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Wensa, coe 4,20 heMcia Diy 51
Northern
Locavores
When snow covers the ground, you might think
your opportunity for homegrown food has passed.
But Ann Arbor producers have you covered all
year round - if you're willing to alter your diet.
Sara Lynne Thelen Statement Staff Writer
(RIGHT)JED MOCH/Daily
W ith the clink of artisan martinis and the pang of steep menu prices, it's clear that Grange Kitchen and Bar on Liberty Street has joined the ranks of swanky Ann Arbor
hot spots. Grange is definitely trendy, but not just for its chil atmosphere and prime location. The restaurant, which opened in Bella Ciao's old space this summer, is
based on a more consequentialtrend: eating local.
Eating food grown and processed nearby isn't a novelty. The idea of cutting out the middleman has been lauded as environmentally friendly and beneficial to local economies
for a long time. But now, as climate change becomes a more pressing issue and the locavore movement grows, the quest is to maintain the most sustainable diet possible. To the
most ardent locavores, their place on the sustainability spectrum is a measure of their love for the earth and their loyalty to the floundering Great Lakes State.
But the plausibility of adhering to a strict 100-mile-radius diet in a state that freezes over for much of the year is questionable. It's difficult, but not impossible. The first step is
committing to eating seasonally, or in other words, forsaking exotic fruits for vegetables that can be cultivated year round. And there are more locally grown options than may
be expected. Thanks to a plethora of local farms, chefs and grocers dedicated to sustainability, any Ann Arborite can eat with a conscience in the dead of winter.
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. SUSTAINABLE GOURMET
Brandon Johns, head chef
and owner of Grange, doesn't
like to be tethered to the politi-
cal label of locavore, but his
clean and simple dining room
exudes an air of "back to the
basics". The decor is sparse and
modest: wooden floors are sur-
rounded by spring green walls,
where unframed . canvasses
showcase photos of thick juli-
enned eggplant, hands cradling
golden tomatoes and blood
oranges sliced in half.
On each place setting, sand-
colored cloth napkins comple-
ment a white linen tablecloth,
and the one-page menu is typed
on material not unlike a paper
grocery bag.
For Johns, using local ingre-
dients isn't just about conserv-
ing the environment. First and
foremost, it's about assuring
that his food is the freshest and
best it can be.
"My main aim is to have a
restaurant that serves great
food, and to source as much as
I can locally at the same time,
because I think those things go
hand in hand," he said. "I'm not
walking home with a flag on
top of my head. I really just did
it because I wanted good food.
Then the political, social and
environmental reasons that
everyone's sort of hot to hop on
now came to light."
All but one of Grange's 13
food sources listed on its web-
site are in Michigan, with five
producers based in Washtenaw
County that provide Johns
with fresh fruit, meat, eggs,
coffee and more. Besides alco-
hol and spices, Grange's one
out-of-state source is a farm in
Ontario, Canada that produces
millet.
As crops in Michigan are
harvested at different set
points each year, the trick to
Johns's trade is reimagining
Grange's menu to suit changes
in the season. According to
Johns, asparagus is only avail-
able locally for four weeks in
the spring, but most every-
thing else that grows here
- tomatoes, peaches, pears,
carrots, squash, apples, onions,
apricots - are available until
mid- or late October. Winter-
time brings root vegetables like
potatoes and hardier greens
like kale and mustard leaves.
"I just always wanted to cook
with the season," Johns said.
"As the season changes, your
body changes what it needs."
Right now, the menu is heavy
on fish, meat, potatoes and
squash. Conspicuously absent
are traditional side dishes like
broccoli and asparagus. But it
is clear that Johns has applied
some creativity in drumming
up dishes that play to fall's
strong points, such as with an
entre of cider braised beef,
roasted parsnips and pumpkin
ravioli, or a vegetarian option
offering zucchini and squash
cakes with wilted greens and
spiced tomato sauce.
As a whole, a local menu is
more expensive to fill than a
conventional one,so itdemands
that he be creative to compen-
sate for the cost.
"I spend 12, 13, 14 dollars a
chicken, where Tyson chick-
ens would cost me three bucks
a chicken," Johns said. "Now I
think the difference is worth
it - you can completely taste it.
But it also makes me use a lot
of parts that no one else does. A
lot of sausage."
However, some customers
that seek out Johns' natural
philosophy might want to fully
understand it before they sit
down.
"People complain about the
duck, they say, 'It's too tough,"'
he said. "And I go to the table
and I say, 'Well, the duck got to
walk around. The duck evolved
muscles.' "
Johns faces a challenge in
running a restaurant with a
self-enforced ingredient con-
straint. It's not enough to find
a local producer - he must
also make sure that producer
is using chemical-free cultiva-
tion and processing methods
to assure the produce is of the
highest quality. Johns said
researching farms to attain
ingredients with the highest
levels of taste and nutrition and
the lowest impact on the envi-
ronment is a "huge time com-
mitment."
"Just because it's local
doesn't mean it's being done
right," he said.
THE LOVE AND LABOR
BEHIND LOCAL FOOD
Tantre Farm, a certified
organic farm in nearby Chel-
sea, is one of Grange's sources
that has gotten food production
right. Stationed out of a small
white house straddled by shad-
owy willows and softly rolling
fieldsofyellow soybeans, Tantr6
Farm is a 40-acre experiment
in community-sponsored agri-
culture. Customers purchase
shares in the farm and receive
regular deliveries of produce in
exchange.
The farm's business model is
a direct affront to the near-mo-
nopolies that reign over a food
industry that is riddled with
social justice and health issues.
At Tantre Farmno factory walls
hide travesties against human-
ity, animal rights or common
health that would make you lose
your appetite. Instead, a fam-
ily of three, a handful of live-in
workers, part-time help and vol-
unteers cultivate a diverse array
of organic crops.
"We're into the post-indus-
trial model," Tantr6 Farm co-
owner Richard Andres said.
Tantre Farm produces as
much as 8,000 pounds of pep-
pers, parsnips, lettuces and
tomatoes every week. During
other times of the year, the farm
also cultivates its high hedges of
berries, melons and mushroom
patches, an herb and flower gar-
den, goats and 50 chickens.
Hard Michigan weather
serves as more of a benefit than
a drawback for Tantre. When
feebler crops die off in the first
frost, Andres and his team have
more time to devote to main-
tenance, refurbishing, and fin-
ishing projects that "dangle all
summer" while crops are more
diverse and abundant.
"Then we can focus on mak-
ing the operation run smoother
and more efficiently," he said.
Tantr6sellshardier cropsthat
survive the cold to restaurants
throughout the winter. Andres
said that there are about 15,000
pounds of potatoes, 10,000
pounds of squash and 5,000
pounds of onions already saved
up. They also cut firewood, milk
cows and make cheese.
Kale, carrots, Kohlrabi and
See EATING LOCAL, Page 6B
Tantre Farm is an organic farm in nearby Chelsea that yields produce throughout the entire year.
Grange Kitchen and Bar is a new downtown restaurant that