Living off the Fat of the Land in Park Slope, Brooklyn

Photo by myself at Applewood, a restaurant in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

The interior of this excellent restaurant has a quiet, country charm that rings authentic. I wouldn't be surprised to find its carbon copy somewhere in Vermont.

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Ah yes, another story about food. I must sound like an 800-pound gorilla by now. It's just that Mark and I can't resist ourselves when it comes to deliciousness.

We've become recently smitten with Applewood, a fine restaurant tucked away on a side street in our neighborhood, Park Slope. We stumbled in for brunch one weekend and had our minds blown open by brunch: omelets made with seasonal veggies, cheese grits and homemade biscuits. (The biscuits were worthy of dying for - slightly crunchy on the outside, flaky on the inside, they were accompanied with creamed butter and blueberry jam).

So when we discovered that Applewood was serving a special Farmer's Dinner, a four-course dinner and chance to meet the farmers who grew the organic produce, we signed ourselves up.


Above, beet salad with homemade ricotta cheese, salad greens and parsley salsa verde.



The very premise of the Farmer's Dinner is lovely - a tasting menu featuring local organic produce, and a chance to meet the farmers who grew the food. The idea of getting people in touch with where their food comes from is timely.

Jeffrey and Kristin from Liberty Gardens, in Pennsylvania, were a couple originally from Brooklyn. They rushed to join the farming life ten years ago and are now serving organic produce to high end restaurants in several states. Farming is not an easy life, but one they enjoy and value.

Jeffrey and Kristin arrived from Pennsylvania with bushels of carrots, kale, eggplant, salad greens and beets, at 1pm. Six hours later, the guests were seated to four courses and two amuse bouches, each paired with wine.

Can I say scrumptious? The carrots and beets were sweet and tender. A habanero chutney had a quiet heat. There was sorbet made with sorrel, an herb, and an ice cream made with celery root. You would never have known that the menu was figured out that afternoon.

Last but not least, Applewood was good enough to let me photograph their kitchen.

For more about Applewood, click here.
For more about Liberty Gardens, click here.



Related posts: Parked in Park Slope, Rent and Smile, it's Happy Hour.