A Bountiful County

When we put out a call for chefs to volunteer to be in our inaugural chef issue, the response was tremendous. So many local chefs use locally sourced produce and other products that we thought we couldn’t limit ourselves to just six. Here are a few other restaurants catering to locavores in a big way:

Lucky Pie Pizza and Taphouse in Louisville has its own organic garden in an empty lot next door, growing spinach, red and green romaine, mixed greens, and arugula, as well as rapini, heirloom carrots, radishes, onions, snap peas, kale and herbs. In addition, summer finds its menu stocked almost exclusively with produce from local organic farms.

At Pizzeria Basta, chef Kelly Whitaker has a deep passion for local ingredients. You might bump shoulders with him shopping the Boulder Farmer’s Market each Saturday, where he buys organic products from local farms. In fact, even the organic “00” flour he uses in his pizza dough comes from only two states away—the closest organic source he could find.

Café Aion on the Hill in Boulder has a special relationship with Flatirons Neighborhood Farm, a small front-yard CSA just a few blocks from the restaurant. Residents allow the CSA to farm their yards and in turn get a verity of great produce grown in their own neighborhood and some of the extra über-local produce goes to the restaurant.

Three Leaf Concepts, owners of The Huckleberry, Zucca, the Dushanbe Tea House, Aji and Leaf, recently started its own farm near Highway 287 and South Public Road. In its first season, the farm’s produce has made an appearance on the menus of all of the restaurants, and the owners have big plans for expanding it in the future.

Alec Schuler, chef at Arugula, Amaro and Tangerine in Boulder, made a commitment to locally sourced products. At Tangerine, a breakfast restaurant, he not only serves naturally raised meats and organic local produce but also 100 percent local, organic eggs and locally roasted Conscious Coffee.

Jax Fish House works closely with GrowHaus, an indoor farm, marketplace and educational center in Denver, the goal of which is to provide healthy, affordable food for the surrounding community and raise awareness about issues of food sustainability. Jax donates its oyster shells to GrowHaus, which uses them to help balance the pH in its tanks (oyster shells are a calcium carbonate-type buffer that keep pH from dropping too low). In addition, the restaurant has showcased GrowHaus’ sustainably grown rainbow trout and organic greens at special dinners and hopes to include them on its daily menu in future months after GrowHaus has finished an expansion.

Brett Smith, chef at Zolo Southwestern Grill in Boulder, has a passion for pork, and recently began working with a small farm in Weld County, where he hand selects pigs that he personally butchers and uses—snout-to-tail—for the restaurant.

The Greenbriar Inn has had its own organic gardens for more than 15 years, predating the current trend toward local produce. The restaurant’s property also boasts two lovely ponds, which serve as home for bigmouth bass and crayfish.

The Sink has been known for its burgers and beer for decades. But over the years, the cool joint on The Hill has focused its energy on becoming as sustainable as its food is delicious. From wind power to conservation, The Sink’s owners have charged ahead with environmental efforts, including sourcing their grass-fed beef and produce from Colorado farms, such as Beyond Organic Farm.