Gourmet magazine’s October 2007 issue features a guide to “America’s Best Farm-to-Table Restaurants.” gourmet.com:

RESTAURANTS WITH FARM CONNECTIONS: 2nd Street Bistro, Livingston, MT; Amherst Chinese Food, Amherst, MA; Blackberry Farm, Walland, TN; Crook’s Corner, Chapel Hill, NC; Eve, Alexandria, VA; La Provence, Lacombe, LA; Lantern, Chapel Hill, NC; Pacific’O and I’o, Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii; Tree House Pastry Shop and Cafe, Santa Fe, NM
MENU CHANGES DAILY/OFTEN: Aqua Santa, Santa Fe, NM; Bix, San Francisco; Boulettes Larder, San Francisco; Floataway Cafe, Atlanta; Francine, Camden, ME; Harvest, Madison, WI; Literati II, Brentwood, CA; Queen’s Hideaway, Brooklyn, NY
CASUAL: Bay Ave. Trattoria, Highlands, NJ; Blue Bird Bistro, Kansas City, MO; Bona Terra, Sharpsburg, PA; Burgerville, locations throughout Oregon and Washington; Canele, Atwater Village, CA; Duo Restaurant, Denver; The Farmhouse, Emmaus, PA; Fife Restaurant, Portland, OR; The Flying Fig, Cleveland; The Flying Pig on Lexington, Mount Kisco, NY; Local Burger, Lawrence, KS; Market, Del Mar, CA; Prairie Grass Cafe, Northbrook, IL; Sage, Des Moines, IA; Spoonriver, Minneapolis; Steelhead Diner, Seattle; Vindalho, Portland, OR
SEASONAL (CLOSED PART OF THE YEAR): The Back Eddy, Westport, MA; Christina’s (open from February to October), Eastsound, Orcas Island, WA; Clam Box of Ipswich (open from February to December), Ipswich, MA; Five Islands Lobster Co., Georgetown, ME; Hawk’s (open from December to May), Rayne, LA; Hell’s Backbone Grill (open from March to November), Boulder, UT
URBAN: Frontera Grill and Topolobampo, Chicago; Grace, Los Angeles; Josie, Santa Monica, CA; Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink, Miami; Reef, Houston; Rendezvous in Central Square, Cambridge, MA; T’Afia, Houston; Telepan, New York, NY; White Dog Cafe, Philadelphia; Wilshire, Santa Monica, CA
WORTH THE TRIP: The Farmhouse Restaurant, The Inn at Serenbe, Palmetto, GA; Five & Ten, Athens, GA; Guadalupe Cafe, Sylva, NC; Harvest Moon Cafe, Sonoma, CA; Kai, Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort & Spa, Chandler, AZ; Journeyman Cafe, Fennville, MI; Restaurant Tallent, Bloomington, IN: The Turquoise Room, Winslow, AZ.
ROMANTIC/SPECIAL OCCASIONS: 610 Magnolia, Louisville; Brigtsen’s, New Orleans; The Fearrington House Restaurant, Pittsboro, NC; The General’s Daughter, Sonoma, CA; Hen of the Wood, Waterbury, VT; Joseph’s Table, Taos, NM; Le Gourmand, Seattle; Manresa, Los Gatos, CA; The Painted Lady, Newberg, OR; Paley’s Place, Portland, OR.
MEAT RULES: Bonnell’s Fine Texas Cuisine, Fort Worth; The Corn Exchange, Rapid City, SD; L&M’s Kitchen and Salumeria, Oxford, MS; The Linkery, San Diego; Pirogue Grille, Bismarck, ND; Route 7 Grill, Great Barrington, MA; Watermark Restaurant, Nashville.
HOTELS + INNS: Cielo at Ventana Inn & Spa, Big Sur, CA; CityZen, Mandarin Oriental, Washington, D.C.; The Inn at Dos Brisas, Brenham, TX; The Inn at Shelburne Farms (open from May to October), Shelburne, VT; North Fork Table and Inn, Southold, NY; Rustic Canyon, Santa Monica, CA.
BAR FOCUS: Cyrus, Healdsburg, CA; FIG, Charleston, SC.
LOCAL PIONEERS: Alice Waters, Chez Panisse, Berkeley, CA; Carrie Van Dyck, Ron Zimmerman, and Jerry Traunfeld, The Herbfarm, Woodinville, WA; Peter Merriman and Neil Murphy, Merriman’s, Waimea, Big Island, Hawaii; Peter Hoffman, Savoy, New York, NY; Greg Higgins, Higgins Restaurant & Bar, Portland, OR; Peter Davis, Henrietta’s Table, The Charles Hotel, Cambridge, MA; Dan Barber, Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Pocantico Hills, NY; Lucia Watson, Lucia’s Restaurant and Wine Bar, Minneapolis; Alan Wong, Alan Wong’s Restaurant, Honolulu, Hawaii; Annie Somerville, Greens, San Francisco; Patrick O’Connell, The Inn at Little Washington, Washington, VA; Alex Young, Zingerman’s Roadhouse, Ann Arbor, MI

IN THE NEWS: UrbanJacksonville.info notes the closing of vegetarian haven Heartworks Gallery & Cafe in 5 Points. … Buffets Inc. is looking for franchisees to launch the company’s new HomeTown Buffet franchising program that would bring 12 restaurants to four regions of Florida, the Jacksonville Business Journal reports. After 10 years of corporate expansion during which the franchise program was not used, the Eagan, Minn.-based buffet restaurant company has a five-year timeline for its simultaneous franchise expansion into Jacksonville, Tampa, Miami and Fort Lauderdale. It will begin by hiring franchisees over the next six months and start construction on the first of each region’s HomeTown Buffet restaurants by the end of 2008, officials said. jacksonville.bizjournals.com … The Times-Union’s Erika Burks reviews The Crabby Grouper (9826 San Jose Blvd., 904-268-3177). jacksonville.com … EU Jacksonville’s Erin Thursby reviews Columbia Restaurant and chats with chef Dennis Chan of Blue Bamboo Restaurant and Wine Bar. eujacksonville.com

Compiled by Pat Embry, WhereTheLocalsEat.com

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