Last month my husband and I packed up the family for our annual east coast summer road trip to the northeast to visit “the grandparents.” This is our summer vacation or as I like to call it “our summer mission”. This year we had in tow, besides the three kids, our loveable 40 lb, 10 month old, shaggy puppy of unknown mixed breeds – Stella.
Every year we choose a different town to visit en route in order to show the children the country and make the travels more enjoyable and educational. Over the years, we have seen many sites: Monticello, Washington DC, Fredericksburg, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City, Boston, Portland, etc. etc. Of course, we look forward to seeing our families, but we also relish these side trips as we are interested in history, architecture, art and culture and hope to share our interests with the children. Ours is not a relaxing vacation by any means. We rarely visit a beach or an amusement park. This year our stops included Arlington, Va., Philadelphia, Lancaster, Pa., Boston, and Roanoke, Va.
One major obstacle to enjoying our yearly road trip has always been: not being able to find decent food along the way. (needless to say we are not the types to eat at fast food restaurants just because we’re on the road). Oh my!, did we have a different adventure this year. Usually we search desperately for something we can eat, travelling far out of the way to do so. This year, we found a new awakening in the country! All up and down the east coast, we saw bright, cheerful signs for local Farmer’s Markets. Good local restaurants were easy to locate and concierges were able to direct us to them. Billboards on the highway depicted happy farmers, displaying their produce, smiles beaming, leading locals and travelers alike to partake in the local fare and local flavor of the land. I loved it! Regional food, seasonal delights, varying all along the coast as we travelled south to north and north to south again.
In Philadelphia, we visited Reading Market that proudly occupies an old train station in the center of the city since 1892. The market, almost bankrupt in the 1970’s has seen a great revitalization. It reminded me of a central market in a European city – bustling customers , local and regional produce, butchers, bakers, restaurants, cafes, vendors of local wares, honey from local bees, chocolates made on premises – all under one roof. Reading Market is truly an American market, teeming with local and international fare. A market where Americans of all ethnicities can proudly display and sell their “gifts”. How beautiful it is!
On one unbearably hot afternoon in Boston, we noshed on pizza or flat bread topped with an array of local cheeses, vegetables and grass-fed meats, while the children bowled in the fun, friendly, very hip and retro “Flat Bread Co. at Sacco’s Bowling Haven”. The local origin of the food was announced with pride on a huge chalkboard entitled “Where on Earth Our Food Comes From”. We and our Boston friends were able to relax, drink a number of the great offerings of local beers and catch up – while the children played and were well fed. Heaven in a bowling alley!
The desk clerk at our hotel in Lancaster readily directed us to the lovely restaurant “John J. Jeffries”, featuring local foods and housed in a renovated mill, shared with the very stylish “Arts Hotel”. One of our favorite dishes was the Johnny Cakes, Fresh Peach Compote, Crispy Pork Belly and Pennsylvania Maple Syrup – aptly named “Crispy Pork Belly Love”. We did love! The adults sipped on local Pennsylvanian wines that were really good! Homemade ice cream followed dinner with delightful flavors such as Singing Dog Vanilla, June Berry and Kallari Single Source Organic Chocolate.
In Roanoke, Virginia we ate at a fantastic restaurant called “Local Roots”. We found “Local Roots” while still on the highway by way of www.tripadvisor.com listings for Roanoke Restaurants under the genre “local”. We told the manager about our adventure and our relationship with local foods in South Carolina and he treated us like long lost friends. An immediate connection was made – their chef had interned with a famous Charleston chef. We talked about the restaurant, Roanoke, their small urban gardens, and sources for pork as the chef sent out a sampler of house made charcuterie, house-made ricotta and fried green tomatoes.
We indulged in the fresh Peach Bellini Martini offered by our new friends. Our meal was more than a meal. For this family of hungry locavore travelers, it was without a doubt a delicious meal, but it was also a glimpse into the lives of some incredibly dedicated people in another state. I left feeling buoyed by their kindness, determination and integrity. Through our interaction, we learned so much about the local movement in Virginia and we got a delicious taste of local color. When our travels take us to Virginia again we will definitely return to their restaurant and hopefully they will visit us if their travels take them to Charleston.
Next stop was finally – home sweet home – Charleston. I am always thankful, after a trip, to return home to my own cooking. I was this year as well; although I did not have that “I never want to eat another meal out” feeling. These days, I have the added advantage of coming home to Our Local Foods – my family’s source for healthy, local, fresh foods. Now, with the opening of the retail store, café and kitchen on Clements Ferry Road, even I can take a break from cooking once in a while, knowing I am carrying home delicious, nutritious, locally-sourced, wholesome prepared foods. It can’t get any better than this!
