Greenmarket-to-Table Tour

[kathryn]

Today, I, and a handful of other lucky peoplel went on an interactive tour of the Union Square Greenmarket with Michael Anthony of Gramercy Tavern today. We were also accompanied by two employees of the CENYC and a community volunteer from Greenmarket, if I remember correctly. The tour was the first of its kind, part of a larger program for community outreach, and a fundraiser for Greenmarket.

The tour itself lasted about two hours (had frozen toes by the end), wherein we visited a few selected vendors who Anthony has good relationships with, like Eckerton Farms, Paffenroth Gardens, Violet Hill, Flying Pigs Farm, etc. It was wonderful to get to talk one on one with the vendors, many of whom seem quite fond of Chef Anthony, as well as ask questions about the Greenmarket. We discussed the relationship between chefs and the market, the market vendors and their customers, the history of the Greenmarket, the role the Greenmarket plays in farmer's lives, why the products there cost what they do, what the label "organic" really means, as well as the products out this Saturday. Burdock! Rainbow carrots! Beautiful brussels sprouts still on the stalk! A million types of fancy potatoes at Mountain Sweet Berry Farm! Salsify! Crosnes! Black radish! Quince! Locust Groves let us taste some of their varieties of heirloom apples. We asked questions, especially of the representatives from CENYC. We also helped deliver some of GT's orders from Paffenroth to the restaurant itself (it was voluntary, and a bit funny). Chef Anthony then left us, to go work in the kitchen.

After warming up, we wandered to Gramercy Tavern's private dining room, and thoroughly enjoyed a 5 course tasting meal for lunch, with ingredients mainly from the Greenmarket (local pork, sustainable fish, the aforementioned quince and salsify and potatoes). Chef Anthony returned a few more times to talk about the ingredients used in the courses, how he tries to enhance the natural flavors of the materials, and the cooking techniques used at GT. He struck me as very sharp, extremely thoughtful about the "raw materials" of his craft, as well as someone who cared very much about supporting the Greenmarket (of which, the primary message seemed to be "shop there!")

Our party drank wine, and conversed over wonderful food; my boyfriend and I finally got out of there around 3:30pm, with full bellies and having learned a fascinating amount of information about the Union Square Greenmarket.

The menu:

Amuse of carrot soup, spiced cashews

Amuse of foie gras, quince

Amuse of quail egg, bacon, squash puree

Amuse of sweetbreads, cauliflower (?) puree

Amuse of house-cured pastrami, Kirby cucumber pickles (a new addition to the menu I believe) -- by then the parade of amuses was overkill but they were all fantastic

Nantucket Bay Scallops, Lentils, Pickled Brick Tops, and Salsify

Black Fish, Spaghetti Squash, Walnuts, and Sherry Sauce

Veal Cappellacci, Cauliflower, Fried Sage

Ossabaw Pork (from Flying Pigs Farm), Turnips, Fork-Crushed Potatoes (of the courses, this one was the biggest: two generous slices of loin, and two good pieces of the belly)

Warm Chocolate Bread Pudding, Cacao Nib Ice Cream

Petit Fours: Spiced Marshmallow (very autumnal flavorings -- like cinnamon, clove, etc.), Lemon Teacake, Peanut Butter and Chocolate Truffle (I wanted another one but was afraid I'd burst)

Wines: I am not a wine expert, and don't really like pinot noir, but I really enjoyed the white wine (smelled very fruity and sweet but was just slightly crisp).

Chenin/Sauvignon Blanc, Bradgate, 2006, Stellenbosch, South Africa

Pinot Noir, Tarra Warra, Tin Cows, 2005, Victoria, Australia

Photos: http://flickr.com/photos/kathryn/sets/7215...4800853/detail/

Everything was cooked to perfection, with a menu designed to take advantage of produce that benefited from recent frosts (root vegetables and the like). Loved the sweetness of the scallops and how the salsify intensified the sensation. Sopped up the sauce from the black fish with numerous pieces of bread (and the new, creamy butter is out of sight -- watch out for eating too much of the yummy green olive bread, like me). The veal dumplings ("they look like wontons!" I said) were delicate, but hearty, and paired well with gorgeous white and purple cauliflower and a crispy leaf of fried sage. And those who miss the old "bacon" dish at GT should take solace in Anthony's rack of pork/pork belly dish (cooked sous vide) accompanied by a piece of "cracklin," which was wonderful. Oh, and whatever U.E. said about how good the chocolate bread pudding dessert is, I echo his statements. I cannot wait to go back and dine at the dining room again.

From what I'm told Chef Anthony donated his time, expertise, facilities, and all food and wine. My feeling is that we, the ticket-buyers, made out quite well, given the wonderful lunch tasting menu, including wine (I'm not a big wine drinker, but the staff made sure our glasses were rarely empty), tax, and gratuity, as well as being able to pick Chef Anthony's brain for two hours as we wandered around the Greenmarket. (It's also nice to know which vendors he favors, too.) The tickets were $110 a piece; $60 is tax deductible as a donation to the Greenmarket. There were about 15 people around the table. Not too shabby, I'd say.

CENYC is planning to do this sort of tour again, most likely in the spring, with Dan Barber of Blue Hill and/or Peter Hoffman of Savoy. They had originally asked Chef Anthony to do a small tasting for the attendees, but I'm afraid he's set the bar quite high for whomever follows him (probably Barber).

Edited November 11, 2007 by kathryn (log)

[HappyLab]

Kathryn,

Thanks for the wonderful report and delicious photos! I had wanted to attend this event, but was out of town for the weekend. I will be sure to buy a ticket next time CENYC has a similar event-- sounds like a great time.