Are Organic/Local Restaurants a New Trend?
In my town of Roseville, California, there is a new shopping center with not one, but two, organic/local restaurants: Paul Martin’s Amercian Bistro and Utopia Grill. Paul Martin’s is a bit fancier, though the prices are definitely reasonable, while Utopia Grill is more grab and go. It could be that this is just a coincidence, but I hope the growing number of restaurants like this is a trend. Imagine having the chance to choose to give your business to restaurants that use organic and local ingredients, in a range of prices. Let me know in the comments if you’re seeing this in your neighborhood, too.
After hearing about Paul Martin’s through the local blogger grapevine, imagine my excitement when my husband and I were invited to try it out. First, there was the organic thing, but almost more importantly, it isn’t a chain. Roseville is all about big box stores and chain restaurants, so we’re always looking for something different. If an organic/local restaurant like this can make it here, there’s a good chance they can make it anywhere. (Although it could be a California thing, I guess.)
The idea behind the restaurant is to “Eat organic. Believe in sustainable. Buy local. Love fresh.” How can you go wrong? Well, the menu, chef, or service could stink. Luckily for us, none of those were true. Instead, the menu, chef, and service were outstanding. The amount of food we ate was a little ridiculous, but we only have ourselves to blame.
We started with Bloomsdale Spinach Dip, which consists of ”creamy white cheddar sauce and sundried tomatoes.” It was served with thin, crispy, crostini sprinkled with cheese and I think I could have eaten a pound of it. The sundried tomatoes were all on one side, but once I found them, I enjoyed them! We also started with the Castroville Artichoke, which is mesquite grilled, with lemon-tarragon aioli and pesto. Castroville is a few hours away, and I always appreciate knowing where produce comes from. I’d never had a grilled artichoke and have now been inspired to learn how to do it myself, since it had such a unique flavor.
Next up (I told you we ate a ton) was the soup. Oh, the soup. I had the Butternut Squash Soup with sage pesto and croutons, while my husband had the Clam Chowder with fresh top necks, Neuske’s bacon, and a touch of thyme. We were huge fans of both soups, since they tasted exactly what you would want them to taste like - the ingredients listed on the menu. My husband was especially pleased by the chunks of clams.
You would think we would be full by now, but no. Not yet. I went for the “Brick” Chicken with mashed potatoes and fresh herb jus. The chicken was deboned except for the wing bone and butterflied so that it laid flat when baked and placed under a heavy skillet. It even had crispy skin and, wait for it, wait for it, thin sliced pieces of crispy garlic. Mmmmm… My husband had Sole that was pan-fried, with autumn root vegetable hash, and brown butter. Since it was on his plate for a total of about 4 minutes, I think he liked it.
After unbuttoning the top buttons of our pants (I kid!), we were persuaded to try the Huckleberry and Red Pear Crisp, which was served with homemade vanilla ice cream. After eating this dessert, we decided that we are officially fans of the huckleberry (we already knew we were ice cream fans, of course). It wasn’t too sweet, was even a little tart, and was covered in the perfect crispy topping. Sigh. If I’d had room, I would have had two of them.
So, overall I was really impressed that this restaurant was complemented by its organic and local spin rather than being taken over by it. It was all about simple, clean food that was prepeared with style, with an emphasis on fresh, high quality, local and organic ingredients that were clearly selected with great care.
