Most of you are familiar with, I’m sure, the concept of “Farm to Table”. In short – your food doesn’t travel far to get to your plate. Locally sourced veggies, meats, seafood from local farms and fishermen being harvested fresh and served up close to home.
On our yearly trip to Maine we had the opportunity to celebrate my fantastic BFF’s birthday by dining at a restaurant that is renowned for its farm to table dining experience – Primo Restaurant in Rockland. (I will do a full review of our dining experience later – this? is a bit different).
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| photo from bonppetit.com |
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| photo from: http://www.sommelierjournal.com |
We had been wanting to try Primo for some time. It’s a pricy night out, but an amazing opportunity for a true farm to table experience. A quick google search reveals a plethora of glowing reviews. As their website states…. “Primo is much more than a restaurant, it is about love and respect for food….. Produce is grown & harvested here and the animals are raised on the property. Nothing is wasted – everything has its place.” I mean really. If you’re going to eat, and want to know where your food is coming from, it doesn’t get much better than this!
We got there early to wander the grounds before going in to eat. It was early October, end of season for them, but there was still plenty to see. The farm, grounds, and building are beautiful with a view overlooking the ocean.
We wandered the rows of veggies taking it all in on a cool, crisp evening. It was amazing! Great! Loved it! And then…… SHIT.
A pile of snuggling, happy, smiling pigs. A cozy pig-pile. That was obviously going to become dinner soon. Because that’s what they do! Ohhhh dear. We also saw chickens. I did not take a picture of them. I promptly avoided all of the other buildings and barns. Nope! nope, nope, nope, nope. Lalalalalala I’m not looking!
My moral self kicked into overdrive. I’m getting all twitchy and palpitation-y just thinking about it. They are cute. And happy. And alive!
I started thinking about it. I had been a vegetarian for quite some time before, but fell off the wagon straight into a pile of burgers and bacon, and hadn’t looked back. Initially it was all “locally raised meats! humane only!” But then…. laziness and the grocery store took over. Because seriously? It is easier to just buy things at Stop and Shop. In their nice plastic wraps. Looking nothing like a piglet or cow. No face? No problem. Bacon ain’t cute. Delicious, but not cute.
But then I began to think some more. Where does that meat come from? Do you know? I sure as hell don’t. And I’m not about to google it and end up in a puddle of guilt and tears. Because I suspect it’s nowhere good.
So I mulled it over. I didn’t want to make a rash decision. And if you’re going to eat meat, eating humanely and health-ily (I know, not a word. whatever) raised meat is definitely the way to go. So for dinner I had the duck. Because I did not actually see a duck there. But I know they were there on the damn farm somewhere. And? it was delicious.
But I kept thinking about it. And thinking about it. Ovah, and ovah. And I realized that eating meat just isn’t for me. If I can’t handle seeing the animals before eating them, I shouldn’t be doing it. Talk about farm to table gone awry…. oops!
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| Don’t worry buddy… you won’t end up on my plate |
So now it’s the veggie life for me! (with some seafood also. I do not have the same connection to fish and shell-dwellers. sorry.). I have been feeling great since switching, both physically and mentally. I’m a no-meat athlete, and it’s great!
Are you a vegetarian? Vegan? Paleo-meat-eater all the way? What are your favorite veggie recipes? Have you tried a farm to table experience?
Adventure Sneaker 