One of the first restaurants I went to as a baby was Good Earth in Roseville, MN. I have since graduated from the Gorilla Cheese sandwich, but am no less infatuated. It’s mostly simple food – sandwiches, burgers, salads, some Mexican – but impeccably sourced and always delicious. I have a really hard time deciding what to order, so we usually go twice when we visit my parents.

For my first meal this time, . . . → Read More: Eating Local in Minnesota: Good Earth]]>

One of the first restaurants I went to as a baby was Good Earth in Roseville, MN. I have since graduated from the Gorilla Cheese sandwich, but am no less infatuated. It’s mostly simple food – sandwiches, burgers, salads, some Mexican – but impeccably sourced and always delicious. I have a really hard time deciding what to order, so we usually go twice when we visit my parents.

For my first meal this time, I had the fantastic Planet Burger – a homemade veggie burger with a great soft-on-the-inside-crunchy-on-the-outside texture. My mom had a really tasty shrimp and zucchini flatbread that was topped with feta and mint. Of course, we both had the iconic Good Earth tea, which is spicy-sweet, somehow without sweetener. It’ll convince even coffee drinkers that tea is worth a shot. Since I thought it might be my only opportunity, I also got an iced gingersnap, which was the perfect blend of a heavily spiced and nearly savory cookie and sweet sweet glaze. Yum!!

Luckily, Erik has become a Good Earth fan, too, so we went later in the week after our State Fair gorging. We skipped the tea and opted for fresh juice to attack our budding summer colds. Erik had a V8-type juice. Mine was carrot and parsley. Thumbs up on both! Erik’s meal was that amazingly beautiful heirloom tomato salad with couscous, feta, herbs, and hummus – one of Good Earth’s monthly, seasonal specials. He said he felt his cold going away immediately after such a super-foods-packed lunch. I spotted a new dish on the menu, which I thought I had memorized, so I had to order it. They called it salmon and quinoa falafel, but it was more like a very tasty fish cake. It was served on fresh pita with delicious yogurt-mint sauce, cucumber, and tomato.

My only regret is that I could only go twice.

Taza Chocolate makes really SOLE-ful chocolate, if you’ll allow me that somewhat . . . → Read More: Somerville’s Own Taza Chocolate]]> My parents came to visit in December and it was so so cold. My plans of wandering around the city were squashed. We didn’t even want to walk to the nearest bus stop. But d’y'know what’s nearer than the nearest bus stop? A CHOCOLATE FACTORY! For serious. Where’s the closest place to get a snack? A CHOCOLATE FACTORY! Yeah, that’s how we roll.

Taza Chocolate makes really SOLE-ful chocolate, if you’ll allow me that somewhat over-used acronym. Beyond Fair Trade, Taza Chocolate is “Direct Trade” certified, which adheres to the following principles:

1. We work exclusively with certified organic cacao farms that practice sustainable agricultural methods.
2. We pay a premium of at least 500 US dollars per metric ton above the New York Board of Trade (NYBOT) price on the date of invoice to the producers of our cacao beans for high quality cacao with 95 percent fermentation rates or more and dried to 7 percent moisture or less.
3. We physically visit each cacao producer or producer group at least once a year to build long-term, sustainable relationships.
4. We only buy cacao from producers using fair and humane work practices.
5. We never purchase cacao from producers engaging in child or slave labor.

Source: Taza Chocolate website

Their chocolate is Mexican-style, which has a nice gritty quality and really fruity flavor. “Gritty” might not be something you think you want in chocolate, but it’s pretty tasty. The straight-up chocolate is great, but my favorite part of Taza is all the crazy stuff, like salt and pepper hot chocolate discs. Or chocolate-covered ginger. Mmmmm….

They also make roasted cacao nibs, which are a great nut substitute. They definitely have a chocolate flavor, but it’s much subtler than chocolate chips. We remade these cranberry muffins substituting 3/4 cup of nibs for the carrots. Wicked! (I’m really becoming a Bay Stater, now, huh?)

If you want more info and live in the area, you should definitely check out their factory tour. Gena at Choosing Raw just wrote a post on them, too, so check out her site for another take on the greatness of Taza. If only they were still open, so that I could swing by for a snack…

We had a lot of leftovers from our party, and otherwise we stuck to simple meals that we’ve already posted about, such as frittata and roasted vegetables.

