Roger Ebert on Food, Inc.
Jun 30, 2009 events, farmers' markets, farming, general food, groceries, health, sustainable agriculture
Last Friday, Food, Inc. was released to an additional 90 theaters across America including Landmark’s local Plaza Frontenac location. As my saying the movie is a must-see is as biased an opinion as they come, how about a snip of what Roger Ebert had to say about his viewing of the film?
This review doesn’t read one thing like a movie review. But most of the stuff I discuss in it, I learned from the new documentary “Food, Inc.,” directed by Robert Kenner and based on the recent book An Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan. I figured it wasn’t important for me to go into detail about the photography and the editing. I just wanted to scare the bejesus out of you, which is what “Food, Inc.” did to me.
Tags: Food, Inc., Roger Ebert
Event: SLOWednesday with Gerard Craft, Dave Hillebrand and Brett Palmier
Apr 28, 2009 St. Louis, farmers' markets, slow food, sustainable agriculture
Mark your calendars, this year’s SLOWednesday events start just two weeks from tomorrow, and the first is sure to be a hit…
May 13, 2009: Terra Madre Update
Intended to foster discussion and introduce innovative concepts in the field of food, gastronomy, globalization, and economics, Terra Madre is a bi-annual conference hosted by Slow Food international in Torino, Italy.
The last event was held in October of 2008, and Slow Food St. Louis sent three major delegates to represent them: Gerard Craft of Niche Restaurant, Dave Hillebrand of Prairie Grass Farms, and Brett Palmier of Biver farms. Enjoy this opportunity to offer them a belated welcome home and an ear to listen to their stories.
- SLOWednesday events take place at the Bottleworks in the Crown Room after the Farmers’ Market, at 7:00 p.m. Talks begin at 7:30 p.m., and Schlafly asks that everyone interested in ordering food and drink place their orders and be settled in before that time. Events are free and open to the public.
Tags: biver farms, Gerard Craft, prairie grass farms, Schlafly, slow food
Market Watch: Maplewood Farmers’ Market Starts Today
Apr 1, 2009 St. Louis, farmers' markets, groceries, missouri
What many consider to be the most festive market–The Maplewood Farmers’ Market–begins it’s season today (Wednesday April, 1) and will run through the end of October.
I think this is a little earlier than in the past because it actually caught me off guard. But it’s totally sweet news, right?
Tags: farmers, Maplewood Farmers Market, MO
Good, clean and fair does not always equal quality
Mar 31, 2009 farmers' markets, farming, general food, groceries, sustainable agriculture
I briefly touched on something similar before, but over at Serious Eats, Ed Levine nails it…
I am so down with the food revolution you have no idea. It’s just that I think it’s high time we realize and acknowledge that good intentions and responsible stewardship, and even passion, are not by themselves enough when it comes to making great artisanal food.
You need three things:
Experience: Which means time allowing for lots of trial and error and sufficient apprentice time
Time: To understand how to make it good
Knowledge: That is, you have to know how to do something, and when it’s delicious
Tags: Ed Levine, Serious Eats
It’s not Nikes vs heirloom grapes, it’s food vs hunger.
Mar 18, 2009 farmers' markets, farming, slow food, sustainable agriculture
With Slow Food constantly taking a hit for being elitist, I feel a great opportunity was lost to further our cause as I watched in horror while Alice Waters cooked her “quick” breakfast on 60 Minutes.
If food is a right–and I believe it is–how can we can we, as Slow Food co-leaders, defend our stance, when even our most outspoken leaders are accentuating these points of elitism? The average American does not make a quick breakfast of a fireplace baked egg and heirloom tomato salad, and the image or thought that they would is completely absurd.
Using the same ingredients, we would have been better served having her cook a breakfast of scrambled eggs with tomatoes and chives. Now that’s a meal most any American can cook, and the bonus: it doesn’t require a lavishly expensive home with a kitchen fireplace. It just requires a stove.
Tags: Alice Waters, slow food
How d’ya like these apples?
Oct 9, 2008 farmers' markets, farming, groceries
Centennial Farms Apples
Last year, with the weather being not exactly ideal for Missouri farmers, there were several crops that either never made it to market, or never made it at the level of quality the growers would have hoped for. For Centennial Farms that meant that while some cider and apple butter was made, there weren’t a lot of marketable apples to be had, and the few that did make it were particularly small.
However this year things are going different, and it’s not just the quality or quantity of the apples that’ll get your attention, but instead the number of varieties—21 in all. No matter what your apple tastes are they’ve almost certainly got something you’ll be interested in buying.
