August 2014 Celebrated Living - page 22

CLOCKWISEFROMTOPLEFT: COURTESYWALDORFASTORIANEWYORK; EMILYCLACK; JOHNQ. PORTER;MONAT. BROOKS
CLRECOMMENDS
FOOD&DRINK
HARVESTSEASON
THEEXCITEMENT ispalpable in
California’sSonomaandNapa
countiesduring the fall,when
thegrapes areharvested. Crush
parties, festivals andvineyard
meals tocelebrate the seasonare
plentiful, and the scent of grapes
beingcrushed fills theair atmany
awinery. Thenearly40-year-old
SONOMACOUNTYHARVESTFAIR
(www.harvestfair.org),
Oct. 3 to5, is agreatway tokickoff
aharvest visit, offeringwine tast-
ings frommore than 150wineries.
MarinCounty’s McEVOYRANCH
(www.mcevoyranch
.com), oneof thenation’s larg-
est producersof award-winning
organicoliveoil, just last year
launched itswine label. Payavisit
to the stunningwinery to sample
theRedPianoblend, or better
yet, attend theWine+RedPiano
dinner at theChinesepagodaon
Oct. 4. InHealdsburg, the HOTEL
HEALDSBURG (www.hotel
healdsburg.com) and
JORDANVINEYARD&WINERY
havepairedup tooffer a “Farm to
ForkCulinary Journey” throughout
the season, featuringanexclusive
tour of thebreathtaking, 1,000-
acre Jordanestate, followedby
dinner atCharliePalmer’sDry
CreekKitchenat thehotel,where
the chefwill use ingredients from
JordanWinery’sgardenand farm.
AndNapa’s BCELLARS (www
.bcellars.com)welcomes
guestswithSundays in theGarden,
featuringwine tastings anddiscus-
sionson sustainable farmingand
beekeeping, aswell as raising
chickens. —LORI STACY
FreshlyPicked
Sure, you’veheardof farm-to-table,
buthowabout ROOFTOPLATE?
W haveprolifer-
atedinrecentyears,moreandmore
restaurantsaregreeningtheroofsof
theirbuildingswithkitchengardens,
whichallowseventhemostcity-centered
restaurantstogrowtheirowningredients.
InWashington,D.C.,thenew BIDWELL
(www.bidwelldc.com)restaurant
launcheditsroof-to-tablegardenthissum-
merwithmorethan70verticalgrowing
towersthatreachheightsof6feet.The
harvestsuppliesabout60percentofthe
kitchen’sneedsandisusedineverything
fromgoat-cheese-stu‹edzucchiniblos-
somstomojitos. HOMESTEADONTHEROOF
(www.homesteadontheroof.com)
inChicagohostsan80-seatrooftoppatio
nexttoa1,000-square-footgardenthat’s
dividedintoboxes,bedsandwallplanters;
itsuppliesabout50percentoftherestau-
rant’svegetables.Atopthe20thfloor,the
WALDORFASTORIANEWYORK (www
.waldorfnewyork.com)hostsnine
raisedplantingbeds,sixfruittrees,numer-
ousplantpotsandsixbeehives—allof
whichsupplyrawingredientsfordishesand
cocktailsinthehotel’sthreerestaurantsas
wellasintreatmentsatthespa.Apioneer
amongurbanfarmers, NOBLEROT (www
.noblerotpdx.com)inPortland,Ore.,
harvestssevenmonthsoftheyearfromits
3,000-square-footrooftoporganicgarden
thatprovideson-siteproduce.
— Ÿ ¡ ¢ £
What started at NEXT inChicago(www.nextrestaurant.com)
three years ago has expanded nationally: prepaying for your dinner
reservation. The systemprotects the restaurant against losswhendiners
don’t show. Of course, only themost high-profile places can afford to turn awaybusiness,
making the system a clue toquality—or at least crowds. Newcomers include VOLVÉR
from chef JoseGarces inPhiladelphia ( philadelphia.volverrestaurant.com),
PRIXFIXE inMelbourne, Australia(www.prixfixe.com.au )and ELIZABETH in
Chicago(www.elizabeth-restaurant.com) —E.G.
TREND ING
CLOCKWISEFROMLEFT: WaldorfAstoriaNew
York; Bidwell brunch; NobleRot
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