Farm to Fork Restaurant Month

We are pleased to relay some great information on behalf of our new friend Richard Grucia, who we met as Ticket Ambassadors for Taste of the Nation. 

Richard is the founder and organizer of Good Eats and Meets Charlotte, which is a local foodie-focused meetup group which boasts almost 2500 members! Good Eats and Meets Charlotte has created a fantatic concept that we put our full Food Babies behind:

FARM TO FORK RESTAURANT MONTH: MAY 2011

We hear from Richard that 15+ restaurants are already on board! Be sure to visit carolinasfarmtofork.com to sign up for the mailing list - you'll be the first to know all the latest details!

Great work Richard (aka Foodzilla) and all the Good Eats and Meets Charlotte folks who organized this wonderful concept. The Food Babies always be loving some local and sustainable food!! We're waiting for the restaurant list with bated breath.....

-Lauren and Brianna

Harvest Moon Grille Restaurant

The Food Baby Bottom Line:   

• We adore Harvest Moon Grille for their true commitment to local food.
• The Banh Moon Sandwich 100% deserves it’s place in the list of Charlotte’s best sandwiches.
• The Grateful Growers Maple Sugar Bacon is ridicu-licious (ridiculously delicious). 

Brianna and I have been in The Food Baby withdrawal. We both traveled for President’s Day weekend (she to Austin TX, I to Gatlinburg, TN) where we naturally acquired lots o’ food babies…but we missed working on our beloved websites, even for a couple of days. So, we had a Food Baby business meeting at Harvest Moon Grille today, which we both have been dying to try. We’ve frequented the HMG lunch truck many a time, but were curious to see what the “brick-and-mortar” experience would be like.

Halcyon, Flavors from the Earth

The Food Baby.com bottom line:

• Great spot for an uptown business lunch, absolutely worth coming back for dinner.
• The pork belly was so amazing, I was almost embarrassed to eat it in public.
• Truly a place where the cooking is a craft and an art, and a celebration of local farms and food.

The ladies of Food Baby recently decided to have a “working” lunch at Halcyon at the Mint Museum.  "Working" both in the sense that we knew it would be blogworthy, but I think we might have discussed some business too.  We arrived a touch after noon and the dining room was nearly full.  The hostess offered us a seat at either the community table (a long table in the middle of the dining room – love this concept), the bar or the chef’s station.  We chose the latter.  The dining room is simply breathtaking – flooded with natural light and decorated in an almost ethereal way – very chic and very sophisticated.  The crowd was a largely uptown professional crowd, conducting client meetings or noshing with colleagues. 

Charlotte Regional Farmers Market

The Food Baby bottom line:

• Being at the Charlotte Regional Farmers Market makes me feel happy and smiley
• Meat and eggs are expensive, but fruits and veggies are super cheap!
• The grocery store is dead to me

So, I have a burgeoning love for the local food movement. My partner in crime Brianna has been feeling the love for a while now, and some really wonderful people in my life swear by the farmers markets here in Charlotte. There are about 100 good reasons to eat locally sourced food, including: supporting local farmers, eating healthy natural foods, humane treatment of animals, and the fact that fresh food is just dank!! So this farmers market virgin finally (FINALLY!) gave it up and visited the Charlotte Regional Farmers Market on Saturday.

Harvest Moon Grill Food Truck

thefoodbaby.com bottom line:

• Oh how I've missed the Harvest Moon Grill during the long, cold winter
• Pork Carnitas are good, Beef Brisket Ravioli is better
• We heart Ariana - say hi to her for us when you hit up HMG FT

Brianna and I were delighted when we learned that the Harvest Moon Grille Food Truck would be BACK on Thursday!  I adore stopping by on my lunch break to see what delicious pork pleasures they have to offer.

Harvest Moon Grill is a beautiful byproduct of Grateful Growers farm, which is located in Lincoln, NC and cultivates a variety of products, most exciting of which (for this porcine princess) is the pork! In addition to the food truck, there is the new "brick and mortar" Harvest Moon Grill Restaurant in the Dunhill Hotel....which I have yet to experience but plan to very soon.