Tuesday, May 21, 2013

That Elusive Oxymoron: Inexpensive Local Food

Since The Green Land restaurant closed in Salem, we've been having difficulty finding a good locavore restaurant on the North Shore. And then we came across the Scratch Kitchen. Located within easy walking distance of the Peabody Essex Museum in the heart of Salem, the Scratch Kitchen is something I never expected to find: an inexpensive, family-friendly restaurant that serves locally-sourced cuisine.

I took the family there last week, and we were uniformly delighted. My husband, a serious blue cheese lover, ordered the Maine Fries and Great Hill Blue Cheese Fondue, which was utterly delicious. My elder daughter turned up her nose at the stinky cheese, which just meant more deliciousness for the rest of us. One caveat: while this dish is on the menu as a main course, it really is just Maine-grown potato fries and blue cheese fondue. Next time we go, we intend to order it as an appetizer. My elder daughter ordered the kid's mac 'n' cheese, which she loved and which definitely did not come out of a box, creamy and cheesy. My younger daughter ordered the hot dog, which she loved. We're not sure whether the hot dog was locally sourced, but it looked nicer than your standard Nathan's. Minor gripe: my younger daughter is gluten-sensitive, and their menu did not particularly have GF options, but we've learned to carry GF bread with us to new restaurants, and they were happy to take it back to the kitchen and toast it for her dog.

I ordered the fresh catch of the day, which happened to be hake. It was marvelous, extremely well done, buttery and flaky and substantial enough for me to share with my husband. It was served with rice over cooked spinach and accompanied by a sauce that wasn't quite tartar but was delicious.

Don't look for that on the menu. In fact, there were a lot of things not on the menu: rhubarb crumble, soups, and sandwiches designed to take advantage of what's currently locally available. The waiter apologized for being out of fiddlehead ferns. In fact, unlike most locavore venues, they don't post a specific list of suppliers on their web site because that list is constantly changing according to season and availability. Nonetheless, the photo on their web site impresses me with the sheer number of suppliers that aren't just local but very, VERY local: Salem, Wenham, Danvers, Essex. These are all towns within spittin' distance, which means that the owners have done a fantastic job making connections with the farmers in their local neighborhood. And naturally, they take advantage of being just down the coast from Gloucester and use locally caught fish in their dishes. Cheeses come from farther afield in New Hampshire and Vermont, but that's still within the 100 mile radius we strive for.

Scratch Kitchen uses locally raised beef, pork, and eggs, and they smoke their meats on site, including their bacon. They make their own black bean burgers and use Bob's Red Mill flours and oats. They have an impressive selection of locally-produced sodas and locally-brewed craft beers.

What I liked most about Scratch Kitchen was how gracefully the ingredients were selected and harmoniously prepared. My main gripe about Nourish in Lexington is that, while each individual component of a meal is fresh and local and delicious, they have a tendency to throw things together just because they have them and without really thinking about how they should work together. My meal was a seamlessly complementary selection of fish, vegetable, rice, and sauce.

My hake was the most expensive dish at $20, which you have to expect with fresh fish, but everything else was amazingly inexpensive. The fondue was $10, and the kids' meals were about $5 each. I've never seen a locavore restaurant with such good prices, much less one with a good kids' menu. I am looking forward to returning again and again to work my way through all their other offerings: fish tacos, goat cheese panini, burger with bacon and onion jam. Mmmm. Can't wait.

2 comments:

  1. Correction: the blue cheese & fries was listed as an appetizer

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