I walked over to the Tucker Square Market, on 66^th and Columbus, and found Chris Wayne, the Greenmarket Manager, Richard Scoffier, Assistant General Manager of Nick & Toni’s Cafe, and Chef Juan Juarez, also of Nick & Toni’s, patiently waiting for our Greenmarket Chef Tour & Taste group to gather. 

After about 5 minutes of introductions and small talk, our tour began.  Chris took us around to the different market stands, introduced the farmers and local producers and gave us some samples to munch on while Richard talked about the relationship the restaurant has been forming with these local vendors.  We met Ron Binaghi, of Stokes Farm,

a 6^th generation farmer with a contagious energy and enthusiasm for his family’s business.  Jim Kent, of Locust Grove Fruit Farm, told us how becoming part of the Greenmarket actually saved his family’s farm many years ago.  He also let us sample some baby kiwis he grows on the farm and some of his concord grapes. 

Now, I remember growing up thinking concord grapes needed to be doused in sugar and made into pie or jam to enjoy.  Boy I was I wrong.  Just the fragrance alone was intoxicating…sweet, floral, earthy.  The skin has a tannic bite, but the gelatinous flesh is sweet and delicious.  These grapes are not from Welch’s!  Next Chris took us to Bobolink Dairy where we sampled some of their Jean-Louis cheese. 

Creamy, pungent and salty.  A perfect pairing with the sweet concord grapes.  We also stopped by Hudson Valley Duck Farm, where we were given samples of smoked duck meat and introduced to Lola, a patented breed of duck exclusive to Hudson Valley Duck Farm. 

Meet Lola, now eat Lola.  I don’t know… seems wrong to eat a creature with such a cute name. 

All these passionate people, the Greenmarket Manager, restaurant GM, Chef, and local farmers, they have established mutually beneficial working relationships.  It’s business.  Yet, you watch the way they interact, listen to the stories they tell back and forth, see the personal relationships they’ve formed, and it feels much more like one giant family.  It’s a glimpse into the past, and a slow, but steady, rebirth of how I imagine things used to work before large grocery chains and wholesalers were on the scene. 

After the tour was over, Chris gave us a few minutes to do a little market shopping before heading back to Nick & Toni’s, just a block away.  I opted to head straight to the restaurant as Richard and Chef Juan had graciously agreed to let me get some “behind the scenes” shots of the chef working his magic in the kitchen.  
When I stepped off the street, into the quaint café, the chef was already beginning to prepare our three course meal, using local and seasonal ingredients.  He was flipping around some chicken breasts in the wood fire oven and then went down to the kitchen to get the spaghetti squash in the oven. 



I followed him down, observed a little, and snapped a few shots.  I didn’t want to overstay my welcome though, so I quickly headed back up to the dining room to mingle with the other Greenmarket Tourists.  A few minutes later, Richard came over and asked if I wanted to go back into the kitchen and take some pictures of Chef Juan plating the first course.  Uh, yea-ah!  I entered just in time to see the chef tossing thinly sliced raw kale in a simple dressing of lemon juice and olive oil. 

Then he added diced roasted pumpkin and Pecorino Romano cheese.  The salad was plated and topped with two slices of crispy pancetta. 

Chef Juan told me how Nick & Toni’s cures their own pancetta in-house.  So rustically old-school.  After snapping a few more photos, I head back up to take my seat and partake in the best part of the whole event…The Meal. 

Here’s what Chef Juan cooked up for us.  Please refrain from drooling…

First Course:  Cavalo Nero Crudo

Raw Conuco Farm Tuscan Kale, Roasted Stokes Farm Pumpkin, House-cured, Pancetta, Pecorino Romano, Lemon Oil

Simply delicious.  The thin slivers of chewy kale gave just enough texture to the creaminess of the roasted pumpkin and cheese.  And the pancetta… don’t even get me started.  It was crispy pork perfection, and yes, I chowed down both of the pieces on my plate!   

Second Course:  Oven Roasted Free Range Chicken Breast

Stokes Farm Spaghetti Squash, Satur Farms Brussels Sprouts, Stokes Farm Garlic, Rosemary Jus

First of all, if you’ve never had spaghetti squash before, go out right now- RIGHT NOW- and get some.  When you roast the squash and scrap the flesh away from the skin, it comes off in strands that are very similar in size and texture to spaghetti, and has a light nutty sweetness that paired perfectly with the savory Brussels and jus.  Speaking of the jus, I found myself eating more chicken than my little stomach could comfortably handle just to sop up the last drops of this liquid rosemary heaven. 

Dancing Ewe Farm Caciotta, Cato Corner Farm Hooligan, Bobolink Dairy Cave-Aged Cheddar, Prospect Hill Orchard Pear Compote, Andrew’s Honey Honeycomb

I am a huge cheese fanatic so I was perfectly content to have this plate set in front of me instead of a standard dessert.  I would never have thought to pair rosemary with pear but this compote combination tantalized my taste buds.  The sweetness from the compote and honey lent just enough balance to the salty bite of the cheeses.  According to Richard, Nick & Toni’s always has “a creamy (Caciotta), a stinky (Hooligan), and a sharp (Cheddar)” on their cheese plate.  Pure goodness… 

As we were all scrapping the last crumbs of cheese and honey off of our plates, Richard came out and informed us that Chef Juan wanted to treat us all to a little dessert.  His light apple crisp was the perfect ending to a fantastic day.