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Dining at the source with Outstanding in the Field

Munson Farms, Boulder, CO - August 2008

Talk about eating locally. If you’re a traveler of the foodie sort, eat where the goods you’ll ingest are grown — with those who helped grow it — on farm-dining tours offered by Outstanding in the Field.

The small Santa Cruz-based operation arranges events on farms all over California, the U.S., Canada and even Europe that take in guided tours before shifting into sit-down dinners with the food’s local producers. At each event, a long table for dining is set somewhere close to where the food was sourced. Usually that’s a farm, though, according to the website, it might be a ranch, a winery or — wow, picture this — a sea cave.

One of these events typically runs four to five hours, with the cost ranging from $180 to $220 per person. In addition to the farm tours and talks provided during dinner, the price includes a five-course meal with wine.

Can your tummy growls now be heard in the next room? If so, join the club. The 2009 schedule shows most of the Northern California events through the end of June as sold out (event capacity varies from around 130 to 150 people).

$Soup\'s on$

But, at the time of research, there was room at the table at Central California farms this summer, as well as openings from Portland, Oregon, to Missoula, Montana. In late August, soup’s on (though I don’t know if that’s literally, since I haven’t seen the menus) in New York City, in both Manhattan and Queens.

Sardines wrapped in grape leaves