Little Saint in Healdsburg, CA has elevated its vegan eating expertise with the launch of The Second Story. This new eating idea is located upstairs from the bustling downstairs all-day vegan café and lounge Little Saints.
Notably, it gives a singular culinary journey crafted by Govt Chef Stu Stalker, beforehand of Noma, voted one of many world’s greatest eating places.
On the coronary heart of The Second Story is a multi-course vegan menu curated by Stalker that pays homage to the seasons, counting on the freshest elements accessible on the eight-acre Little Saint Farm and the encompassing space.
Emily Dorio
“Each vegetable on the menu is from the Little Saint Farm. Regardless of the farm has accessible dictates how I create our menu on an ongoing foundation, which is why our menu is ever altering,” Stalker tells VegNews.
“We’re so fortunate to have our personal farm—I really feel that I wouldn’t be a accountable chef if I didn’t use the whole lot from our farm,” Stalker says. “There’ll at all times be some instances which we have to supply elsewhere, however we’re at all times extraordinarily intentional in the place and the way we supply the whole lot on our menu.”
A vegan culinary journey
The altering nature of the menu turns into a part of the culinary journey, knowledgeable by Stalker’s work at Noma, a pioneering restaurant in hyper-local ingredient sourcing.
“We’re at all times enjoying round with new dishes at The Second Story,” Stalker explains. “Proper now we’re experimenting with a pumpkin and tofu dish utilizing soy milk from a neighborhood natural soy producer. I’m very enthusiastic about how this might end up.”
One other factor that units this eating expertise aside is its embrace of imperfections, celebrating the pure honesty of what the farm gives. “I’m uninterested in attempting to make the whole lot look good when the flavour is crucial component of a dish,” Stalker says. “I’ve spent years making greens look ‘good’ and now at The Second Story, I goal to make the meals communicate for itself with out the stress of good plating and presentation.”
With its plant-based choices, the menu combines acquainted flavors with thrilling discoveries, drawing inspiration from international culinary traditions.
Company can anticipate a multi-course menu that’s accompanied by a thoughtfully curated beverage program that includes wine pairings, low-alcohol and non-alcohol pairing choices, together with a choice of cocktails and wines accessible à la carte.
Emily Dorio
An Little Saint’s award-winning vegan wine record—which boasts over 500 bottles—the wine program at The Second Story is notably adventurous, that includes cutting-edge alternatives like drought-resistant grapes, distinctive co-ferments, and non-traditional packaging.
Little Saint’s sustainability
However it’s not simply concerning the meals and wine at The Second Story; it’s additionally about sustainability. The beverage program is a collaborative effort between Little Saint Farm, the bar, and the kitchen, with a mission to attenuate waste.
They proudly introduce “closed loop cocktails,” creatively reusing elements from the farm to the kitchen to the bar. The menu showcases inventive interpretations of traditional cocktails, utilizing imperfect produce, gadgets typically thought-about “waste,” and elements that will not be visually interesting however contribute to distinctive flavors.
Emily Dorio
The non-alcoholic pairings at The Second Story are equally various, that includes cocktails, tonics, ferments, nods to herbalism, and revolutionary elements like tepache constituted of carrot skins.
For these with a candy tooth, Govt Pastry Chef Baruch Ellsworth leads the pastry program, providing plated desserts that reveal the group’s technical abilities and creativity. Akin to the remainder of the menu, these vegan desserts emphasize seasonality, incorporating recent and domestically sourced elements.
The welcome drink
Considered one of Stalker’s favourite features of the eating expertise is the Welcome Bouquet that’s supplied to company as they arrive. It’s a nonalcoholic drink that arrives in a terracotta cup topped with a flower bouquet from the Little Saint Farm.
“I really like that this isn’t only a drink—company are additionally smelling and experiencing a glimpse into the Little Saint Farm,” Stalker says.
It’s also an association of flowers and flavors of the present season. “It is extremely a lot a mirrored image of what’s recent from the farm,” Stalker says. “For example, our fall drink shall be dried flowers and autumn flavors with pumpkin and spices. Company are then in a position to carry the bouquet residence with them as a memento from their expertise at The Second Story.”
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Nicole Axworthy is the Information Editor at VegNews and writer of the cookbook DIY Vegan.
