Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Dining: New Greenbelt bistro focuses on sustainability
This article was really interesting, on the fact that organic food is not cheap. Everything on the menu is produce locally and the cost is a lot cheaper. On a range from seafood to grown vegetables. Entrees include seafood, pasta, steak and other meat options, even the wine is grown domestic, independent, family-owned, grower-producer. I feel that its a great idea for what Williams American Bistro, using products from local venues and keeping local places in business.
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William's American Bistro in Greenbelt is an upcoming eatery that uses only local, organic and sustainable ingredients in all of its menu items. A statement to describe the bistro is, "a value-oriented American bistro focused on sustainable, organic and natural products..." This bistro uses nothing but locally grown produce, organic meats and cheeses and even local seafood.
ReplyDeleteBack in the older days, chefs would go to the meat markets, fish markets and farmer's markets before they opened for business. That way, everything was as fresh as you can get it. This method has been lost over the years and we are more geared toward commercial products because of availability and quantity. This trend is coming back and more chefs are returning to the meat, fish and farmer's markets and using more local and organic products in their menus.
David Lynch, the general manager of William's American Bistro, says that when he cannot get the items that he wants, he can still order fresh ingredients, even if they are not local. One of the menu items is locally produced jumbo lump Maryland crab. When he cannot acquire this item, he can have wild bigeye tuna from Hawaii shipped to him in 24 hours. That is still fresh and not lowering the standards of the restaurant.
"It really is our responsibility, especially in the restaurant industry, to make sure there is an industry 20 or 30 years down the road," Lynch said. "The only way to make sure there is still seafood is to use sustainable [agriculture] ... and make sure there's a bounty for multiple generations to come."
ReplyDeleteI like the fact that these owners recognize this, and that they aren't just thinking for right now and for their own bank accounts. They are an awesome example of what the idea behind 'going green' is all about, thinking ahead and looking to the future of the environment, of the industry, of our grandchildren and their children.
Just like the article about the chef at Fenway ("Planet to Plate"), they're doing their best to use local and organic products whenever possible. And they explain how it isn't ALWAYS available, but when its not, they still do their best to buy the freshest possible from wherever it does come from. Something is better than nothing sort of idea.
This article poses a promise to those consumers dining in at this restaurant. It's a nice comfort, actually and shows promise that it CAN be done, but first what you need is the want to do it.
Their tactics in opening a bistro rather than a steakhouse was probably a better one, and it still seems like they're probably not doing too bad (A piece of meatloaf on brioche...$7.50. A BLT...$6.95!!!)
From the movie we watched the other day in class, we can better recognize and appreciate that most of the beer on their menu are from micro brewers, and what that means exactly.
This seems like a good find in means of an article, && somewhere new to try. They get a little advertising opportunity with the extra info at the bottom of the article, but I don't know where Greenbelt is? Or Prince George's county.. OH, & I like that there are mashed potatoes on the vegetable platter. That makes me happy.
This article provides useful insight as to how restaurants may deal with the unhealthy economy, but also offer fresh ingredients on their menu. These fresh ingredients that are brought in by independent restaurant owners/chefs may be used in a large variety of ways. These organic ingredients do not need to be used in the most elaborate dishes, but they may be used in common bar food (ex. Burgers) to just enhance the flavor of a common dish. Their menu also includes purchasing locally on their beverage menu, which after watching beer wars in class we all know how hard it is to get that independent brewery or vineyard to get their products from their shelves, to your restaurant. An interesting fact I noticed while reading this article is that they purchase from companies who donate money to non-profit organizations who help out the environment to try and make sure that it is still there for chefs to come.
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