Part of a growing community of entrepreneurs who have left NYC for greener pastures, husband-and-wife team Zakary Pelaccio and Jori Jayne Emde recently set up shop in Hudson, NY….
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Life lessons, groomed gardens and butter-poached lobster at The French Laundry
When invited to The French Laundry, the answer, without hesitation, is a resounding yes. As a destination restaurant with a long waiting list, you never know when the opportunity will present itself again. American Express recently asked us to check out their By Invitation Only program—mentioning a harvest dinner…
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Mark Gravel presents a playful guide to radical beanmaking
Mark Gravel is a boss of beans, a leader of legumes, a pioneer of plant-based eating. His new book, “Kill the Recipe: A Cookbook & Visual Guidebook on the Basics of Radical Beanmaking & Plant-based Eating,” introduces beans to at-home chefs while championing the benefits of the food group….
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Two apps seek out sustainable food and responsible diet options
We know plenty, perhaps even too much about how we ought to eat, but the fact remains we put a lot of faith in restauranteurs and grocery stockists to have our best interests in mind. Lately, we have noticed a few apps that aim to put power in the hands of the purchaser. Vegan, gluten-free, raw, green, sustainable, ethical and flexitarian eaters can all appreciate the awesome power of knowing the best foods to eat and where to find them.
The newest app for selective eaters is inBloom, founded by OK Go guitarist Andy Ross and Eytan Oren of Eytan and the Embassy. The personalized interface saves the users’ dietary preferences and employs the information to filter search results. Not limited to food, inBloom also offers the ability to search for eco-friendly lodging and electric charging stations. Each restaurant description includes yelp ratings, hours of operation, map location and other useful tidbits. The location-based app is currently only available for NYC with plans to spread to other cities.
Clean Plates is less user-specific, with browsing based on the type of fare you happen to be feeling at the moment. Search by cuisine, location, price or diet to find healthy, sustainable and delicious food. Essentially a restaurant searcher, Clean Plates sets itself apart with well-researched summaries that are a result of investigation into the background of individual restaurants. The app also includes Yelp ratings, links to Menupages, hours, price ranges and locations. Rather than ignoring middle-of-the road options, restaurants are rated as either “great,” “good” or “okay” to allow for more dining flexibility.
Some old favorites in the sustainable food app selection are Seafood Watch and Locavore. The former comes from Monterey Bay Aquarium and rates different types of seafood based on sustainability and ecological ratings. Once users decide on a fish, they can search restaurants and stores to find it nearby. Locavore features a seasonal food list so that you can stay informed of locally grown produce any time of year. The app also lets you search for nearby markets, browse recipes and see what others are eating in your area.
North Carolina’s oldest microbrewery churns out tasty beers and more from their eco-farm
After leaving his home in Germany to study large-scale farming in England, Uli Bennewitz moved to the U.S. to work in agribusiness. His beer-brewing hobby soon became an obsession, and 25 years ago he started Weeping Radish, now North Carolina’s oldest microbrewery. The craft beer project has since grown into a fully-developed brewery and nitrate-free farm, serving up award-winning charcuterie (handcrafted by their master German butcher, Frank), alongside an assortment of German-style beers.
Weeping Radish brews their beer according to the Reinheitsgebot Purity Law of 1516, a regulation made by Duke Wilhelm IV of Bavaria stating beer could only be made using malt, hops and water to maintain quality. Later amended to include yeast, Bennewitz and his team include the fourth ingredient in their recipe.
Bennewitz, passionate about utilizing local North Carolina ingredients, is a working example of value-added agriculture. Not only does the brewery’s pub menu follow a “Farmer to Fork” ethos, they also add the beer to ‘brats and use watered-down distilled beer to fertilize crops. They also work with the small farms that supply them beef to create sausages and charcuterie products at Weeping Radish that are then sent back to the farms to be sold.
For their 25th anniversary this year, the “hobby out of control” incorporated cascade hops grown on a farm in the mountainous region of Ashville, NC into their India Pale Ale. Bennewitz says eventually they will, “go to the next level, grow our own barley, have it malted and bring it back.” While we found the that the IPA could have been hoppier, the mild flavor was still palate-pleasing. Their current lineup of regionally-inspired flavors includes OBX Kölsch, Radler, Corolla Gold, Fest and Black Radish. The creative chefs behind nearby Boot Local Kitchen & Wine Bar told us they made regular trips to Weeping Radish for their Altbier brew, a “top notch” top-fermented beer with a slightly crisper taste.
Weeping Radish brews sell from their online beer store for $39 per case of 12 swing-top bottles.
Images courtesy of Boot
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