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: Chicago magazine Dish columnists Penny Pollack and Jeff Ruby report: The bar at Osteria Via Stato (620 N. State St.; 312-642-8450) will be replaced this fall by the Roman-style Pizzeria Mo.Di … Maya Del Sol (144 S. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park; 708-358-9800), a 170-seat “New World Latin” restaurant from Anan and Margi Abu-Taleb (Pizza Capri), opens in the next few weeks in the redone Vivaldi space. The chef, Ruben Beltran, is a 16-year veteran of Frontera Grill. … Noted openings: Bob Djahanguiri’s Old Town Brasserie (1209 N. Wells St.; 312-943-3000) and Pepitone’s (5437 N. Broadway; 773-293-3730), a 150-seat contemporary spot opening on Oct. 3. It’s owned not by the former baseball player Joe Pepitone, a colorful guy who played for the Yankees in the 1960s and the Cubs in the 1970s but by a distant relative of the same name. … The windows of Platiyo (3313 N. Clark St.) are papered over, and the phone has been temporarily disconnected. . . . Wakamono (3317 N. Broadway; 773-296-6800) is expanding into an adjacent double storefront, which means that along with Pingpong (3322 N. Broadway; 773-281-7575), Henry Chang now controls six storefronts on that stretch of Lake View. . . . Grant Achatz (Alinea, 1723 N. Halsted St.; 312-867-0110), who is recovering nicely after treatment for a tumor on his tongue, is finishing up a self-published cookbook, which will be distributed by Ten Speed Press in fall 2008. … The wait for the long-promised bakery at Aigre Doux (230 W. Kinzie St.; 312-329-9400), just got longer. Chef/owners Malika Ameen and Mohammad Islam are expecting their third child in January, which means plans to open the bakery have been “tabled indefinitely.” chicagomag.com …

he Trib’s Trine Tsouderos has a first bite at Pannenkoeken Cafe and also compares Red Lobster in Norridge (4401 N. Cumberland Ave.; 708-456-7966, www.redlobster.com ) and RL in Chicago (115 E. Chicago Ave.; 312-475-1100, rlrestaurant.polo.com) …Carol Haddix takes a first bite at Thai Urban Kitchen (500 W. Madison St., 312-575-0266, 888-955-5885). … Becky Schlickerman considers empanadas, including those at El Nandu (2731 W. Fullerton Ave.; 773-278-0900) … Phil Vettel gives one star to Southern-styled American restaurant Blu 47 (4655 S. King Drive, 773-536-6000), while Janet Franz visits Winston’s Market (3440 N. Southport Ave., 773-327-6400). … Renee Enna reports that pastry chef Sarah Levy, owner of Sarah’s Pastries & Candies (70 E. Oak St.) , is expanding with an additional shop at Macy’s State Street store, set to open in late October or early November. chicagotribune.com …

TimeOut Chicago’s David Tamarkin reviews Paramount Room (415 N Milwaukee Ave, 312-829-6300), while Heather Shouse considers Rosebud Prime (1 S Dearborn St, 312-384-1900). … Noted openings: Honky Tonk Barbecue (213 W 18th St, 312-226-7427) and Old Town Brasserie. timeout.com/chicago … The Sun-Times’s Frank Bruni reviews the Brazilian spot Rio’s D’Sudamerica (2010 W. Armitage, 773-276-0170) and the Argentian spot El Nandu (2731 W. Fullerton, 773-278-0900), while Thomas Witom considers the Brazilian steakhouse Texas de Brazil Churrascaria (5 Woodfield Shopping Center, Suite D312; 847-413-1600). suntimes.com … The Reader’s Daniel Shumski reviews Sweet Collective (5333 N. Lincoln, 773-293-0888), while the paper rounds up Lincoln Square restaurants. … Mike Sula visits Pupuseria Las Delicias (3300 W. Montrose. 773-267-5346) and Double Li (228 W. Cermak. 312-842-7818). chicagoreader.com … ChicagoGluttons.com visits La Fonda Latino Grill. … Chicago Burger Project visits Gibsons Bar and Steakhouse (1028 N Rush St, 312-266-8999). chicagoburgerproject.blogspot.com … Drive-Thru from Gapers Block stops by Lovely Bake Shop (1130 N. Milwaukee Ave., 773-572-4766) and notes the closing of Gilley’s in Andersonville just a couple of months after opening. gapersblock.com/drivethru

Compiled by Pat Embry, WhereTheLocalsEat.com

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