Locavores root, root, root for fall harvest

Mother Nature just hates to be taken for granted. She pitched a fit at the beginning of the growing season, shredding the fields of Northern Colorado with a couple of serious hailstorms. Then autumn had barely emerged all golden from the equinox when she sends in the snow. Wither the harvest?

“I just got an e-mail from Karen McManus at Wolf Moon Farms (in Wellington),´ said Jason Shaeffer, owner, chef and champion potato peeler at Chimney Park restaurant in Windsor, early last week. “They got 10 inches of snow but still have leeks, beets, celery and celery root, kale, bunching onions and varieties of winter squash. Those are good fall ingredients: things in the ground.”

Although the early freeze put a crimp in local farm delivery, Shaeffer knows that the harvest will come in, with some excellent local meat and produce options for his fall/winter menus.

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“My sous chef Ryan Robertson and I have talked about putting a braised Long Family Farms pork belly on the menu,” he said. “We thought we would braise it, then crisp it to order and glaze it with a sauce. Also, we discussed putting an onion soup on the menu for the winter. Karen from Wolf Moon Farms has a bunch of sweet onions that we could store in our basement and use. We have run the soup as a special and it sold well. We did a goat cheese crouton with it.”

We sometimes forget that eating locally grown food in winter was standard well before root cellars vanished into the endless summer created by year-round delivery of “seasonal produce.” However, the locavore revolution has reminded diners that deep in December it’s nice to remember: squash.

“I can take varieties of squash and keep them in my basement. They will keep for two to three months without refrigeration,” Shaeffer said. “I have talked with Steve Ela at Ela Family Farms on the Western Slope about his Fuji apples. It’s a late-season apple that stores really well. So we can use organic apples right through the holidays.”

Shaeffer’s basement will become his root cellar, where in pre-fridge days a stash of apples, carrots, turnips, potatoes and other crops kept cool and fresh through the winter. Some squashes will keep nicely for six months, while Brussels sprouts, many will be happy to learn, hold on only five weeks at most.

For those without root cellars or the will to monitor stored fruit, local restaurants such as Chimney Park, The Canyon Chop House, Café Ardour, Spoons and Aspen Grille make the bounty of the harvest last as long as possible.

And for those who would like to do it themselves, Grant Family Farms is offering a 10-week preservation CSA share that includes great information about how to preserve, can, freeze, ferment and pickle items. Check it out at www.grantfarms.com.

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And now for something completely different

Good news.

When Rob Curci opened Spotlight Music on Fort Collins’ College Avenue in 2000, he did not mention that he had big plans for growth. But as the store attracted music teachers and students and their families, he needed more space.

“We were looking for the right building to become available at the right time,´ said Jen Stowe, Curci’s partner. “We actually looked at the space at College and Harmony that Ultimate Electronics was vacating before they moved further east on Harmony Road.”

She added that it had always been the plan to have a place where local musicians could perform. And that idea seemed to beg for a food accompaniment: the Spotlight Café.

“We found two suppliers in Loveland, small family businesses like ours,” Stowe said. “Our delicious organic coffee comes from The Black Cup coffee roaster and our food comes from Schmidt’s Bakery. They deliver brats, breakfast burritos, bieroch – kraut burgers – and baked goods every day.”

She added that for those drawn to gigantic sweet rolls, Spotlight Café also serves fresh ones from world-famous Johnson’s Corner.

Curci noted that so far the biggest fans of Spotlight’s live performances have been parents whose kids are seriously into music.

“Most music around here gets played in bars; teens get left out of the music scene,” Curci said. “We already have a blues jam every Thursday night, and within the next month we expect to have bands every day. All family-friendly. The café is the music lesson waiting room.”

And if Curci has his way, sometime soon Spotlight Music will host Live@Lunch for KRFC. Homegrown radio in a homegrown music store sounds good.

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Entrepreneurship unbound

Brad Loyd and Paul Michaelsen, once the only Colorado franchise owners of the popular Taco Del Mar, have cast off their chain(s) and reopened both Fort Collins locations as their own fast-casual Mexican restaurants: Matador Mexican Grill on Harmony Road and Toro Mexican Grill at Campus West on Elizabeth Street. Loyd and Michaelson want their clientele to rest assured that fish tacos are still on the menu (and only $3.39 for two on Fridays). Folks may also notice a new zip in the e-mail promotions for the Matador: TV for sports! Really cheap – $1.41 all day – beer! Food cooked fresh with Colorado beef and organic produce, packaged in green containers! Come on down!

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Comings and goings

To paraphrase Albert King’s blues lament, if it weren’t for bad luck, some restaurateurs would have no luck at all. The liquor license at the Clarion Hotel in downtown Greeley was suspended for a week from Oct. 12 to 16 for code violations. The term could be extended if the liquor code is violated again. Strict.

Elsewhere in Greeley, Rich Miner, owner of the beleaguered Rafferty’s, and Nick St. George, owner of Corleone’s Italian Underground, which he closed last June, have joined forces to resurrect Rafferty’s, with an opening date of Oct. 16.

And it appears that there will be no third act for chef Patrick Laguens’ Plank in downtown Fort Collins. The signs were clear: Open for Business in 2008 became Seized for Back Taxes earlier this year and now it’s Space for Lease. While the Plank may have walked, Laguens and his cooking style have fans. Stay tuned.