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Gilbertie's Herb Gardens in Westport is the largest grower of USDA Organic herbs in the US and is host to Westport's 2010 indoor winter farmers' market.

Don’t let the cold weather deceive you, there’s plenty of local food to be had in Connecticut, even in the dead of winter. Three farms that grow during all four seasons with the help of hoop houses and greenhouses will be bringing their organic produce to the newly minted indoor winter farmers’ market in Westport at Gilbertie’s Herb Gardens. And it’s heated. A happy circumstance for both vendors and guests who can look forward to toasting their fingers and toes as they sip coffee and tea, lunch, and shop inside a warm greenhouse festively adorned with white Christmas lights.

Not impressed? How about a budget-friendly gourmet lunch from a different farm-to-table restaurant each week? Don’t miss opening day, Thursday, December 9, as celebrated chef Bill Taibe of leFarm restaurant of Westport dishes up lunch.  If you’ve never dined at leFarm, it’s reason enough to make the trip, just don’t forget to bring a friend for the social currency.

Harvest to Heat is as much a story book as it is a cookbook, sharing delightful backstories for each farm fresh ingredient and recipe.

Both Bill and one of the farms from which he sources organic food, Millstone Farm in Wilton, are celebrated in the newly released and very beautiful cookbook, Harvest to Heat: Cooking with America’s Best Chefs, Farmers, and Artisans, which was just named Best Cookbook Overall 2010 by Epicurious. If you subscribe to the Hallmark Channel, tune in to the Martha Stewart Show next Wednesday, November  24, where Bill Taibe will be a guest chef.

Each week one of the following restaurants will provide lunch and prepared foods at the market: leFarm, Schoolhouse at Cannondale, The Dressing Room, or Fat Cat Pie. Because you won’t want to miss any of them, I’ll post the name of each week’s restaurant on Facebook and Twitter.  Schoolhouse at Cannondale chef/owner Tim LaBant’s uncompromising commitment to serving the highest quality fresh, local, and seasonal food has won Schoolhouse numerous awards including a Top 10 Ranking on Open Table’s Best of the tri state area, Best Special Occasion restaurant 2010 by Westport Magazine, and the top Fairfield County Pick for the Best of New England 2010 guide. Now the only special occasion you have to wait for is their week at the indoor Westport farmers’ market.

In addition to the guest restaurants, Boxcar Cantina, the first restaurant in Connecticut to earn a Green Restaurant certification, and brick oven caterer Skinny Pines, a 2010 Green Coast Award recipient, will be regular weekly vendors. Catch a Healthy Habit Cafe will vend lunch every other week, starting opening day. Arrive early to avoid the lunch lines and if you can, get there are 11:00 to enjoy free weekly talks about herbs and gardening from experts at Gilbertie’s.

The indoor Westport winter farmers’ market will be held each Thursday, except December 23, from 10-1 at Gilbertie’s of Westport on 7 Sylvan Lane. Opening day is December 9, 2010 and the market closes for the season on March 31. Market to car grocery valets available upon request.

Winter 2010 Weekly Vendors

1. Boxcar Cantina
2. Skinny Pines Catering
3. Catch a Healthy Habit Cafe (alternating weeks)
4. Beltane Farm
5. Ladies of Levita Road Farm
6. SoNo Baking Company
7. Fort Hill Farm
8. Two Guys from Woodbridge
9. Riverbank Farm
10. Wave Hill Bread
11. Raus Coffee
12. Arogya Tea
13. Izzie B’s
14. Colyer Catering
15. Greyledge Farm
16. Sankow’s Beaver Brook Farm
17. Huckleberry Artisan Pastry
18. Boxed Goods
19. Calcutta Kitchen
20. Whistle Stop Bakery
21. Bone-A-Part
22. Pemaquid Seafood Harvesters *New
    

The lunch crowd at LeFarm

What’s in name? Apparently a lot. At first blush you might look at LeFarm as an interesting combination of French and English words and leave it at that. But, being a marketing professional, I couldn’t help but dissected it. “Le” connotes high-end cuisine and “Farm” connotes local, farm-sourced food. Put the two together and voila, you have a beautiful, custom-made  name that perfectly reflects the restaurant’s concept of high-end, locally sourced food.

Coming up with a name that really reflects a brand is not that easy to do, so kudos to Chef Bill Taibe for hitting a bull’s eye not only on the name, but also with the concept and execution. I’m still wondering if that naming exercise took place late one evening over a few bottles of wine with a group of close friends. A few chefs maybe?

This was my second visit to LeFarm; the first was a dinner shortly after they opened.  The food was delicious, out of the ordinary (slow roasted bone marrow anyone?) and memorable enough to talk about for a few months. Our waiter Frank has worked so long with the Chef Taibe, that there were no bumps in service to try to excuse away. Au contraire, we had a ball after the table next to us asked Frank why a grass-fed burger cost $20.  Let’s just say that man left enlightened and seemed pleased that such a simple questions garnered him so much attention.

The blackboard amuses and confirms that food is serious business here.

This most recent visit was with a friend who exclaimed “Why haven’t I been here before?” as she sat down at our table and surveyed the crowded room. Every table was filled and we felt lucky  to to be seated because they don’t take lunch reservations.

We ordered our glasses of wine, Qupe Syrah to go with my roasted squab entree and Emerson Pinot Noir to accompany my friend’s Hamachi crudo. The wine is served from a small combination bar/ service station located near the front of the restaurant, and arrived in stemless glasses, congruent in style with the wide-mouth vase holding our silverware, arranged point down, in a bed of dry beans.

As our lunch arrived, the diner next to me rose to leave. Glancing at my plate as she shimmied between our tables, she wondered out loud what it was.  “Squab from John Boy” I said, grateful for having asked Frank about the source. The diner turned to her friend and said “that’s John Boy’s squab”, which elicited a “Who’s John Boy?” from my friend and a long conversation about locally grown food, quail, and sustainable agriculture. Perfect conversation for lunch at LeFarm. This chef is serious about his food and so are his guests. Where else do diners discuss  which farm their food is coming from with one another ?

Roasted, Frenched breast of squab with Anson Mills polenta, local beets and preserved cranberry

The two Frenched breasts of squab adorned a crescent of warm, soft polenta flanked by beets and preserved cranberries. Do not be afraid of this game bird, for it is a delicacy. Seeing a whole bird on your plate could scare off some diners, but Bill has astutely presented it as a breast perhaps in part to avoid this issue. The delicate, tender and deeply flavorful dark meat of the squab coupled with the creamy polenta, rich cranberries and savory beets yielded a dish that evokes the term culinary alchemy. Nothing short of that would do this food justice.

Since this was a birthday celebration, we agreed to order the chocolate bread pudding to share. It arrived thoughtfully studded with two burning candles in a serving size sufficient for two. Silky-smooth, light and velvety, this old-fashioned mixture of bread, custard and chocolate was a delightful and satisfying finale. French press coffee in hand, we toasted our birthdays, our friendship, and our good fortune of living in close proximity to LeFarm.

256 Post Rd. E  Westport, C.T. 06880
Look for LeFarm on Facebook
tele: 203.557.3701