The main focus of that sourcing, as the name suggests, is the area in and around the Blue Ridge Mountains and surrounding Shenandoah Valley just south of D.C. For instants, the oysters and blue fish from the Chesapeake,meats for local farms. All the meats are nourished through the Virginia Department of Agriculture's Farm to Table program.
They have a really good daily special, "steak of the day". Blue Ridge breaks down the whole cow, and they will roll through one cut and into another, it will be a rotating selection, and you'll get to try something a little different every time. The way Blue Ridge is giving back works out great, its located in a town where they all take care of each other.
Blue Ridge, in D.C., is another restaurant that is focusing on "simple, approachable cuisine emphasizing sustainability and local sourcing." That is a very well worded statement. It covers every aspect of what they desire their cuisine to portray.
ReplyDeleteThis restaurant has every man's dream on their menu. Steak of the day? Genius. You go their and get a different part of the cow every time you go their. This way you can try every part of the cow just like other restaurants let you try different fish. I would love to get the steak of the day everyday. I love beef.
These beef dishes are served with many different things but one of them was served with an herb butter. This butter came from Path Valley Farm in Pennsylvania. They are using locally sourced products and organic products to serve their customers. These kinds of things are happening in so many restaurants and is definitely living up to its reputation as one of the top trends in 2010.
Blue Ridge is just one of many places that is starting to purchase locally. I like how the chef sort of took a different aspect on going green and starting talking about the human factor of it. Explaining that it is not just food, but going green includes a lot more. The using of the whole animal is another idea that i enjoyed because if you can use it for something then why not sell it, and its terrible to waste such things as beef. This part of the menu also allows returning customers to get a little something new on the menu each time they comes with the varying cuts of meat. This restaurant owner seemed to have picked a perfect spot to put this establishment as it seems like he has a very wide variety on his menu, but is still able to purchase all of this locally. I enjoyed this article as it is always nice to hear that more places are trying to do more towards the going green movement.
ReplyDelete"I love beef." Haha
ReplyDeleteThis restaurant's steak of the day idea is a great one--gives a variety of cuts, and an opportunity to try every cut, something that may be a hard choice for a regular consumer [not familiar with certain cuts of meat] to make.
If this isn't enough publicizing, I'm sure the seafood retail outlet and the tv show they have lined up with help spread the word and assist in creating greater revenue for Blue Ridge. It's all about strategy!
I'm assuming the comment about 'being unable to make a difference without a tv show' was sarcasm, but I guess theres some truth in the statement.
The point was made that the farms which local products arrive are not listed on the menu...I wonder why? I just thought all the recent buzz was about knowing where everything was coming from. Just an observation..
I'm glad to see yet another article with another restaurant doing their part in going green. Hurray for sustainability & slowly rebuilding local economy!