Local Food

"Writing about music is like dancing about architecture." -Unknown, possibly Frank Zappa or Elvis Costello

I'm at a loss for words when it comes to describing last night. Suffice to say that there was no place I'd have rather been than at The Craftsman. If you're a foodie who was anyplace near Minneapolis (we hosted guests from as far away as Des Moines, IA and Sunnyvale, CA), you were either there - or you should have been. We were thrilled to see The Birchwood Cafe well represented!

Super-good post the other day from Zachary Cohen on his Farm to Table blog entitled What all of us in the food movement sometimes think.

With Easter now over, and copious amounts of ham and potatoes consumed across the nation (including my wife's Aunt Carol's house), I can turn to a question I've been mulling over in my head: what would Jesus eat?

Traditional Foods Minnesota, a self proclaimed "real food warehouse" and "buying club," offers some of the Twin Cities best foods at the lowest prices. Traditional Foods focuses on providing a wide variety of meats, cheeses, milk, eggs, poultry, fish and dry goods of the following kinds:

If you're still contemplating coming to the first-ever Simple, Good, and Tasty dinner at the Craftsman Restaurant in Minneapolis on April 14, now would be a really good time to commit. In short: we're running out of space! I couldn't be more thrilled about the number of people who've reserved a spot so far (BIG thank you to those who're coming!).

I had a blast at my good friends' Passover Seder last night. Awesome people, an exciting story ("Let my people go!" Moses demands each year), and terrific food. My wife and I made the matzo ball soup again this year, this time a more local, organic version - free range chickens, organic chicken broth, home-made matzo balls (with locally raised cage-free eggs, all from The Wedge Co-op) - and even the kids asked for more.

My recent tour of Whole Foods has got me thinking about how true the company has stayed to its core values despite its size. Sure, there are problems. The buying decisions are made centrally, bakery items are shipped to local stores par-baked, there are only 5 local vegetables this month in the Minneapolis location, and - most troubling - a friend recently let me know that Whole Foods has been accused of union-busting. But all things considered, Whole Foods does an excellent job of walking the talk, and helping customers find the good stuff. This post highlights the extensive process Whole Foods uses to vet potential new partners.

In yesterday's post, about Whole Foods' Local, Organic Values, I wrote about the core values of Whole Foods and how they influence the food sold at the stores. Today's post is about how purchasing happens, specifically related to the meat we get in the Minneapolis store.

About a month ago, I went to the Minneapolis Whole Foods Market looking for local meat. I’ve been a Minnesotan long enough to know that our produce choices are severely limited in the winter months, but I figured there’d be plenty of local pork and beef to bring home. Turns out I was wrong - there was almost none. I left Whole Foods confused and surprised, and I left them a note. The next day, Renee Howard sent me an email.

On my friend and neighbor Kathy's advice, I just re-read Michael Pollan's outstanding letter to our nation's "Farmer in Chief," first published in the NY Times on the eve of Barack Obama's election. It's a wonderful letter, all 9 pages of it, a true embarrassment of riches. Pollan's letter starts with a summary of where we're at currently in terms of food, health, and the environment.