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: The Free Press’s Sylvia Rector profiles Richard Travis, the new executive chef at Tribute, and reports on the three new dining venues at the new MGM Grand Detroit casino, which opens Oct. 2, and their effect on competitors: Award-winning chef Michael Mina of San Francisco will debut two high-end venues: SaltWater, a fine-dining contemporary seafood restaurant, and Bourbon Steak, with an over-the-top menu starring Mina’s signature butter-poached, wood-grilled meats. Celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck will unveil Wolfgang Puck Grille, a casually upscale, bar-and-grill concept that will be open 24 hours. freep.com … Real Detroit Weekly’s Marc Mege has a dog at American Coney Island, in business since 1917. realdetroitweekly.com … The Detroit News’ Molly Abraham gives four stars to Gaucho Brazilian Steakhouse (39550 Seven Mile at Haggerty Road, Northville Township, 248-380-7770) and notes the upcoming opening of Chen Chow Brasserie (260 N. Old Woodward Ave., Birmingham, 248-594-2469, www.chen chow.com) in the former Pampas Brazilian Grille space … Abraham also notes the 70th anniversary of Weber’s Restaurant (3050 Jackson Ave. in Ann Arbor). Herman Weber first started serving customers in 1937, when hamburgers were 15 cents and a beer was a dime, and still works in the business, along with son Ken. detnews.com … Metro Times’s Mel Small reviews J. Baldwin’s Restaurant & To Go (16981 18 Mile Rd., Clinton Twp., 586-416-3500). metrotimes.com

Compiled by Pat Embry, WhereTheLocalsEat.com

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