One look at the menu shows the depth of and passion for "farm-to-table" sourcing. Nearly every ingredient has a location or, better yet, a farm name to it. Herbs by Diane and Prime Color Growers in Nevada, Life’s a Choke and Weiser Family Farms in California, Painted Hills Beef in Oregon, Beehive Cheese in Utah — the list goes on. This is the kind of farm-to-table stuff that makes Michael Pollan swoon.
The cuisine itself is a love letter to New American dining, using part international classics and part modern tropes. And yet, everything has a spark of genius to it. For example, the roasted baby beet salad (from County Line Harvest) uses the green beet tops to make a pesto; it also features a spiced yogurt and a finely diced, pickled Asian pear garnish. (When was the last time you’ve seen a beet salad that wasn’t dollops of goat cheese and arugula?) The Brussels sprouts dish is charred and tossed with Blis barrel-aged maple syrup, mustard seeds, and bourbon soy — and no bacon. (I’m over people constantly throwing bacon in Brussels sprouts. You could almost imagine Chef Roy brainstorming this recipe and quickly erasing the word “bacon,” thinking, No, I can do better.)
The duck confit sliders are a rare show of decadence. Small brioche buns are hollowed out and filled with duck confit, red onion jam and a slice of foie. Absolute heaven. The rest of the menu generally comprises restrained, ingredient-focused recipes, with a few deft, fancy moves here and there. For instance, the New England diver scallops, sourced from the fishermen Chef Roy befriended, are prepared with brown butter, winter chanterelles and Delicata squash. I thought I was done being impressed by a scallop, writing them off as squishy pillows of blah, but this one had so much of the sweet flavor of the sea, and such a firm, consistent texture, I could have been tricked into thinking it was something like a langoustine. The menu also has a section on rotisserie, with spinning porchettas and the “bird of the day,” and a section of items from their stone oven, featuring roasted fish, stews and lamb.
