Over at the LRC blog, Karen de Coster has an interesting post about “Ingredients,” a documentary on local food production as opposed to the industrial food model. As someone who lives in Topeka, where finding a non-franchise restaurant — how many times can you people eat at Chili’s already? — is like encountering Bigfoot and a leprechaun riding a giant unicorn, I am very interested in this topic.
She then makes an interesting point about French restaurants:
I especially like when the filmmaker goes to Carafe Bistro in Portland, Oregon and discusses why French cuisine is so superior and desired around the world: the French, unlike Americans, don’t work from year-round static menus and seek to obtain their food from any supplier that can sustain the menu. The French bring in local food, seasonally, and they adapt and create according to the chef’s inspiration based on the type of food that arrives daily. For a French chef, each day is a spontaneous and creative challenge.
As it turns out, this is one of the things we like so much about RowHouse, our favorite restaurant. The menu changes weekly, and is inspired in part by what ingredients are available that time of year.