Comments on: GO, MIDWEST!!!! GO, GO, MIDWEST!!!

By: It all hinged on this.

It all hinged on this. — Fri, 14 May 2010 11:57:44 +0000

[...] a reassuring promise that we might not have to travel back to Georgia to be fed really well. More evidence that the phrase great local food scene and the word Indianapolis don’t have to be uttered in [...]

By: katy

katy — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 20:21:33 +0000

Hi, Kimber — thanks for checking in! I’m hoping you’ll find as many options for pastured meat as we do around here — most of the farms are way outside of town, but I’m sure we only have easy access because it’s a metropolitan area. I have yet to venture into much kraut/pickling, which is something I hope to do this year.

On getting a scoby: you might have better luck when it warms up. We keep our house at 66-67º, and it’s taking forever for my scoby to produce a baby. Also taking forever for my kombucha to cook to a desired flavor.

The process: I have been noticing that while many friends don’t care much about traditional food preparation, they are starting to seek the flavor of that type of food. So, here, Goose the Market sells high-quality meats, cheeses, even NT “crispy nuts,” and friends love it, but they don’t really care about why it’s better for you. Maybe our MW tastebuds are changing for the better…

By: Kimber

Kimber — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 18:36:00 +0000

Hi, Katy!

Just checking in from the eastern side of the state! I’m working to find good, affordable sources for pastured meat/poultry and raw milk. The rest, I’m trying (and trying…) to start on my own. I’ve done some lacto-fermenting – salsa & cortido were a big hit, pickles… not so much. I’m trying to remember to soak more grains/beans. I do not have a grain mill, and haven’t found a good source for copious amounts of fresh grain yet, but I have gotten pretty good at making yogurt. I’m hoping to find someone nearby that makes kombucha, both to taste it and to hopefully find a SCOBY.

Like I said, I’ve done some work, but still have a ways to go. It’s a process, right? A process…

Go Midwest!!

By: katy

katy — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 02:42:25 +0000

Monica, I’ve heard great things about food in Austin. Consider me jealous.

By: Monica

Monica — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 23:52:16 +0000

Well, I’m down here in Austin, so nowhere near the Midwest. But we do have pretty good, local food options! A lot of the chefs at the nicer restaurants get some, if not most, of their food from local farmers. We also have a year-round growing season, so that helps. I get plenty of grass-fed, pasture raised beef, pasture raised chicken (so chickeny!) and eggs, grass-fed raw milk, etc.

I think we are going to have to eat pizza tonight.

By: katy

katy — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 03:36:44 +0000

Liz, the byproduct of cooking more isn’t a bad thing — I’ve felt the same way, and we’ve also greatly reduced our eat-out budget. But it’s so nice to know that options are out there. Did you guys have any luck in Columbus? Isn’t that the closest large city?

By: Liz Wiley

Liz Wiley — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 20:56:52 +0000

Katy, I mourn with you. Everywhere we’ve lived over the years has been rich in options for good, quality, original, and satisfying food. But not here. Not the Midwest,at least not yet. And certainly not our little town. The closest we’ve come is a little combo restaurant called Bombay Garden/Greek Eats. Nowhere else would I even consider trying a place that tries to combine Indian and Greek into one restaurant, but it’s the best we’ve got: http://www.bombaygardengreekeats.com/index.html.
I was hopeful about this place called The Barn, rumored to be run completely by the Amish. Not the case. I should have done more research before venturing out, but last year, on a day of desperation, we opted to brave the hour plus trip to get there. All I can say is that it was more like a locally-kitchified Cracker Barrel:
http://www.thebarnrest.com/index.htm
I’ll keep looking, but I’m losing hope. Meanwhile, out of necessity I’ve become a much better cook, and our eating out budget has dropped considerably.

By: katy

katy — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 12:33:28 +0000

Angie, Greenhouse Tavern doesn’t ring a bell — it was a new place, I think — just goes to show they have multiple good eateries in Cleveland! I bet you did leave some incredible places behind, in Nashville. I never spent a ton of time there eating out, but with the art/music/money scene it’s not surprising.

I’m with you — I think, or hope, the tides are changing. And about that taleggio — yes, it was on the stinky side. I was mainly surprised by it, but tried to embrace it. I think (for me, not a big stinky-cheese connoisseur) it worked because of the figs.

By: Angie @ Just Like The Number

Angie @ Just Like The Number — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 01:31:44 +0000

Add me to the cheering section! I wonder if the restaurant in the NPR story was the Greenhouse Tavern?

We’ve been here three years and it still kills me to think about all the great eateries we left behind in Nashville. There is hope, though. I’ve seen some great new places open, like Pizzology, recently. I’ve noticed a subtle change in some attitudes as well. While they’re maybe not so into the ingredients and sustainability of the food they eat, they’re growing tired of the glut of chains and ready to support local businesses. It’s a start, right?

By the way, I had the Old Kentucky Rome pizza when we were there a couple of weeks ago. I enjoyed it, but couldn’t get over the stinkiness. Did anyone else at your table notice? Or are we just cheese weenies?

By: katy

katy — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 19:51:28 +0000

Nicole — greetings!! I’m so glad you’ve been reading — and even more encouraged that you eat homemade sauerkraut! Don’t you think this town can totally make it happen? I mean, we’re out there — the people who would eat the good food — and it seems we are even bonding together, in a way, at places like the Farmer’s Mkt. We are currently renting in Broad Ripple, so only a 10-minute drive to the east Trader Joe’s; but we don’t know where we’ll be after May, so I might end up in the same boat as you, with a much longer trek. Oh, well — previous to living in Indy, my closest TJ’s was over an hour away, so I’ll take having it in the same city ; )