What happens when Four Square restaurant joins forces with Four Leaf farm? When Fowl Attitude farm meets Fullsteam Brewery? Well, you’ll have to attend Farm to Fork 2009 (www.farmtoforknc.com) to find out.
Farm to Fork, a large community picnic with fresh-grown, artisanally prepared food, is also a fundraiser benefiting local farms. Admission is $50 (kids 12 and under are free) and proceeds fund the apprentice programs sponsored by the Center for Environmental Farming Systems (www.cefs.ncsu.edu) and the PLANT @ Breeze Farm Enterprise Incubator.
The list of participating chefs, caterers, restaurants, farmers and food wonder-makers is too long to enumerate here. In short, each land-based group will team with its kitchen-based counterpart to whip up something yummy. For example, Bill Dow of Ayrshire Farm in Pittsboro, who has been farming sustainably since 1978, is teaming with Scott Crawford, who just took over the kitchen at Herons Restaurant (100 Woodland Pond, Cary, 447-4200, www.heronsrestaurant.com), to prepare … who knows?
The meal will include the season’s first field-ripened tomatoes; heritage pork; a shrimp boil; grass-fed beef; farmstead cheese, preserves and breads; all-local snow cones; grilled pizzas made from Triangle-grown wheat and produce; and the season’s last strawberries.
It happens north of Hillsborough, Sunday, June 14, from 4 to 7 p.m. at the W.C. Breeze Family Farm Extension and Research Center (4909 Walnut Grove Church Road, Hurdle Mills). Tickets are available at www.farmtoforknc.com or by calling 755-3804, and must be purchased in advance. If it rains, head to the Durham Farmers’ Market pavilion.
Meanwhile, in local restaurant news, Papa Mojo’s Roadhouse (5410-Y N.C. Hwy. 55, Durham, 361-2222, www.papamojosroadhouse.com) is serving a Bayou Brunch from noon to 4 p.m. Sundays. The menu looks bayou-licious: beignets, pain perdue, “carpetbagger steak” (grilled or blackened, topped with hollandaise sauce and fried oysters), andouille and sweet potato hash, shrimp creole omelettes, bananas foster and blueberry pan dowdie. And to drink: sazeracs, mimosas, bloody Marys, New Orleans milk punch and more.
J. Betskis (10 W. Franklin St., Suite 120, Raleigh, 833-7999, www.jbetskis.com) is now open for lunch, Tuesday through Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday lunch is served until 2:30 p.m.
Great Harvest Bread in Chapel Hill (229 S. Elliott Road, 932-1112, freshbakedbread.com) serves gluten-free and dairy-free bread on Thursdays.
Finally, congratulations to Larry’s Beans (1509 Gavin St., Raleigh, 828-1234, www.larrysbeans.com), which added another “green” laurel to its crown. Larry’s was voted the World’s Most Sustainable Coffee by TriplePundit (www.triplepundit.com). The online magazine noted Larry’s products are sustainable, and so are its business practices: veggie oil for local deliveries, biodiesel distribution, compostable packaging and natural lighting for employees.
