

Tully and Marie's has a bonafied MISSION regarding sustainable foods, and by gosh, they want to share it! Their mission is printed on the backside of the menu, and takes up the entire page. Highlights from the mission include: "Processed foods are shunned....We do not support the Asian farmed (black tiger) shrimp industry which utilizes pesticides, fungicides, and herbicides and ruins good farm land with flooded salt water......We never serve standard commercial salmon because it is raised by unsound methods using overcrowded pens, antibiotics, pesticides, fungicides and even dyed food to make the salmon pink."

We all know sustainable seafood is next to impossible for many species, but Tully and Marie's goes out of their way to do the best they can with what's available, and that was appealing to me.

We selected a cozy diner-style table overlooking the river, and spent some time puzzling over the architecture and decor. Not surprisingly, we started our meal with a large plate of steamed Prince Edward Island Mussels served with scallions & cilantro in a red curry broth. They were perfectly tender, and the tangy red curry broth was tasty, but not overwhelming.

Taking advantage of the sustainable seafood available, I ordered the nightly grilled seafood risotto - Tully and Marie's offers a nightly selection of grilled seafood served over saffron-infused risotto, oven roasted tomatoes & spinach.

My dish consisted of scallops, Prince Edward island mussels, ocean-caught shrimp from Mexico, and organic salmon raised in Scotland using sound aquaculture methods. The roasted tomatoes & spinach nestled underneath the risotto was perfectly paired with the tender mussels and shrimp. The scallops neither added nor detracted from the dish. They were tender, but not particularly flavorful. I could have done without the salmon, as I'm simply not a fan of salmon - no matter how much I try. The salmon flavor was slightly overpowering in the dish, for me, but I believe a salmon lover would like this dish. A seafood craver would find this dish adequate enough to satiate that craving for several months. I paired it with a Raptor Ridge Pinot Gris, Willamette Valley, 2005.

gerg ordered the Laplatte Farm’s black angus, naturally raised, hormone & antibiotic free London broil (now that's a mouthful). It was plated with asiago and mushroom risotto and local roasted root vegetables. The beef was tenderized appropriately and prepared nicely. The risotto on gerg's plate was superior to the risotto on my plate. The sharpness of the asiago gave it a blast of flavor that my saffron infused risotto lacked.

We didn't get to try their house made chorizo, which sounded tasty. There was also a Vermont apple crumble pie that was calling our names, but I had a belly so full of seafood that I felt like a shark for the rest of the night.

Tully and Marie's: new American chow meets Art Deco on the river. Fresh, seasonal, sustainable, local food zealots.

7 Bakery Lane
Middlebury, VT 05753
802-388-4182
tully@tullyandmaries.com
www.tullyandmaries.com

[where: Sustainable Food, Middlebury, VY]

Sage Student Bistro - a Highlight in Omaha

A recent trip for my day job landed me in Omaha, Nebraska.

There, I had the opporunity to enjoy a dinner a Sage Bistro at Metropolitan Community College.
College cafeteria food? What's so special about that?

Our dinner at MCC was prepared by students enrolled the the culinary arts program. The students prepared local foods dinner for myself and my colleagues, and we were treated to some of the finest grub that Omaha producers have to offer.

(click on the image to enlarge it)

On our menu, the chef listed the sources of the ingredients, a rare treat on a menu, and something I truly appreciate.

Our entree was a roasted lamb rack. The lamb was overcooked, sadly. It was still edible, but the star of the dish was the mix of red beans paired with it, which were chock full of slices of amazing Loukanika sausage from Bluff Valley Farms. Loukanika is a greek sausage. Ours was made with ground pork and lamb, and seasoned with orange rind. It was my first time trying Loukanika sausage, and it certainly won't be my last - that's some darn fine sausage! No booze was served during our meal, but guests can carry in their own bottle of wine.

The squash confit was a delight, and something I've never tasted before. The butternut squash was smooth, with a depth of flavor that was charged by the confit technique.

The pear and cranberry crisp was done up right with a brandy-cider flambe that was prepared in the dining room. Pyrotechnics during a meal? Why not? It's a bunch of college kids, afterall. The crisp was served with a creamy french-style ice cream, made with eggs, that was speckled with vanilla bean.