In order of ripening…Gala, Honeycrisp, Ruby Jon, Ozark Gold, Jonathan, Jonagold, Cortland, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Empire, Sun Crisp, Braeburn, Blushing Golden, Mutsu, Fuji, Staymared, Winesap, Gold Rush, York, Arkansas Black, Granny Smith.
Tags: apples, Centennial Farms
Notes
Oct 5, 2008 St. Louis, books, farmers' markets, groceries, offal watch, restaurants
1. I spotted hardback copies of one of my favorite foodie books, The Apprentice
It’s hard to imagine a time when people were attempting to make chain food that actually stood up to some level of high standards.
2. Guanciale. Salume Beddu was slinging some made with Fararr Out Farm Berkshire jaws at Tower Grove recently and it is delicious.
Toast some good bread, render some up like lardons, and top it with arugula and a fried egg cooked in the rendered fat for the ultimate (and fast) after-work snack.
3. Grits. I’d been unimpressed by Revival’s in the past, but this week, cheesy grits baked in a dish and topped with a slice of ham and a sunny-side up egg were absolutely perfect. It doesn’t get much better than egg yolk running over anything.
4. Getting much better…the Fat of stlbites.com has made an appearance at Niche. Lamb belly is now the final savory course of the tasting menu and it’s ridiculously good–everything a solitary slice of tender lamb gut was meant to be.
Lamb – mushroom, cauliflower, tapenade (& Brussels Sprouts when I had it)
5. A guilty pleasure: Chicken Modega and a side of white cavatelli at the Town & Country Rich & Charlie’s. Bonus: it was $28 for two of us to eat. Bonus 2: That Rich & Charlie’s is BYOB. Bonus 3: It was enough for lunch the next day too.
Tags: Farrar Out Farm, fried egg, grits, guanciale, Jacques Pepin, lamb, Niche, Revival, Rich & Charlie's, Salume Beddu
Would You Like to Join a Meat Club?
Aug 25, 2008 St. Louis, farmers' markets
Sometimes the most important thing is to keep exciting news to yourself. For example: Saturday Salume Beddu began sign-ups for their Cure Club at Tower Grove Farmers’ Market. I held back because I needed to get my own order in and, with Mark Sanfilippo and his wife Jamie taking just 25 quarterly subscriptions, they’re sure to go fast. Each delivery will include 2-3 whole salumi and upfront cost to you is $20.
I’ve no idea the cost at pickup but, honestly, I didn’t ask because let’s face it, it’s pork and it will be awesome.
Tags: Mark Sanfilippo, Salume Beddu
Last Week at the Market – Fennel
Jul 2, 2008 St. Louis, farmers' markets, missouri
Sorry for the late and brief run down this week but I didn’t spend as much time at the markets last week as I usually do.
Maybe it’s a tough call, but I personally think the highlight was fennel. Probably a lot more people will pick the increase in fruit with all the berries and sweet cherries arriving, but I’m more of a vegetable man and fennel is right up there with the Brussels Sprouts and cauliflower.
At Maplewood the fennel came by way of
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: biver farms, Centennial Farms, Claverach Farms, clayton farmers' market, Farrar Out Farm, Kimker Hills Farm, Maplewood Farmers Market, Silent Oaks Farm, Tower Grove Farmers' Market
Battle Royale at Clayton Farmers’ Market
Jun 26, 2008 events, farmers' markets
The opening Iron-Chef-style battle at Clayton Farmers’ Market has pulled the stops for the initial judging…
Clayton Farmer’s Market on Saturday, June 28th at Straub’s will be the scene of a star-studded Iron Chef competition. Celebrity judges are: Gerard Craft Chef/Owner of Niche (featured in this month’s Food &Wine), Cary McDowell Chef/Owner of Revival (who hails from Daniel Boulud and Wolfgang Puck), and Josh Galliano Chef of An American Place. Using items provided by local food producers, outdoor competition begins at 8:30 am with Chef-instructors Pat Jones v. Tony Hedger from L’ecole Culinaire.
Not sure how I missed the mentioning for the first battle.
Tags: Cary McDowell, Gerard Craft, Joshua Galliano
From the mountains of Panama and Ethiopia, to the urban-jungles of Portland and Chicago, journalist Michaele Weissman takes us behind the scenes for a look at the world of third-wave specialty coffee. How did we get to Starbucks, and where we go from here?