One of the best parts of dining out is reading through a menu full of delectable dishes. Each description makes you hungrier as you try to decide from an array of appetizing options. But do you ever wonder where that food comes from? Or if it’s fresh? Fortunately, many dining establishments are making a shift toward providing farm-to-table foods. When you see the terms farm-to-table, locally sourced, farm-fresh or farm-to-fork on a menu, you know the restaurant has a direct relationship with a farm. But what does this really mean?
Farm-to-table, at its heart, can be defined as a social movement in which restaurants source their ingredients from local farms without going through a store, market or distributor. Farm-to-table promotes “clean” eating that guarantees fresh, healthy food. Local organic farming, community support, seasonal eating and environmental sustainability are the greatest benefits of this booming movement.
Most recently, the farm-to-table movement has led chefs and restaurant owners to get increasingly involved in the growing of their ingredients, even buying their own farms. As the Wall Street Journal put it, a shift is underfoot from “simply sourcing to becoming the source.”
We are lucky to have a delicious array of restaurants featuring locally sourced, farm-fresh menus in the South Sound.
Here are a few of our favorites:
TACOMA
Art House Cafe
111 North Tacoma Ave
253.212.2011 | arthousecafe.com
Montamara Kitchen
2208 North 30th St
253.314.5892 | montamarakitchen.com
Primo Grill
2701 6th Ave
253.383.7000 | primogrilltacoma.com
Sel
229 St Helens Ave
253.327.1015
The Table
2715 6th Ave
253.327.1862 |thetabletacoma.com
STEILACOOM
De La Terre
1606 Lafayette St
253.584.0258 | restaurantdelaterre.com
OLYMPIA
Hart’s Mesa
111 Columbia St NW
360.878.8490 | facebook.com/hartsmesa
Iron Rabbit
Restaurant & Bar
2103 Harrison Ave NW
360.956.3661 | ironrabbit.net
Our Table
406 4th Ave E
360.932.6030 | ourtableolympia.com
GIG HARBOR
Table 47
5268 Point Fosdick Dr NW
253.857.4777 | t47.com
The Green Turtle
2905 Harborview Dr
253.650.0490 | thegreenturtle.com
KELLY LENIHAN
