Barn To Table

These restaurants take the farm-to-table movement literally.

- Meryl Pearlstein

SEEING “FARM TO TABLE” on a menu is old hat. But how many restaurants actually have their own farms and really bring the farm to your table themselves? If you’ve never thought about where the ingredients for your meal come from, you might want to read on. More and more restaurants are furthering their commitment to sustainability and no waste by turning to their own gardens or farms to ensure fresh and “green” ingredients.

Manhattan’s Riverpark (450 E. 29th St., 212.729.9790) has one of the largest farms in New York City. Covering 10,000 square feet and utilizing nearly 3,400 milk crates as planters, Riverpark Farm is a year-round producer of ingredients that feature on the restaurant’s menu in dishes like branzino and carrots topped with herbs, or lamb chops with parsnip. Throughout the year you’ll see specials that show off some of the 100 or so varieties of vegetables, herbs and flowers grown above Manhattan’s FDR Drive.

Riverpark employs a full-time farmer, Jonathan Sumner, who works in conjunction with Executive Chef Andrew Smith and the Alexandria Center for Life Science, at the complex where Riverpark is located. As part of Riverpark’s commitment to the community, school tours and community planting workshops are regularly held.