After dinner, the chef offered entertaining stories while we sipped coffee, and it was great to hear about his experiences and relationships with each of the producers featured on the menu.

Details: MCC is the only educational institution in the country to offer a program in Culinology™. Culinology blends traditional culinary arts with food science. MCC ranks in the top thirteen culinary schools in the United States, and the cost of the entire program is only about $3500.

Worth noting: The students at Sage Bistro offer a menu degustation for four people for $145 in their dining room.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

And just in case you're wondering, yes, I did indulge in some Omaha steak while in Omaha. I'm not a steak person, but when in Rome....

I had a 8oz. fillet at Omaha Prime. Located in Omaha's Old Market district, Omaha Prime is one of the few restaurants in the country to serve exclusively USDA prime grade beef. Our group of six was escorted to a beautiful table on the second floor. I was one of two women in the dining room. They do it right at Omaha Prime - white jackets, family style sides, and a spectacle of raw beef presented before you place your order.


I topped my steak with some locally made Maytag bleu cheese and I opted for a Fat Tire Amber Ale instead of wine. It was delicious.

[where: Sustainable Food, Omaha,]

Kick and Ye Shall Receive: The Himalayan

I've been kicked by Girl Friday!

Grad school, day job, and a tiny food budget have been keeping me out of restaurants and in the kitchen lately, but not so much that I couldn't make it out and around the block to try the new Himalayan restaurant in Seward.

The Himalayan proclaims on their web site: "With a desire to bring authentic Nepalese cuisine to the heart of the Twin Cities, we have now opened Himalayan just across the river in Minneapolis. Come experience the flavors of Nepal, Tibet and India at the Himalayan restaurant with a beautiful view of the Himalayan mountain range. " Himalayan mountain range? In Minneapolis?? Nah. It's just a giant photo of Mt. Everest.

If there's one thing I know about Himalayan restaurants, it's that there's gonna be dumplings, and if there's one thing I know about me, it's that I ADORE all dumplings.

So on a late Sunday evening, gerg and I headed to The Himalayan for one purpose - to eat momos. What are momos? They're steamed dumplings, and at the Himalayan, they're served with "your choice of meat or vegetarian or chicken or yak."

We settled at the only open table and scanned the menus. I was conflicted, but after tapping into my love for fried dumplings, we settled on the kothe. What are kothe? They're fried momos! Genius!

The yak kothe are yummy at The Himalyan. They source the yak from a farm in St. Cloud - I'm guessing it's sourced from Hooper's Yak Ranch . Yak are native to the Tibetan Plateau of the Himalayan Mountains, but apparently also like Minnesota. The yak meat at The Himalayan is tender, juicy, and flavorful. Seriously, try the yak kothe...unless you don't eat meat.

While I could have eaten only dumplings for dinner, I noted a Palak Paneer dish on the menu. Palak Paneer is spinach and cheese cubes suspended in a creamy sauce with spices, and it's one of my favorite comfort foods. Now, the paneer ain't like cheese curds, y'all - paneer is a fresh and delicate cottage cheese made from whole milk. The Palak Paneer at The Himalayan was different from others I've had. It was much creamier than others I've had - mouthcoating, rich, flavorful, very comforting on the comfort food scale. I ordered medium spiciness in my Palak Paneer, and it definitely had some heat. I also ordered some garlic naan bread to go with the Palak Paneer, and it was some of the best nan bread I've had in years. These two big pieces of unleavened bread were soft and nicely blistered, and piping hot.

To drink, I ordered a mango lassi. The mango lassi was interesting at The Himalayan. A lassi is a sweet yogurt based drink made with mango in most cases. The Himalayan's version seemed to have a higher yogurt ratio than others I've had, which is ok if you like yogurt, and I do. It was less sweet than others I've had. The yogurty lassi definitely did the job cooling my mouth, which was feeling pretty firey after the Palak Paneer.

The night we were there, they were hosting an event, and they had one table to spare for us. Our service was prompt, despite the crowd.

I'll definitely go back. I want to try the yak momos, the kwati (lentil soup) and the bheda ko masu (lamb curry).

2401 E. Franklin Ave.
Minneapolis, MN 55406
612-332-0880

[where: Sustainable Food, St. Paul, Twin Cities, Minnesota]