Eat Here Now

Neenie took me to a great lunch today at Meriwether's in NW Portland.  The patio was gorgeous, with fuschias and hydrangeas and very ornate birdhouses decorating the borders, and the food was delicious.  We shared a fantastic beet salad to start, then had shrimp and chicken salad sandwiches, respectively.  Though I was full, I couldn't resist a fruit tart for dessert.  After all, it's summer in Oregon.  Local fruit is worth its weight in gold these days.

But the greatest part about Meriwether's is that they have their own farm up on Skyline Blvd. right here in Portland.  They grow much of the produce used in the restaurant, and it was apparent!  Sliced heirloom tomatoes on a restaurant sandwich are a rarity to be savored.  According to their website, they are establishing a flock of laying ducks too.

They've also got a CSA program, which stands for Community-Supported Agriculture.  The way it works is that a farm will sell a certain number of subscriptions to local consumers for a set price at the beginning of the season.  Then, every week, the subscriber can pick up a box of whatever that farm has recently harvested-- usually a variety of produce corresponding to that farm's geographical climate and time of year.

There's an easy way to find the CSA's in your area at LocalHarvest.org, an amazing website dedicated to local and organic food (farm's, farmer's markets, restaurants, community gardens, CSA's...).  I just did a search and found a farm coop in Hood River named, creatively, Hood River Organic, and I'm thinking of joining.  These things aren't cheap of course, and can cost between three and five hundred dollars up front.  It'll take some calculations to figure out if it's worth it.  Of course, I can't compare out-of-season produce trucked in from far away to local, chemical-free food by price alone.  It's obvious which would win out (which makes me nervous about how the person with whom I share a bank account will respond to my proposition about this).  But if you're looking for reasons to join a CSA, Hood River Organic's got a pretty compelling list of them here (scroll down).

If any of you, faithful readers, have a story to share or advice on local agriculture, please do share.  Any CSA subscribers?  Do you like it?  Would you do it again?