The picture below is a mix of roasting potatoes, celeriac, . . . → Read More: Leftovers and Tallgrass Burger]]> We’ve had a busy week, so we haven’t had time to do anything really interesting in the kitchen. We are doing a bunch of cooking tomorrow for the Superbowl, so we’ll have some post material after that.

We had a lot of leftovers from our party, and otherwise we stuck to simple meals that we’ve already posted about, such as frittata and roasted vegetables.

The picture below is a mix of roasting potatoes, celeriac, orange and purple carrots, and some sort of purple radish that I can’t remember the name of. It makes for a pretty mix, which we drizzled with some homemade honey mustard vinaigrette.

A very purple roasting mix

For those in NYC, we should also note that we ordered in one night, from Tallgrass Burger. The reviews online are mixed, which is surprising, because we had a great experience. Tallgrass uses only grass-fed local beef (the type we cook with). We both had “The Classic”, which comes with cheese and horseradish-mustard sauce which was both original and tasty. The garlic fries were also great.

Some people online complained about their burgers being overcooked or undercooked vs. their order, but Lindsay and I both commented how they nailed her medium and my well. Others online complained about the price, but we’re willing to pay for better ingredients. At $7 for the Classic, it’s not outrageous. It’s more expensive than McDonalds, but cheaper than a sit-down restaurant.

Plain and simple, the reason we are posting it is that they were the best burgers that we’ve had in a long time. A friend of mine went last night on our recommendation, and she agreed that they reminded her very much of In-n-Out Burger. The style is very similar: not to small, not too huge, thin-patty, reasonable portion size, and high quality. Boo to the naysayers.

On Saturday night, we had dinner with my Aunt Jean, Uncle Wendell, and cousin Theresa at The Farm on Adderly in Brooklyn. Although we’ve been there before, this is our first time having dinner there, and we were not disappointed. They highlight local ingredients, small farms, and sustainability.

The meal’s highlights were:

Eating locally isn’t just about what you cook in your own home. It’s also important to support restaurants that make . . . → Read More: Eating Local at The Farm on Adderley]]> My mom came to visit this weekend, which called for decadent eating. Sunday morning was beautiful, so we decided to head out to Brooklyn for brunch and a walk through Prospect Park to enjoy the foliage. Erik and I had been to The Farm on Adderley for brunch once last summer and it was calling.

Eating locally isn’t just about what you cook in your own home. It’s also important to support restaurants that make an effort to purchase locally produced products. According to The Farm’s website:

The Farm on Adderley tries to speak to the way we want to cook and feed ourselves and our neighbors. The restaurant aims to bring thoughtfully produced food and ingredients to our community in a totally accessible way. Much of the way The Farm has evolved has been to pursue the principles of supporting local farmers, artisans, entrepreneurs as much as possible, making delicious food from that, and serving it in a completely honest way.

As further proof of their local cred, Slow Food NYC awarded them the Snail of Approval, which is given to organizations that contribute to the quality, authenticity and sustainability of NYC’s food supply. I use the Snail of Approval as my personal Zagats. The Farm’s website also includes a list of sources, so you can check up on them for yourself.

Snail of Approval or not, I wouldn’t send you to Ditmas Park if it wasn’t worth the ride on the Q. This place is so scrumptious that the trip out there is a minor sacrifice. The Farm’s brunch menu has some traditional dishes alongside some really creative ones and does them all well.

My mom and I both had Bloody Marys and a salad of smoked trout and poached eggs. Can you tell we’re related? The Bloody Mary had a good kick and wasn’t too alcoholic (important when you’re drinking with your mom at 11 am). I like a little more herb-age in mine, but not a real complaint. The salad was absolute heaven – a little smoky, deliciously creamy, with a nice crispness from the greens. Erik had half my Bloody Mary (get your own next time!) and toast with scrambled eggs over Swiss chard home fries. He says that even the toast was spectacular. Erik and I also split the cheddar grits (for research purposes, of course), which were flavorful without being overly rich. Then, since my mom’s visit made it a special occasion, we split the chocolate mousse with salted cream. Light and rich at the same time. I’m drooling now.

Sorry not to have any photos! We were sitting at a dark table and didn’t want to be annoying with the flash.