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Artvoice Weekly Edition » Issue v7n29 (07/16/2008) » Section: The Food Issue


Eating Local

When I started in the food service industry some years ago, there was a sense of pride in having ingredients flown or trucked in from distant lands. Stating this on the menu meant that you had some of the freshest and most exotic foods available. On any given night you may have had chanterelle mushrooms straight from France, baby squash from South America, and beautiful, pencil-thin asparagus direct from California on the same menu, quite possibly in the same dish. Today, of course, it’s more common for a chef to boast about how nearby their food was grown, often naming not the country of origin but the actual farm.



Local Shops, Exotic Wares

Locally produced food is all well and good, but sometimes one wants ingredients that traveled halfway around the world. In those instances, one can at least still buy locally, eschewing the chains and online retailers. Here are a few good bets for hard-to-find food and drink:



The Chocolate Factory

The average American basement functions as a cavernous den filled with unwanted household items and lost mementos. Some homeowners spruce them up by installing mini-bars or guest bedrooms.



Soul Food

Buffalo wings and beef on weck. A region loved for its meaty mainstays is often overlooked for its bountiful supply of locally grown produce and animal products.





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