I used to loathe tomatoes. I’d put ketchup on hamburgers and have sauce with pasta, but I insisted that my BLTs remain incomplete BLs. Then I had a revelation — I tasted one right out of my garden. This and other farm-fresh experiences made me an advocate of the vibrant tastes of locally grown produce and other harvested-near-home foodstuffs. Recently, I enjoyed a demonstration of how local flavors stand out at 211 Clover Lane.
This St. Matthews establishment is one of many local restaurants actively seeking homegrown products for their menus. Executive chef Troy Schuster is involved with the Community Farm Alliance, an organization that supports local farmers and works to expand urban dwellers’ access to their wares. Schuster says restaurants can tap into the same food sources. “You support the local guys, get a better, fresher product, and as a bonus, they have more shelf life,” he says.
Using local products can be a balancing act for everyone — we diners included. After all, who hasn’t been tempted by diver scallops, sevruga caviar, Chilean sea bass or French foie gras? And it can be difficult (and sometimes depressing) to remember the actual cost in fuel, environmental damage and even industrial chemicals or pesticides it takes to get that exotic dish on your plate. And sourcing local is no picnic for proprietors, either. Schuster told me about a great relationship he has with Carol and Bruce Friedman in Green River, who provide him with spring, summer and fall greens, along with baby squash “with beautiful blossoms,” baby eggplants, snow pea shoots and more. But he also had just “lost contact” with Kentucky Heritage meats, and lamented that while he loved beef from Green River Cattle Co., “it’s hard to get local beef.”
Local ingredients don’t necessarily mean local cuisine. At 211, Schuster takes his culinary cues from Italy and France, and the menu’s dishes reflect that. Owner Andrew Smith says, “You can take the local and make it exotic. It means Troy can put new spins on Italian and French dishes.”
Unfortunately, deadline requirements demanded that I visit 211 Clover Lane in March, before nature’s bounty could emerge after the chill of winter, so my homegrown options were somewhat limited. So, mindful of my mission, I passed on the poached Alaskan halibut with Chioggia beets, asparagus and sauce Mousseline ($26), and the Maine lobster and bay scallop risotto with sweet pepper, asparagus and lemon ($12). In Alaska or Maine, not a problem — but jet-delivered shellfish weren’t part of my deal this day.
Nevertheless, several dishes managed to incorporate local products into their flavors. A bowl of mushroom soup ($5) excellently showcased mushrooms from Sheltowee Farm, a family-run operation in Bath County, Ky. Flecked with parsley and beads of olive oil, the soup’s thin, tarragon-laced broth delicately let the earthy, meaty mushroom flavor shine through. Served with another fine local product, Blue Dog bread, the soup was light enough to be a harbinger of spring.
Blue Dog bread also played a big role in one of the standout dishes of my recent trips to 211. A slice of the bakery’s exceptional baguette served as a platform for two over-easy eggs (from Dutch Creek Farm in Pleasureville, Ky., in Henry County) that were teamed up with Parma prosciutto and Parmigiano-Reggiano ($10). The cured ham and the cheese were fine examples of their regional flavors, but the excellent flavor of the delicately fried eggs carried the open-faced sandwich to another dimension, enhanced by a light tarragon beurre blanc and a bit of peppery arugula from local hydroponic garden Grateful Greens.
To me, the sandwich perfectly demonstrated the advantage of homegrown products. I contrasted the lively tastes of the eggs, arugula and bread to a spicy shrimp salad with avocado and mango ($12) I sampled at the same lunch. While the lime vinaigrette worked well with the fresh mixed greens, the globetrotting shrimp, mango and avocado just couldn’t match the intense flavors of local stuff.
Those fresh mixed greens worked better at dinner in my 211 house salad, where they were joined by Indiana goat cheese ($8). A light vinaigrette let the greens and cheese take center stage, the creamy mild cheese made even better with a slight breading and sauteing. For main courses, I returned to the Sheltowee mushrooms. Along with diced carrots, the mushrooms spilled from a sliced veal tenderloin involtini ($28), adding their deep flavor to the mild, butter-like meat laced with a veal demi-glace. Accompanied by rapini (aka broccoli raab) and mashed potatoes, it was a hearty, satisfying dish. But the real favorite (at least at my table) was a plate of potato gnocchi with caramelized fennel, Jerusalem artichokes and Sheltowee oyster mushrooms ($17). The tender gnocchi provided an excellent textural contrast to the chewier mushrooms and was enhanced by a delicate herbed butter sauce.
I only wish the “local is best” philosophy made it onto 211 Clover Lane’s cheese plate ($11), which I ordered to help finish off a fine bottle of Four Graces Oregon Pinot Noir ($55). The attractive oblong plate, bordered by swirls of honey, held small portions of Picodon, Roquefort, Reblochon and Camembert. Served with sliced grapes and grilled Blue Dog bread, it was a nice balance of cheese textures and variety. But while I love French cheeses in France, I think our government’s nannyish bans on raw-milk cheese imports means we’re denied some of the best from abroad. Better choices can usually be found right here in the good old USA from a range of artisans, including a few right here in our area.
I still salivate at the memory of how good oysters plucked from a Normandy bay tasted, mere yards away from where I dined. Or the incredible diver scallop I had in Kennebunkport, Maine. Tucked into its alcove in the Colony Center, the cozy rooms of 211 Clover Lane — like many of the city’s restaurants — can’t ever match that freshness and sense of place with these exotics, no matter how good global shipping gets. But 211 can definitely provide a meal that takes Kentucky into Europe, as well as an intimate showplace for local-ingredient dining. While the season I sampled was a little winter-scarce, by the time you read this, 211 Clover Lane should be brimming with fresh homegrown goodness. I only hope they get fresh morels around Derby time.
If You Go
211 Clover Lane (in the Colony Center), 896-9570. Lunch: Tuesday-Saturday, 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.; dinner: Tuesday-Saturday, 6 to 10 p.m.; Sunday brunch: 10:30 a.m.- 2:30 p.m.