The Marsh

We couldn’t have asked for better weather. The wind had shifted, moving the tropical humidity of 24 hours ago east to clear the way for a perfect summer evening on the deck at The Marsh – the setting of last night’s Simple, Good and Tasty’s Local Food Lovers’ event.

The view to our north and west was acres of cattails, milkweed, rush grass and cottonwoods; the background music was the call of red-winged blackbirds, marsh wrens, and cardinals; the company was a lively mix of more than 50 local food lovers – young, not so young, city dwellers, suburbanites – all coming together to enjoy a meal made from locally sourced food.

I live in Minneapolis, and I'll admit that sometimes I can be a snob about it. When my in-laws tell me about some "fantastic" Italian restaurant they've discovered in the northern suburbs, for example, my first instinct isn't to jump in the car and drive to Anoka, but to rattle off the places in Minneapolis that are -- obviously, I assume -- both closer and tastier. As a rule, if I'm going to drive more than 20 miles from my house, it's going to be to visit a farm, enjoy a weekend away, or visit a family member I really, really love. Like I said, I'm a snob.

Try to guess what suburban restaurant serves locally-raised, grass-fed, beef short ribs with caramelized-onion potato puree, and horseradish gremolata;  baked, free-range, Larry Schultz chicken with herb filling, wilted spinach, and caramelized-shallot, marsala, pan sauce; pastured pork, braised in apple cider and served with red cabbage, local apples, and ginger yams -- plus three kinds of burgers: bison, yellow-fin tuna, and walnut wild-rice.