Over the weekend I had a chance to visit my hometown of Westlake, Ohio. I usually make it back once or twice a year. In an attempt to keep with a New Year’s Resolution to spend more time with family, I flew back to visit my parents for Easter weekend.
On Friday night we dined at the Greenhouse Tavern. It’s a relatively new restaurant located in Cleveland’s East 4th Street Entertainment District.
I was impressed with their farm-to-table approach presented in a totally forward-thinking and upscale way. Maybe I’ve been living on the west coast for too long, but I really do believe that farm-to-table sets an example of how we should all be eating in the first place.
Opening almost exactly a year ago, The Greenhouse is the first restaurant in the city to be LEED Certified (LEED certification is recognition that a building’s management has implemented best practices for creating an energy efficient and environmentally sustainable structure). It’s also the first green-certified restaurant in the state of Ohio.
In addition to being green the narrow space is also elegant. It employs beautiful oak flooring from former Ohio farmhouses and barns, reclaimed vintage doors, and salvaged materials from the local business Old School Architectural Salvage. Other local businesses were hired to create furnishings. I learned from Yelp users that the best place to sit is actually in the basement, where you can pony up alongside the chefs and watch the action take place.
The restaurant advocates the Farm to Plate Movement, which means that all ingredients are locally produced. Our guy explained what the wild Ohio ramps were on the menu (think leek meets onion) which he had happened to pick that morning himself. The menu changes constantly to reflect new dishes and ingredients (say, if one of the staff happened to have gone fishing that morning – it would be incorporated on the menu that evening).
In a town known for roast beef and hot dogs, The Greenhouse is inspiring and a total breath of fresh air.
Although I’m a fairly fussy eater and was quite impressed with my experience, one of my favorite aspects of the restaurant was (surprise!) the jukebox. In the basement along the wall is an amazingly retro-outfitted jukebox with those little old-school hand-written cards. The music with funk, soul, r&b and rock singles – it made me happy just looking at it.
Overall, I’m excited for what the Greenhouse Tavern could mean for Cleveland and midwestern cities at large.
Named one of Bon Appetit Magazine’s Top Ten Best New Restaurants in America certainly gives it – and the city – international cred. More importantly is what it implies locally. Restaurants like The Greenhouse Tavern are promoting a practice and mentality that will better dining and best building practices for generations to come.
Let’s hope it catches on.
More:
http://www.thegreenhousetavern.com
Bon Appetit feature (PDF)
New York Times mention (PDF)
I was curious as to what you meant by this line: “Maybe I’ve been living on the west coast for too long, but I really do believe that farm-to-table sets an example of how we should all be eating in the first place.”
Are you saying that we should be eating only what we’ve grown? Do you follow this? Do you farm or do you mean you go to a farm and bring food back to your table? Do people on the west coast advocate this?
Hi Arny! Thanks for commenting. I believe we should be eating locally-grown food whenever possible. That doesn’t mean we should be growing our own food necessarily, just actively seeking produce that isn’t flown in from half-way around the world when it might also happen to be grown upstate. Food doesn’t need to travel far to make it to the local Farmer’s Market, Trader Joe’s, or local co-op and then to your plate – that’s what I mean by farm-to-table. And it tastes better and is better for us. Living on the west coast has made me super-aware of this… Maybe it’s because there are more Farmer’s Markets here, although they’ve been catching on around the country in recent years – so great!
I was curious as to what you meant by this line: “Maybe I’ve been living on the west coast for too long, but I really do believe that farm-to-table sets an example of how we should all be eating in the first place.”
Are you saying that we should be eating only what we’ve grown? Do you follow this? Do you farm or do you mean you go to a farm and bring food back to your table? Do people on the west coast advocate this?
Hi Arny! Thanks for commenting. I believe we should be eating locally-grown food whenever possible. That doesn’t mean we should be growing our own food necessarily, just actively seeking produce that isn’t flown in from half-way around the world when it might also happen to be grown upstate. Food doesn’t need to travel far to make it to the local Farmer’s Market, Trader Joe’s, or local co-op and then to your plate – that’s what I mean by farm-to-table. And it tastes better and is better for us. Living on the west coast has made me super-aware of this… Maybe it’s because there are more Farmer’s Markets here, although they’ve been catching on around the country in recent years – so great!
You are so right about locally grown food. Here in Frisco (never say that here or you’ll get mashed) we have some great farmers markets in the Mission and Castro. Our sistas across the bay have great markets in Oakland where I see there is this whole new movement not to just to go veg, not just to go vegan but to go all the way raw. It is so delish. Imagine a world where you not only grew and ate your own food, but a world where you ate it raw and didn’t burn fossil fuels to heat up your McDonalds leftovers. Heres dreaming.
I love your site. Your taste in music has me and Franz jumpin I kid you not. Keep it coming and go raw!
Crisco in Frisco
You are so right about locally grown food. Here in Frisco (never say that here or you’ll get mashed) we have some great farmers markets in the Mission and Castro. Our sistas across the bay have great markets in Oakland where I see there is this whole new movement not to just to go veg, not just to go vegan but to go all the way raw. It is so delish. Imagine a world where you not only grew and ate your own food, but a world where you ate it raw and didn’t burn fossil fuels to heat up your McDonalds leftovers. Heres dreaming.
I love your site. Your taste in music has me and Franz jumpin I kid you not. Keep it coming and go raw!
Crisco in Frisco
Comments are closed.