‘Gourmet’ Lauds Spoonriver, ‘Pioneer’ Lucia Watson

Gourmet magazine’s October 2007 issue features a guide to “America’s Best Farm-to-Table Restaurants.” gourmet.com:

RESTAURANTS WITH FARM CONNECTIONS: 2nd Street Bistro, Livingston, MT; Amherst Chinese Food, Amherst, MA; Blackberry Farm, Walland, TN; Crook’s Corner, Chapel Hill, NC; Eve, Alexandria, VA; La Provence, Lacombe, LA; Lantern, Chapel Hill, NC; Pacific’O and I’o, Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii; Tree House Pastry Shop and Cafe, Santa Fe, NM
MENU CHANGES DAILY/OFTEN: Aqua Santa, Santa Fe, NM; Bix, San Francisco; Boulettes Larder, San Francisco; Floataway Cafe, Atlanta; Francine, Camden, ME; Harvest, Madison, WI; Literati II, Brentwood, CA; Queen’s Hideaway, Brooklyn, NY
CASUAL: Bay Ave. Trattoria, Highlands, NJ; Blue Bird Bistro, Kansas City, MO; Bona Terra, Sharpsburg, PA; Burgerville, locations throughout Oregon and Washington; Canele, Atwater Village, CA; Duo Restaurant, Denver; The Farmhouse, Emmaus, PA; Fife Restaurant, Portland, OR; The Flying Fig, Cleveland; The Flying Pig on Lexington, Mount Kisco, NY; Local Burger, Lawrence, KS; Market, Del Mar, CA; Prairie Grass Cafe, Northbrook, IL; Sage, Des Moines, IA; Spoonriver, Minneapolis; Steelhead Diner, Seattle; Vindalho, Portland, OR
SEASONAL (CLOSED PART OF THE YEAR): The Back Eddy, Westport, MA; Christina’s (open from February to October), Eastsound, Orcas Island, WA; Clam Box of Ipswich (open from February to December), Ipswich, MA; Five Islands Lobster Co., Georgetown, ME; Hawk’s (open from December to May), Rayne, LA; Hell’s Backbone Grill (open from March to November), Boulder, UT
URBAN: Frontera Grill and Topolobampo, Chicago; Grace, Los Angeles; Josie, Santa Monica, CA; Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink, Miami; Reef, Houston; Rendezvous in Central Square, Cambridge, MA; T’Afia, Houston; Telepan, New York, NY; White Dog Cafe, Philadelphia; Wilshire, Santa Monica, CA
WORTH THE TRIP: The Farmhouse Restaurant, The Inn at Serenbe, Palmetto, GA; Five & Ten, Athens, GA; Guadalupe Cafe, Sylva, NC; Harvest Moon Cafe, Sonoma, CA; Kai, Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort & Spa, Chandler, AZ; Journeyman Cafe, Fennville, MI; Restaurant Tallent, Bloomington, IN: The Turquoise Room, Winslow, AZ.
ROMANTIC/SPECIAL OCCASIONS: 610 Magnolia, Louisville; Brigtsen’s, New Orleans; The Fearrington House Restaurant, Pittsboro, NC; The General’s Daughter, Sonoma, CA; Hen of the Wood, Waterbury, VT; Joseph’s Table, Taos, NM; Le Gourmand, Seattle; Manresa, Los Gatos, CA; The Painted Lady, Newberg, OR; Paley’s Place, Portland, OR.
MEAT RULES: Bonnell’s Fine Texas Cuisine, Fort Worth; The Corn Exchange, Rapid City, SD; L&M’s Kitchen and Salumeria, Oxford, MS; The Linkery, San Diego; Pirogue Grille, Bismarck, ND; Route 7 Grill, Great Barrington, MA; Watermark Restaurant, Nashville.
HOTELS + INNS: Cielo at Ventana Inn & Spa, Big Sur, CA; CityZen, Mandarin Oriental, Washington, D.C.; The Inn at Dos Brisas, Brenham, TX; The Inn at Shelburne Farms (open from May to October), Shelburne, VT; North Fork Table and Inn, Southold, NY; Rustic Canyon, Santa Monica, CA.
BAR FOCUS: Cyrus, Healdsburg, CA; FIG, Charleston, SC.
LOCAL PIONEERS: Alice Waters, Chez Panisse, Berkeley, CA; Carrie Van Dyck, Ron Zimmerman, and Jerry Traunfeld, The Herbfarm, Woodinville, WA; Peter Merriman and Neil Murphy, Merriman’s, Waimea, Big Island, Hawaii; Peter Hoffman, Savoy, New York, NY; Greg Higgins, Higgins Restaurant & Bar, Portland, OR; Peter Davis, Henrietta’s Table, The Charles Hotel, Cambridge, MA; Dan Barber, Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Pocantico Hills, NY; Lucia Watson, Lucia’s Restaurant and Wine Bar, Minneapolis; Alan Wong, Alan Wong’s Restaurant, Honolulu, Hawaii; Annie Somerville, Greens, San Francisco; Patrick O’Connell, The Inn at Little Washington, Washington, VA; Alex Young, Zingerman’s Roadhouse, Ann Arbor, MI

IN THE NEWS: The Star Tribune’s Rick Nelson reviews The Oak Grill (700 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis, 612-375-2938), which celebrates its 60th birthday on Oct. 2. startribune.com … The Pioneer Press’s Kathie Jenkins offers a top 10 of cheap eats, starting with Black Sea (737 N. Snelling, St. Paul, 651-917-8832). … Nancy Ngo reports: 128 Café in St. Paul is to return by the end of October. Jill Wilson, a server at the restaurant for four years before it closed in June, is resurrect the 11-year-old hangout across the street from the University of St. Thomas. … Two Buzzards is now open in the former Eastside Pizza on Hudson in St. Paul … Olympus Bar & Grill, overlooking Tanners Lake in Oakdale, has closed, as has Saigon Star, the Vietnamese restaurant in Rosedale Common in Roseville. twincities.com …

City Pages’ Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl reviews Big Daddy’s: The Giants of Outdoor Cooking (The parking lot on the northeast corner of University and Dale, 609 University Avenue West, St. Paul, Saturdays, about 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., or until the food runs out, 651.276.3101) and Miel Y Leche Cupcats at Letterbox (2741 Hennepin Ave. S., Minneapolis; Saturdays, noon to 6:00 p.m., or until the food runs out, 651.246.2524, www.myspace.com/mielylechecatering). citypages.com … Busy bloggers MSPFoodies.com review Capital Grille (801 Hennepin Ave, Minneapolis, 612-692-9000, www.thecapitalgrille.com), La Bodega Tapas Bar (3005 Lyndale Ave S, Minneapolis, 612-823-2661), Al Vento (5001 34th Ave S Minneapolis, 866-383-3107, www.alventorestaurant.com), Muffuletta (2260 Como Ave, St. Paul, 651-644-9116, www.muffuletta.com), Kabobs (7814 Portland Ave S, Bloomington, 612-636-7786, www.thekabobs.com) and Chapati (7078 Amundson Ave, Edina, 952-946-0009, www.chapati.us). … MSPFoodies.com reviews Corner Table (4257 Nicollet Ave, Minneapolis, 612-823-0011, www.cornertablerestaurant.com), and Falafel King (8405 Lyndale Ave S, Bloomington, 952-888-3008, also has locations in Uptown and Downtown Minneapolis, www.falafelking.com).

Compiled by Pat Embry, WhereTheLocalsEat.com